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June 2019 InsureWithMax: Other

We reviewed this plan in February 2016. Since then two changes have been made:

·         The minimum premium has been cut from £120 to £49.50. Alternatively, customers on a budget can pay an initial payment of £8.25, followed by 11 monthly payments of £3.75 (again totalling £49.50).

·         The policy is now offered by Riverside Underwriting (trading as InsureWithMax.com) and is underwritten by Vibe Syndicate Management Limited on behalf of Syndicate 5678, which trades with the Lloyd’s of London rating of A+.

For children aged three and five, a £5,000 a month benefit payable for up to 12 months would cost a one off payment for the year of £186.76 including IPT. This compares with the premium we quoted back in 2016 of £335.40.

Otherwise the product is the same, and pays out to a parent if their child suffers a specific medical condition and the parent has to take time off work to look after them.

Comment: We don’t usually comment on price changes – not least because prices can and do change frequently and relative competitiveness can vary by age and by a range of other factors.

However, in this case the price changes look to be substantial – based on the example we have seen – and the minimum premium is more than halved too. That means the plan should appeal even more.

Changing the underwriter is rare on life policies but more common on general insurance policies, for a variety of reasons. We’ve no reason to read anything into the change other than, judging by the pricing, the new underwriter looks to be more comfortable with the risk/reward ratio, which can happen once a product is actually launched.

The plan itself was designed to meet a specific gap in existing covers and should appeal both to parents and to others, such as grandparents, who may wish to fund the one-off payment for their children. Alternatively, they can now pay over a year and, for peace of mind, that looks to be a very small price to pay for something every parent hopes will never happen.

Plus points: Lower minimum premium; Budget premium option spreads the cost over a year; Lower pricing; New underwriter; Could be funded by grandparents or others.

Not so plus points: A niche product covering a need many parents won’t even have thought of.

Website: http://www.insurewithmax.com.

Rating (max 10): Overall: 8. Gold

Tags: Other; InsureWithMax