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March 2021 MetLife: Other

MetLife’s  revised MultiProtect plan is a multi-benefit policy with premiums starting at £8 and going up to £40 a month. Its Core Cover element pays out:

Up to £3,750 for broken bones (on a severity scale).

Accidental death benefit up to £200,000.
Total permanent disability cover up to £250,000.
Accidental permanent injury benefit up to £250,000.
Up to £250 a night for each 24 hour period spent in hospital (max 90 days). Cover for UK hospital stays due to accidents is from the policy start date.  Cover for UK hospital stays due to sickness kicks in once the policy has been held for 12 months.
Funeral benefit of up to £10,000 on death by natural causes after the policy has been held for one year. A sliding scale applies, with maximum benefit from year five. Within the first year death by natural causes sees premiums returned.

In addition, customers can choose to add up to three options:

Child cover. This offers a range of benefits for children aged from six months to 23 years of age (or 18 if not in full time education).

Active lifestyle cover. Provides additional cover for accidental injuries such as ligament tears, tendon ruptures and dislocations.
Healthcare cover. Tailored for those who may be at particular risk of contracting certain illnesses, such as those who work in the healthcare sector. This pays up to £50K (HIV, septicaemia caused by MRSA, hepatitis C, bacterial meningitis) or £12.5K (tuberculosis, hepatitis B, clostridium difficile infection).

Cover is bought in units (maximum five units), the monthly cost for one unit being Core £8, plus £1 a month for each of the three options chosen.

In addition, there’s a wellbeing support centre, offering 24/7 help though a portal and helpline. This is provided by Health Assured.

The plan is available to UK residents from age 18 to 59 and can continue up to 70th birthday. There’s a quite a long list of exclusions  (including mental health and traffic offences) but this is well set out in the Key facts document and a longer list of exclusions has to be balanced against there being no initial underwriting if the acceptance criteria are met..

Comment: If you’re looking for sickness and accident cover plus, MultiProtect offers a range of useful benefits in the core plan, using a simple premium unit system to match need to budget. As well as the usual severity based benefits, the plan also includes a hospitalisation benefit and a funeral benefit plus a wellbeing value added service. The three optional benefits allow additional cover to be added only if wanted too.

There’s a good range of adviser support material available too.

The plan is not an alternative to long term income protection, but can be a useful supplement to it and many of the benefits will appeal more to younger people than traditional IP does.

Plus points: A range of severity based core sickness and accident benefits; including hospitalisation and funeral benefits; simple pricing structure; Useful wellbeing support centre.

Not so plus points: Long term IP can provide wider cover; Long list of exclusions.

Website: http://www.metlife.co.uk/multiprotect.

Rating (max 10): Overall: 7.5. Silver

Tags: Other; MetLife

I Mark: No

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