Royal London Income Protection
Royal London (RL) has introduced a new five year payment option on its existing Income Protection plan.
The five year payment period option is aimed at customers who either don’t want or can’t afford a full term payment period, but want cover which is more comprehensive than the shorter payment periods it has offered. The new five year payment period option is in addition to the RL’s current options of one year, two years and full term.
Other features of the plan include a range of deferred periods; cover up to 65% of the first £15,000, and up to 55% of the remainder up to £250,000 a year; and fracture cover and hospitalisation payment as standard. Customers with deferred periods of 13, 26 and 52 weeks receive a back-to-work payment in their first and second months back at work to help them further financially.
Comment: Product updates usually include a handful of changes, so it’s unusual to see one now that just includes a single change. Offering a five year benefit term option may not seem much, but it does give customers more choice and a five year payout should cover the vast majority of IP claims anyway.
Even so, might RL have taken the opportunity to include more changes? There’s no real reason why they should, and a five year option helps differentiate this long term IP plan from ASU/PPI style plans that may also be marketed as ‘income protection’.
Plus points: A new five year payment option; That’s it!
Not so plus points: Less cover than on a full term plan; More options equals more complexity; Should RL have taken the opportunity to make more changes?
Website: http://www.royal london.com
Rating (max 10): Overall: 8. Gold
Tags: IP; Royal London