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Save the date: the LifeSearch Awards 2010 will be held on Wednesday March 17 at the usual venue of the Hiscox Arts Café in The City. It is a lunchtime event and invites will be sent out in January.
Issue of the month
LifeSearch campaign for premium cuts shows success
At the time when LifeSearch began campaigning in February for insurers to cut premiums when they add exclusions to policies, only BUPA and Fortis offered this service. We’re pleased to say that as the year draws to a close, we can now add five more names to that list:
Now - in addition to Bupa and Fortis - LV=, Zurich, Legal & General and AXA also offer premium reductions on Critical Illness policies when certain conditions have been excluded.
For Income Protection, Aviva has joined Fortis in offering premium reductions when certain conditions have been excluded.
This is great news for the consumer and gives those insurers mentioned above an advantage when it comes to placing business. We want to know when the others are going to follow this truly TCF initiative.
Round up
3 - number of rate changes since the last bulletin (AXA, Friends Provident, Fortis)
9 – the number of ABI+ definitions offered by AXA through their newly updated CIC product
40 – % of consumers who believe they do not need life or income protection insurance, according to the recent Swiss Re report
2m – the amount in £ that regular premium protection sales dipped during the third quarter of this year, according to the Association of British Insurers
Case study of the month
Client: Mr Thomas
Needs: The client was finding it extremely difficult to find Life insurance for himself and his wife because of serious health issues.
Our recommendation: we recommended Fortis to our clients even though they were one of the more expensive companies. The reason is that our adviser knew the complex health issues would lead to their premiums being loaded by some insurers and so pre-empted this by talking directly to the underwriters and getting the assessment from the insurer upfront, saving the client both time and money.
Result: Both clients now have Mortgage Protection with Fortis and have peace of mind.
(If you need a case study, feel free to get in touch and we'll find one for you).
LifeSearch Comment
LifeSearch Head of Sales Duncan McMillan shares his thoughts on the current state of the Protection market here.
Heroes of the month
- L&G and AXA...
...who have both decided to join Bupa, Fortis, LV= and Zurich in offering premium reductions to clients who have certain exclusions added to their policy. L&G offer it for Cancer exclusions and AXA for Cancer and MS. AXA have also released important marketing material outlining CIC disease prevelance rates - something that LifeSearch have been calling for as an useful tool in helping advisers and consumers estimate the value of the conditions covered on a policy.
- Bupa...
...who paid 89% of all critical illness claims during the first three quarters of this year. Two per cent of declined claims were due to non-disclosure, while nine per cent were turned down because they did not meet the policy definition.
- FSA...
...for making the right decision and allowing commission to continue in Protection under the RDR. To outlaw commision would have severely damaged the Protection industry and created serious consumer detriment.
Best Wishes for a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!
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