Protection

One in six people rely on an inheritance windfall to fund their future, according to research from Lincoln Financial Group.

A lot of people are still clinging to the hope a form of pension term assurance will continue after the Budget, but there is a strong possibility the product will be scrapped and it may be wise to expect the worst.

Concerns have been raised about the future of pension term assurance, following comments from Ed Balls stating the government "will act" when a regime is not in accordance with its pensions tax relief principles.

Introducing a non-contestability period into life insurance contracts is unlikely to result in consumers taking less care over disclosing information, says a Court of Appeal judge.

It's fair to say that I've spent more time behind my desk recently than I usually do. That's sometimes not a bad thing - especially for the IFAs and journalists fed up with listening to me going on and on about Liverpool beating Barcelona…

UK life insurer Prudential has announced it is scaling back its position in the protection sector and is essentially transferring management of its healthcare and protection business to South African firm Discovery.

The government needs to work more closely with the private sector to bridge the protection gap and reduce the prospect of further policy u-turns, says Nick Kirwan, head of the ABI's protection committee.

Considerable doubts linger over whether the Treasury will allow pension term assurance with tax relief to exist after the Budget next week, but advisers and providers are nonetheless hopeful some form of the product will remain.

Legal & General is relaunching its critical illness product by extending cover to three additional illnesses and incorporating the Association of British Insurers' best practice definitions.

Last month we held our 4th annual awards bash, which as always means an informal gathering of many of the great and the good from the protection industry for most of the day - and most of the night too for some!