Professional Adviser www.professionaladviser.com IRESS launches 'buy-now' term assurance option for advisers <p><!--summary start--> IRESS has launched an adviser-accessible 'buy-now' term assurance option is now available through its quote and apply sourcing engine, The Exchange, which avoids a fully underwritten process. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/3071211/iress-launches-term-assurance-option-advisers https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/3071211/iress-launches-term-assurance-option-advisers Mon, 18 Feb 2019 12:52:52 +0000 AIG Life adapts term assurance for IHT planning <p><!--summary start--> AIG Life has enhanced term assurance to help policyholders cover inheritance tax (IHT) liabilities. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/3062979/aig-life-adapts-term-assurance-iht-planning https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/3062979/aig-life-adapts-term-assurance-iht-planning Tue, 18 Sep 2018 15:59:54 +0000 Zurich pays 91% of group income protection claims in 2017 <p><!--summary start--> Zurich has announced it paid out 91% of new group income protection (GIP) claims ­in 2017 - with average annual benefits of £26k. During the same period, 99% of group life claims were paid by the insurer. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/3036201/zurich-pays-91-income-protection-claims-2017 https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/3036201/zurich-pays-91-income-protection-claims-2017 Thu, 19 Jul 2018 12:26:06 +0000 Guardian unveils 'broader' CI definitions and new adviser platform <p><!--summary start--> Guardian has unveiled its "simple, broader definitions with no general exclusions" for critical illness cover and terminal illness benefit within life cover, based on an ethos of "life made better" for customers and advisers. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/3032395/guardian-unveils-broader-ci-definitions-adviser-platform https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/3032395/guardian-unveils-broader-ci-definitions-adviser-platform Wed, 16 May 2018 09:28:45 +0000 Why the scrapping of L&G's terminal illness exclusion matters <p><!--summary start--> After 30 years, a protection provider finally removes a contentious sentence of small print from its term assurance policy, writes Roger Edwards <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/opinion/2451429/-scrapping-gs-terminal-illness-exclusion-matters https://www.professionaladviser.com/opinion/2451429/-scrapping-gs-terminal-illness-exclusion-matters Thu, 17 Mar 2016 11:52:46 +0000 Protection, you've changed <p><!--summary start--> Dave Miller, head of portal at Avelo, explains how to take advantage of opportunities arising from changes to the protection market. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2265410/protection-youve-changed https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2265410/protection-youve-changed Thu, 2 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000 Protection Watch...with Kevin Carr <p><!--summary start--> Our protection detective gives his verdicts on five key developments in the industry this month. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2167089/protection-watchwith-kevin-carr https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2167089/protection-watchwith-kevin-carr Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:00:00 +0000 Protection watch <p><!--summary start--> Our protection detective gives his verdicts on five key developments in the industry this month. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2155859/protection-watch https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2155859/protection-watch Thu, 1 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Aegon publishes State death benefits guide <p><!--summary start--> Aegon has published a guide to State bereavement payments that will be issued with all death claim packs. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2156087/aegon-publishes-death-benefits-guide https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2156087/aegon-publishes-death-benefits-guide Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:49:30 +0000 Half death claims made for those under 55 <p><!--summary start--> Half the life insurance claims received by Scottish Provident last year were made for those under 55 years old, the insurer has revealed. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2156034/half-death-claims-55 https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2156034/half-death-claims-55 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:24:20 +0000 Grieving families need more short term financial support <p><!--summary start--> Bereavement benefits need to be altered to better support those who have suffered the death of a loved one, government research has found. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2155016/grieving-families-short-term-financial-support https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2155016/grieving-families-short-term-financial-support Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:00:36 +0000 Age immaterial for IP and PMI buyers <p><!--summary start--> Young adults are just as aware of the need to protect their income and health as their elder peers, but fall behind when it comes to life insurance and critical illness (CI). <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2152755/age-immaterial-ip-pmi-buyers https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2152755/age-immaterial-ip-pmi-buyers Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:41:45 +0000 Bright Grey adds simple life and CI product <p><!--summary start--> Bright Grey has added to its simplified products offering with the launch of its Lifestyle Plus plan. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2151964/bright-grey-adds-simple-life-ci-product https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2151964/bright-grey-adds-simple-life-ci-product Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:00:06 +0000 Clients unaware of state bereavement payments <p><!--summary start--> Grieving clients could be missing out on thousands of pounds worth of state bereavement benefits, RGA has said. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2144517/clients-unaware-bereavement-payments https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2144517/clients-unaware-bereavement-payments Tue, 7 Feb 2012 13:05:46 +0000 British troops killed without life cover <p><!--summary start--> Dozens of soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan without taking out life insurance while thousands more have served active duty without cover, it has been revealed. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2144241/british-troops-killed-life-cover https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2144241/british-troops-killed-life-cover Mon, 6 Feb 2012 15:23:42 +0000 Protection complaints exceed 2011 levels <p><!--summary start--> Protection complaints continued to rise during the year and have already breached last year's totals in some product areas. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2139290/protection-complaints-exceed-2011-levels https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2139290/protection-complaints-exceed-2011-levels Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:43:22 +0000 Fifth of life sales should be FIB - LifeSearch <p><!--summary start--> LifeSearch is encouraging protection advisers to increase sales of family income benefit (FIB) products. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2122769/fifth-life-sales-fib-lifesearch https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2122769/fifth-life-sales-fib-lifesearch Fri, 4 Nov 2011 12:49:45 +0000 Quarter of a trillion pounds worth of mortgages unprotected <p><!--summary start--> Britons are leaving mortgages worth £245bn unprotected, according to new research. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2122100/quarter-trillion-pounds-worth-mortgages-unprotected https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2122100/quarter-trillion-pounds-worth-mortgages-unprotected Wed, 2 Nov 2011 15:33:33 +0000 One in ten couples must resort to pauper's funeral <p><!--summary start--> Half of co-habitating Britons do not have any life insurance and many could not afford a funeral if their partner or spouse died, new research has found. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2122079/couples-resort-paupers-funeral https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2122079/couples-resort-paupers-funeral Wed, 2 Nov 2011 14:46:34 +0000 Protection Watch...with Kevin Carr <p><!--summary start--> What Kevin Carr made of developments in protection this month. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/opinion/2118483/protection-watch https://www.professionaladviser.com/opinion/2118483/protection-watch Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0000 Health and protection disputes jump steeply <p><!--summary start--> Protection and health insurance complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) leapt sharply in the second three months of the year. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2117949/health-protection-disputes-jump-steeply https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2117949/health-protection-disputes-jump-steeply Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:19:27 +0000 L&G chief executive Breedon to retire <p><!--summary start--> Tim Breedon, CEO of Legal & General (L&G), is to retire from the company at the end of 2012, when he will have completed a quarter of a century at the insurer. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2111135/-chief-executive-breedon-retire https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2111135/-chief-executive-breedon-retire Thu, 22 Sep 2011 07:40:00 +0000 Britons neglect death preparations as costs continue to rise <p><!--summary start--> The cost of dying rose again last year, according to a new report which suggests loved ones left responsible for making funeral arrangements are unprepared for the burden. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2108746/britons-neglecting-death-preperations-costs-continue-rise https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2108746/britons-neglecting-death-preperations-costs-continue-rise Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:28:00 +0000 Getting away with murder? <p><!--summary start--> When murder is the cause of a claim, life insurance can be a deadly business. But, ask Alex Forsyth and Alex Isted, how do we deal with such cases? <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/opinion/2108242/getting-away-murder https://www.professionaladviser.com/opinion/2108242/getting-away-murder Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:15:12 +0000 Lead Co-op launches life assurance leads <p><!--summary start--> Lead Co-op has launched life assurance leads allowing advisers to alter prices according to the source of the lead in order to reward and encourage quality leads. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2108181/lead-op-launches-life-assurance-leads https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2108181/lead-op-launches-life-assurance-leads Fri, 9 Sep 2011 14:36:00 +0000 The ten most common underwriting queries (and answers) <p><!--summary start--> Not only will the needs of each and every client who needs a protection policy differ, but advisers also have to factor in the different underwriting processes of providers... <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2108128/common-underwriting-queries-answers https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2108128/common-underwriting-queries-answers Fri, 9 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000 Seven startling facts about longevity <p><!--summary start--> A Swiss Re report examining the accuracy of mortality projection models includes several interesting facts about life expectancy. Here are a few of our favourties from that report (plus a few others from elsewhere). <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2106333/seven-startling-longevity https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2106333/seven-startling-longevity Fri, 2 Sep 2011 14:47:24 +0000 Call for overhaul of mortality projection models <p><!--summary start--> Mortality projection models are in need of a radical overhaul to ease insurers' funding problems and give them confidence when pricing future retirement income solutions, an influential new report argues. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2106330/overhaul-mortality-projection-models https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2106330/overhaul-mortality-projection-models Fri, 2 Sep 2011 14:00:00 +0000 Insurers paid £2bn in life and CI claims in 2010 <p><!--summary start--> Critical illness (CI) and life insurance claims payments reached almost £2bn last year, according to figures published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2105181/insurers-pay-gbp2bn-life-ci-claims https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2105181/insurers-pay-gbp2bn-life-ci-claims Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:09:00 +0000 Risk Clinic: Life and CI enhancements <p><!--summary start--> I treat life and critical illness as fairly commoditised products for perfectly healthy people aged under 35. Can I do more to help them in this area? <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/discussion/2070534/risk-clinic-study https://www.professionaladviser.com/discussion/2070534/risk-clinic-study Fri, 13 May 2011 14:35:00 +0000 Aviva pays 95% of CI claims <p><!--summary start--> Aviva paid almost 95% of critical illness (CI) claims and 99.6% of those resulting from death last year. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2042465/aviva-pays-ci-claims https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/2042465/aviva-pays-ci-claims Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:37:18 +0000 Protection Watch...with Kevin Carr <p><!--summary start--> Kevin Carr, chief executive of the Protection Review, gives his verdict on five developments in protection this month… <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2037252/kevin-carrs-protection-watch https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2037252/kevin-carrs-protection-watch Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:25:00 +0000 How to become a business protection expert <p><!--summary start--> In the third of a six part series on business protection, Maria Merricks examines the tools available to help advisers enter the market <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2025137/business-protection-expert https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/2025137/business-protection-expert Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000 Ageas launches low initial cost protection - Low Start <p><!--summary start--> Recently rebranded Ageas Protect has launched ‘Low Start', a personal protection product offering the same cover as its YourLife Plan at a lower initial cost. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1940059/ageas-launches-low-initial-cost-protection-low-start https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1940059/ageas-launches-low-initial-cost-protection-low-start Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:04:07 +0000 Cautiously optimistic <p><!--summary start--> The term assurance sector has been slow and steady recently, but as Owain Thomas writes, it could do with a boost from the housing market <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/1936153/cautiously-optimistic https://www.professionaladviser.com/feature/1936153/cautiously-optimistic Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:19:39 +0000 ASDA protection ad slammed by ASA <p><!--summary start--> A life cover advert by ASDA has been found to have breached TV advertising standards rules by the Advertising Standards Authority. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1868074/asda-protection-slammed-asa https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1868074/asda-protection-slammed-asa Wed, 3 Nov 2010 15:24:00 +0000 Nearly 1 in 2 mortgage holders have no life insurance <p><!--summary start--> Almost 43% of mortgage holders do not have life cover to protect their mortgage, according to data from Sainsbury's life insurance. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1866333/nearly-mortgage-holders-life-insurance https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1866333/nearly-mortgage-holders-life-insurance Tue, 2 Nov 2010 15:39:43 +0000 Scot Prov re-prices life and critical illness cover <p><!--summary start--> Scottish Provident has announced pricing changes to its life and critical illness cover rates. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1810949/scot-prov-prices-life-critical-illness-cover https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1810949/scot-prov-prices-life-critical-illness-cover Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:47:25 +0000 Pure protection complaints continue to rise <p><!--summary start--> The FSA has proposed changes to its complaints handling procedure as it reveals pure protection grievances continued to grow in the first half of the year. <!--summary end--></p> https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1736439/pure-protection-complaints-continue-rise https://www.professionaladviser.com/news/1736439/pure-protection-complaints-continue-rise Thu, 30 Sep 2010 13:45:00 +0000