Ian Sawyer, managing director at Assured Futures, agreed: “Being an independent broker and a protection specialist means that we have access to the widest panels in the UK. This combination enables our advisers to understand the market and have an in-depth knowledge of each insurer and that they will and will not cover. We were recently able to get life cover for a client with a rare kidney disease by working closely with an insurer we knew would consider offering cover, which most insurers would decline. Without this knowledge, there is a high possibility that this client would be left frustrated with the process and more importantly lacking the cover they need.”
What are providers doing well?
Meanwhile, insurers are being increasingly innovative in a bid to offer better tailored solutions, allowing more people to obtain cover.
“The Exeter extend offers to cover people with BMI’s of 50+ when many insurers would decline a BMI of over 45,” says Mead.
“IRESS Exchange is now asking for BMI too,” adds Ms Thomson. “It’s good that portals are asking more questions to make quotes more meaningful, but more can be done.”
Cover for the chronic
Meanwhile, the provision of specialist cover for certain widespread chronic diseases – such as diabetes - is helping to move the market forward. Around 4.6 million people in the UK are living with diabetes, according to charity Diabetes UK.
Traditionally, getting protection for individuals with this condition involved a lengthy underwriting process, followed by hefty loadings or exclusions.
Ms Thomson comments this situation has improved with many providers now extending their standard income protection products to those with diabetes. “While others, such as Royal London, are taking it a step further to help people with diabetes receive cover via dedicated products and services.”
Royal London’s Diabetes Life Cover is now widely available for those with Type 1 diabetes and less well controlled type 2, after a smaller launch last year through a limited number of advisers to test market appetite for the product.
Premiums can be reduced by up to 40% of the customer is managing their diabetes well, but will never exceed the premium set at the start of the policy.
Also acknowledging that risk isn’t static, VitalityLife launched real-time online decisions for Type 1 diabetics last year (automated decisions for Type 2 have been available for some years). This provides a fully underwritten final decision for diabetics who’ve achieved good control of their condition without complications.
Nicholas Lax, head of technical marketing at VitalityLife, adds: “We’ve made changes to our underwriting rules engine to enable us to offer cover easier and quicker for other chronic conditions such as Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Hypertension and Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.
