Income Protection Archives | The Mortgage Merchant

Protection Insurance- It’s good to talk

Over a third of tenants (34%) would be immediately unable to pay their
rent from their savings if they lost their job, says Shelter (1) .

Yet just 11% of renters have insurance to protect them financially if they
couldn’t work (2) .

Unlike homeowners, who are usually advised on the benefits of protection
insurance when taking out a mortgage, renters have less exposure to financial
advice.

Bridging the gap

Having discussions about protection insurance with friends and family who are
renting could help to bridge this gap and ensure that more renters understand
the benefits.

If you have any friends or family members who rent and are interested in
income protection, please don’t hesitate to refer them to us for professional
advice.

As with all insurance policies, conditions and exclusions will apply.

(1) Shelter, 2023
(2) LV=, 2022

Jake

October 10, 2023

Market update

Income Protection, Landlord, Paying rent, Tenants
Why you shouldn’t cancel your protection

Research shows that a rising number of people are cancelling their protection insurance policies as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.

According to research by Consumer Intelligence (1) , 8.2% of people have cancelled
or reduced an insurance policy and 6.8% said they would consider cutting back
in the future.

Not the answer

It is understandable that households struggling with basic expenses would look
to cut costs wherever possible. However, cutting back on protection insurance
could make an already difficult situation much worse.

It won’t happen to me

There is a tendency to think that bad things only happen to other people, but the
fact is that you never know what is around the corner. Protecting yourself
financially is one of the best ways to minimise your vulnerability to financial
shocks.

Sadly, being too sick to work is not as rare as you might think. According to the
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2) , the number of working-age people who
can’t work due to long-term sickness is now 2.5 million.

You’re not alone

If you’re looking to cut costs and don’t know where to start, we’re here to help
by identifying areas where you may be able to economise – without sacrificing
your vital protection cover.

As with all insurance policies, conditions and exclusions will apply

(1) Consumer Intelligence, 2023
(2) ONS, 2023

Jake

October 6, 2023

Market update

Cancelling Protection, critical illness, Expenses, Income Protection, life insurance, ONS, Protection
Payouts and policies rise in 2022

Insurers supported people experiencing bereavement, illness, or injury
to the tune of £6.85bn in 2022, according to latest figures from the
Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Upwards trend

This total includes payouts from group and individual protection policies.
Individual policies paid out £4.64bn on life insurance, income protection and
critical illness claims, while group policies, which provide protection products
through an employer, paid out £2.21bn.

Protection when it’s needed

In total, some 287,000 individual claims were paid, with the average payout
from these policies increasing for the third year in a row to £15,448, a 9%
boost.

Over 15,900 people claimed against individual income protection policies in
2022, another 9% increase from the previous year. The total value of these
claims also rose by 22%. For the second consecutive year, the main cause of
individual income protection claims (34%) concerned musculoskeletal issues.

Acceptance rates stay high

The number of new individual claims paid has consistently been around 98%
since 2017. More than half of declined claims resulted from customers who had
not told their insurer key details about themselves or their circumstances.

As with all insurance policies, conditions and exclusions will apply

Jake

August 17, 2023

Market update

2022, ABI, acceptance rates stay high, critical illness, Income Protection, life insurance, Payouts, policies, Protection, protection when its needed, rise, upwards trend
Income Protection – for everyone

Interesting data has highlighted that although over 50% of married
couples rely on both their incomes to cover the expense of their monthly
costs, just 13% have purchased income protection (IP). This leaves a
huge number of couples and their families vulnerable to financial
shocks.

And don’t forget stay-at-home parents

In addition, the research cautioned that when applying for protection cover,
people tend to focus too much on the breadwinner, overlooking the contribution
of stay-at-home parents. With 28% of stay-at-home parents saying their partner
would have to take time off work if they were unable to look after their children
due to illness or injury, the impact on household financial resilience could be
significant.

Times have changed

It is vital that people appreciate the potential impact of not having the
appropriate cover in place. Having IP means you know you’ll always have money
coming in if you were to lose your income for medical reasons (physical or
mental, illness or injury). Everyone’s circumstances are different, whether you’re
single, married, children, no children, working or caring, we adopt a tailored
approach to protection requirements, get in touch, we can help.

As with all insurance policies, conditions and exclusions will apply

LV, 2023

Jake

August 17, 2023

Market update

2023, Income Protection, interesting data, IP, LV, Stay at home parent, Times have changed

Protection Insurance- It’s good to talk

Bridging the gap

Why you shouldn’t cancel your protection

Research shows that a rising number of people are cancelling their protection insurance policies as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.

Not the answer

It won’t happen to me

You’re not alone

Payouts and policies rise in 2022

Income Protection – for everyone