Guardian have announced that they will be offering a premium deferral option for clients suffering finacial difficulty due to COVID-19. Premiums can be deferred for one, two or three months with cover remaining in place during this period.
At the end of the deferral period, Guardian will provide clients with up to three months in order to repay their missed premiums and this can be paid in instalments as described by Guardian below:
“if you currently pay us £50 a month and you choose a 3-month deferral period, at the end of 3 months you’ll need to pay back a total of £150 in addition to your monthly premiums. We’ll split this equally and collect it alongside your usual premium through your monthly direct debit over the following 3 months. That means we’ll collect £100 a month for 3 months, then go back to your regular £50 a month after that.“
Guardian have also re-iterated that all of their policies come with a built in four week deferred waiver of premium option. This feature enables clients that are unable to work due to injury or illness with their income reduced by 25% or more as a result to waive premiums until they are able to work again. During this period Guardian will pay the missed premiums with no requirement for the client to repay these when they are back at work.
Guardian have also confirmed that clients can also claim under their Premium Waiver if they have involuntarily lost their job or been made redundant. The Premium Waiver will pay out if the client is in employment on or after the first anniversary of their policy, and as a result of involuntarily losing their job or being made redundant they are no longer working. In this case, Guardian will waive premiums for up to 6 months. Clients cannot, however claim under Premium Waiver if they have been furloughed under the Government scheme.
20th April 2020
Guardian has announced that in a bid to support front line workers they will not take into account their direct proximity to patients diagnosed with COVID-19 through their work when considering applications. Whilst they are still likely to postpone applications where the front line worker is in contact with someone suffering from Coronavirus outside of work (such as someone they live with) this is a very positive move and shows their willingness to support such workers whilst they put their own health at risk to support others.
In terms of their definition of a front line worker they include the following occupations:
- Hospital workers
- Ambulance workers and paramedics
- People working at GP surgeries
- COVID-19 testing site workers
- People providing mental healthcare services
- Workers developing a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment
- Pharmacists
- Police
- Elderly care workers
