The rapidly developing news of the spread of Coronavirus and how this may impact our family, friends, colleagues and partners is a huge concern for us all.
At LV=, we’re taking all necessary measures to help ensure the safety of our people and support for policyholders and advisers by following the latest government advice. We’re doing everything we can to support you and your clients through these unprecedented and fast moving times; this may mean we are forced to make rapid changes to our product and service propositions and processes.
In view of the current market conditions, we’re making two changes to LV= Personal Sick Pay (PSP), with effect from today, Friday 27 March.
- Suspension to new business: Day 1 and Week 1 waiting periods for LV= Personal Sick Pay
We are temporarily suspending new business for Day 1 and Week 1 waiting periods on PSP.
We are one of the last remaining providers offering cover for these periods, and to protect our interests and those of our existing members, we’ve taken the decision to stop accepting new applications from today, 27 March 2020.
We won’t accept new applications for Day/Week 1 PSP received from today. We‘ll honour applications in the pipeline and we can accept applications which have been started, but not submitted on Fastway – our quote and apply platform. However, we’re unable to accept any new applications with valid quotes only.
We’ll no longer pay ‘self-isolation’ claims under LV= Personal Sick Pay
As we all follow the additional ‘stay at home’ social distancing measures announced on Monday, the UK Government has extended its package of financial support for UK workers, including additional assistance for the self-employed.
Until now LV= has offered support to existing (pre 9 March 2020) PSP policyholders with short waiting periods – who were not ill, but suffering a loss of income where they were following NHS 111 guidance for self-isolation. We did so outside of our normal policy terms and conditions. As the Government steps up, we’ll stop paying all claims for self-isolation with effect from today, 27 March 2020.
We’ll still pay for confirmed diagnosis or symptoms suggesting Coronavirus (COVID 19), which makes the policyholder too ill to work. We’ll assess and pay their claim in the usual way, reflecting their chosen waiting period and the policy terms and conditions.
How we’re supporting you and your clients– help us help you
We understand the Coronavirus pandemic is affecting everyone differently. We know these are uncertain times, and many people will need the most up to date information from us about their claims, their protection policies and recent applications.
We’re doing everything possible to meet these demands. However, our lines are busier than usual and our opening hours have changed to 9am to 4.30pm. We ask that you only phone us if it’s absolutely essential. Please use our designated mailboxes and refer to our Coronavirus web content wherever you can. This means we can dedicate our efforts to supporting our members who are making a claim and our most vulnerable existing policyholders.
Claims: healthclaims@lv.com
Existing policies: ebprotection@lv.com
New applications: protection.admin@lv.com
For new business applications, Fastway – our online quote and apply system – offers point of sale decisions on a high percentage of applications. Login to use our pre-underwriting tool – Use Fastway.
You can find the latest information and news about Coronavirus and LV=, as well as answers to common questions by visiting our dedicated content and FAQs.
