Protection Update 15th October 2021
Protection update 15th October
Hi everyone,
It’s Friday 15th October and this is the protection update.
Now I’ve just returned from holiday after a week off but there are couple of things to make you aware of.
The Exeter Product Changes
Firstly, the Exeter have recently made some changes to their ‘Life Cover’ proposition. You’ll remember they had 2x life cover products but now merged these together (in a similar way they’ve done with their Income Protection).
And this means the only life cover product with the Exeter is ‘Real Life’ and this only comes with Guaranteed premiums.
That was a key piece of adviser feedback (they didn’t like variable premiums which could increase or decrease based on how the client manages their health).
But a big, key thing you now need to bear in mind is that when you need to quote and apply; you will have to do this directly through the Exeter’s portal. You cannot quote through Solution Builder – this is no longer available.
Now that logic does make sense really because when you’re quoting through Solution Builder; you aren’t really comparing apples against apples if you know your client isn’t going to get standard terms due to them having a health issue.
Typically, we’re talking about clients who have had a heart attack or suffer with Angina. They might have suffered a stroke; have type 2 diabetes. The other key area where ‘Real Life’ fits is those clients with a high BMI.
So, how do you quote?
I’ve added a link to this protection update with all the details, but there are 2 quote options:
- Partially underwritten Quote
- Quick Quote
The Exeter ‘Real Life’ product page >>
The option of a ‘Partially Underwritten Quote’ is where you contact their underwriters who will tell you an indicative loading over the phone based on what you tell them.
You will then be able to input your clients basic contact details to receive your quotation.
Or you can produce a quick quote yourself through the Exeter Portal.
Protection Guru did a piece on these changes recently and I’ve added a link to this protection update.
Read the Protection Guru article now >>
What you’ll see there is a couple of examples of the types of clients who might fit this product.
The first example client they illustrate is John. He’s a male age 48 non-smoker. He wants level term life cover for £150,000 for the next 25 years.
The problem is that he’s got type 2 diabetes and he’s had it for 15 years and unlike some type 2 diabetics; he takes insulin.
He’s also got a HbA1c reading of 10%, which if you consider around 5% is good; I’d say that’s not particularly well controlled.
The other issue with John is that he also has a BMI of 40. Now to translate that; let’s say John is 5 foot 11 inches; that equates to him weighing over 20 stone.
A client like that would fit this product. You would be looking at a permanent premium rating of around 300% which the Exeter show in this example, a guaranteed premium of £118.86.
The next example the Exeter illustrate is Sarah. She’s a 37-year-old non-smoker and she would like £300,000 of decreasing term cover for the next 30 years (so that’s to age 67).
The issue with Sarah is she has a high BMI of 51. She’s 5-foot 1 inch tall and weighs over 19 stone.
That type of client would fit this product also and whilst there would be a permanent rating of 375%; she can get cover for a guaranteed premium of £84.85 per month.
Protection Guru say that this change within the Exeter proposition will hopefully have limited impact for client because it will be an excellent alternative that not only covers clients with high BMI and diabetes as we’ve talked about there; but also, a whole host of other conditions that would see the client refused cover elsewhere.
MetLife – changes on the horizon
Hopefully you’re picking this protection update on Friday 15th because from Monday next week – that’s 18th October, you will see some changes (for the better) with the MetLife proposition.
MultiProtect which I know many of you are fans of will be rebranded to ‘Everyday Protect’ – that’s from Monday.
What’s changing? Well, entry ages are being improved so that clients up to the age of 64 can now apply for cover (it used to be up to the age of 59).
The expiry age of the contract is being bumped up to 75 (was 70 previously).
MetLife are now going to be covering pregnancy related complications under their hospitalisation cover – this was previously excluded.
And the other thing I picked up with about the lifestyle cover which used to cover complete ligament tears only; the coverage is going to become broader to include partial ligament tears.
And there will be a slight increase on the premium for this cover.
I haven’t done it justice in terms of the changes, but the MetLife account executives will be in touch with you and I’ll include some links once they go live in next weeks protection update.
And I’ve added the registration link to this weeks protection update for the webinars that MetLife will be running every day next week –
Register for the MetLife Webinars >>
Protection Guru – Protection awards 2021
You might have noticed it’s awards season at the moment. There’s lots going on and we’ve had lots of recognition for advisers within the Right Mortgage & Protection Network including Weystone Financial, Strathon Park and the Protection Parent.
By the way; if I have missed anyone, please shout. There are a lot of awards happening right now and it is difficult to keep track of everything that’s going on but we really should celebrate our successes and industry recognition – it’s important.
Anyway, next Friday 22nd are the Protection Guru Protection Awards and I’m delighted to say that the Right Mortgage & Protection Network have been nominated in the ‘best network for protection advice’ category and we’ve been shortlisted alongside just 2 other networks.
Protection Guru say this is all about how networks have supported their members to provider better protection advice by delivering training, support materials etc.
As Kevin Keegan once said; “I’d love it if we beat them…” Let’s see. I’ll report back to you as soon as we find out.
And by the way, the Right DA club have also been nominated in the Best Protection Support Group / Compliance Service category.
And last, but by no means least; fingers crossed for Karla Edwards from the Protection Parent. The Protection Parent has been nominated in the ‘Best New Protection Adviser Firm’ award – Fingers Crossed Karla!
Business Protection Webinar Series
One of the biggest opportunities in protection is Business Protection. So many advisers don’t do it for a variety of different reasons but it isn’t that hard, you’ve definitely got clients already who will have business protection needs and the providers will give you so much help and assistance to get cases over the line.
We will look at Business Protection as a campaign next year, but if this is an area of development you are interested in right now and you don’t want to wait until next year; Vitality are running a week of different webinars at 12 noon every day next week.
I’ve added the links and a brief description to each session on this protection update and obviously, if you’re interested; all you need to do is register.
Day 1 – Taking the First Steps | 18 October at 12pm – Register
Day 2 – Relevant Life Plans | 19 October at 12pm – Register
Day 3 – Key Person and Business Loan Protection | 20 October at 12pm – Register
Day 4 – Shareholder and Partnership Protection | 21 October at 12pm – Register
Day 5 – Next steps – Protecting the whole business | 22 Oct at 12pm – Register
Protection Insight Podcast – LV= Mortgage & Rent Cover
Now we’ve not talked about Income Protection yet in this protection update, but I will be publishing income protection related podcasts each week, for the next few weeks.
This week I sat down with Carl Heard from LV= and we talked about their Mortgage and Rent cover.
It’s a bit different but I was really surprised about how affordable this type of cover actually is.
Take a look at the Protection Insight Podcast which is attached to this week’s protection update and see for yourself.
Better Sick Pay Schemes – Final workshop, next week 20th October at 10am
And finally, I just want to mention the last of our ‘Better Sick Pay Schemes’ protection focus workshops which we will be running next Wednesday 20th October at 10am.
We’ve got a different set of providers on this session including Royal London, MetLife & National Friendly.
They’ve all got a brief to work to and the objective is to illustrate how you can utilise their proposition to plug those sick pay gaps that so many people actually have.
As usual I’ll top and tail the workshop and there will be room for lots of questions and answers.
So, the final call to action is that if you want to attend and haven’t registered, click on the link on this protection update and I will see you there next week.
Better Sick Pay Schemes 20th October – Register >>
Have a great weekend everyone. Looks like it’s starting to get cold now so wrap up well and I’ll see you next week.
