15th November 2006
Leading income protection insurer, UnumProvident, has become the first insurer in the UK to provide individuals with the opportunity to take out a standalone income protection policy that will cover them until they are 70 years old.
This landmark development follows on from the recent implementation of new age discrimination legislation which is likely to see more people over the age of 60 employed in the workplace and wishing to cover their income until they retire.
Linton Penman, Head of Retail Marketing at UnumProvident said:
It’s no secret that we are generally living for much longer. At the current state retirement age, a man can expect to live a further 17 years, while a woman can generally expect to live for a slightly longer 19 years*. But how many people can actually afford to take longer retirement?
If you can’t afford to save more in a pension and you don’t want to take a lower retirement income by spreading your pension further, the only other option is to work for longer – something which is now much more feasible under new age discrimination laws.
And if you still need to earn a living at 65, given the increased risk of illness that is associated with getting older, you’ll arguably need income protection. This is made all the more necessary by the fact that fewer people are now in good quality company pension schemes that can offer enhanced benefits where early retirement is taken on ill health grounds.
As a specialist in income protection, UnumProvident has responded to these developments by offering cover until age 70 to people in most occupations, subject to underwriting, through the following products:
- Personal Income Replacement Plan, which allows both employees and the self employed to protect their earnings;
- Primary Income Replacement Plan, which can be used to cover the cost of fixed term, commitments such as a mortgage or education and training costs; and
- Executive Income Replacement Plan, which can be used by employers to offer selected employees enhanced sick pay arrangements
The insurer has had to work closely with each of the major IFA portals, to make this available to the market. Advisers can already request age 70 quotes via Assureweb and Webline; and will soon also be able to obtain quotes on this basis through the Exchange.
UnumProvident’s decision to increase the age limit on its individual income protection products builds on its extensive work in the area of group income protection, where cover has also been extended to age 70 to enable employers to operate within new age discrimination legislation by offering the same benefits to all employees.
Linton Penman continues:
Having done the necessary work to be able to provide employers with this option for Group IP, we feel that it is now appropriate for us to extend this to our individual customers as well.
For further information on UnumProvident’s products individuals should contact an independent financial adviser.
ENDS
* Government Actuary’s Department Website