Beachcroft in talks with major players for new post-retirement product
By Lucy Quinton
A new product set to crack the post-retirement market is rumoured to be surfacing after it was revealed Beachcroft is in talks with senior industry people from distributors to discuss the idea.
Gill Haslam, business development manager at the UK-based law firm, confirmed talks are being held with senior industry players, and revealed: "we are working with a client to develop a new policy."
She added: "This is very much in the early stages as we don't have an insurer company. We are doing market research in London and Bristol to see what the industry thinks".
Beachcroft has an unnamed client who it is working with and will be running a number or roadshows later this month to test the water.
Haslam said: "Market research has stipulated it is necessary to look at the concept of treating customers fairly. This process involved not only looking at the market but also at the distribution of the products."
"The purpose of the roadshows is to glean ideas from people about how a certain product would be received. The idea is at an early stage so it can still be adjusted to fit the needs of the industry," she added.
Nicky Cave, managing director at Eldercare Solutions and director of care services at Ayot Mead, said she welcomed the idea but had not heard of any such product in the market.
The long term care (LTC) market appears to be hotting up as recent reports suggested Symponia is expanding its coverage to include all areas of financial planning for the over 65s market.
Jeremy Davies, joint managing director at Symponia, confirmed the plans but added that it was in no way linked to the Beachcroft idea.
Haslam also confirmed the two ventures were completely independent of each other.
The LTC issue continues to raise concern with people in the insurance world. Attempts to reignite the LTC debate started in earnest earlier this year with two Government reports.
As the UK population is growing older, the need for LTC is becoming more acute.
Inititally the Audit Commission, Healthcare Commission and Commission for Social Care's joint report Living Well in Later Life, showed the overall standard in elderly care remained poor.
This was closely followed by the King's Fund Study, Securing Good Care for Older People, which was a controversial paper recommending a total overhaul of state spending on LTC provision.
