By Johanna Gornitzki Zurich will be launching a new protection range at the beginning of September,...
By Johanna Gornitzki
Zurich will be launching a new protection range at the beginning of September, available to the whole of the IFA market.
The two new products to be rolled out - decreasing mortgage cover and level protection plan - will both be available on a guaranteed or reviewable basis.
Benefits that can be added will include guaranteed critical illness (CI) as well as an integrated income protection (IP) benefit.
If a policyholder takes out a life plan with both CI and IP added, the integrated IP will pay out until the policyholder retires or becomes well or in case they claim on their CI benefit, in which case the IP cover will stop paying out.
Putting these covers together will provide a cost saving of up to 30% compared with IP and CI being bought as separate plans, according to Zurich.
Gerry Warner, protection development manager at Zurich, commented: "It is a nice little fit. Because the IP benefit stops paying out earlier than a normal IP plan in case the policyholder makes a CI claim there is a saving in cost." He added that another aspect is that by offering both IP and CI under one plan there is a greater chance customers will be able to claim.
Zurich has also added other changes, such as offering free cover between exchange of contracts and mortgage completion, and will now cover (although capped) any CI diagnosis or IP claim during this period if the policy was due to cover this. A new separation option within joint policies will also allow both policyholders to have the full sum assured each for the remainder of the term on single policies, without further underwriting.
The guaranteed CI benefit covers 34 conditions and the integrated IP cover is for own occupation.
