Norwich Union set to roll-out added payout benefit
Norwich Union is planning to launch a guaranteed claims pilot within the next few weeks.
The added benefit, which will offer policyholders a guarantee that their protection policies will pay out, will be available for an extra £2 to £3 a month, according to Darren Dicks, head of protection marketing at Norwich Union.
However, Dicks added that the firm is still trying to decide whether to apply a blanket fee or whether the cost should be tiered or based on a percentage.
"For an average premium of £500 a year, £2 to £3 a month is not too bad, but for a young life this amount could be quite large," Dicks said.
The guarantee will not be a part of a completely new product range but will instead be added to Norwich Union's existing protection offering - mainly on the critical illness insurance side where the main problems with declined claims lie.
Market speculation has suggested that Norwich Union has teamed up with protection specialist LifeSearch to launch this guarantee, however, Dicks refuted the claim.
"At the moment we haven't got anything planned. We want to launch a pilot to see if it meets a need out there and if it works we can build on that," he said.
