HSBC launches new 'LifeChoices' protection plan
By Lucy Quinton
HSBC has stepped up its game to compete with other areas of the retail sector by launching a protection plan, dubbed LifeChoices.
There are four elements of cover available through the plan; LifeChoice, which involves level or decreasing life insurance providing a lump-sum benefit, with terminal-illness benefit included; SicknessChoice, a monthly benefit paid if the customer is unable to work as a result of an accident or sickness; TraumaChoice, a level or decreasing lump-sum benefit that pays out on the diagnosis of one of five serious illnesses or surgical operations (cancer, coronary artery by-pass grafts, heart attack, stroke and multiple sclerosis); and UnemploymentChoice, a monthly benefit paid following involuntary redundancy or if the customer leaves work to become a carer.
The elements can be mixed and matched depending on the consumer's lifestyle after an assessment with an HSBC adviser.
In addition, the plan includes a simplified underwriting process, which reduces the risk of accidental non-disclosure of a medical condition and removes the time-consuming aspect of filling in forms.
The product has been launched on the back of HSBC's own research that revealed there was still a significant proportion of scepticism and a general lack of understanding regarding where and when consumers should be prioritising their protection requirements.
