Royal & SunAlliance (RSA) is to revamp its product strategy, placing more focus on term assurance and income protection this year, including the introduction of a range of IFA e-business initiatives.
The initiatives outlined in RSA's 2002 product strategy for its UK life and pensions business also include increasing attention towards the IFA corporate business market and also its individual protection business.
Neil Southworth, research and development leader at Royal & SunAlliance, said that RSA saw substantial growth in its group corporate business last year and said it is important for employers to take care of their employees.
'In terms of income protection (IP) and critical illlness (CI) cover, employers need to make their employee benefits package stand out in order to retain employees. RSA offers a claims handling service which helps with rehabilitation. We are planning to offer this to corporate clients and also to smaller companies with fewer employees this year,' he said.
For level term assurance, RSA wants to provide lower rates to the middle to older age groups and will be implementing this by the end of the first quarter.
'We will also revamp our IP product range in the second quarter which will mean improved rates. We have also seen significant opportunities in credit protection, particularly with mortgages and also loans. Later in the year we want to look at generic flexible products covering a range of features from CI to term assurance. These will be flexible and adjustable to suit needs,' he added.
As part of its e-business proposals, RSA is planning to link with IFAs. 'We will be working down the electronic processes of writing insurance, from underwriting to servicing the product. This will be in relation to technically advanced IFAs. The marketplace is about to enter a dynamic period of change and we need to move quickly,' Southworth said.
