Legal & General has launched an Income Protection Benefit (IPB) product including an income guarantee and the removal of state benefits being deducted from monthly benefit payments.
Income guarantee to be introduced for the lesser of £1,500 or the monthly benefit amount specified in the policy schedule.
In addition, there 5% premium discount for all full spinal and mental illness exclusions and 3% on partial spinal exclusions.
Georgina Shield, senior product manager for Income Protection Benefit at Legal & General Protection said: "If a claim is made under Life or Critical Illness Cover the policy pays out the expected amount. However, if the life assured became ill or incapacitated our previous IPB policy sometimes saw claimants get a lower benefit than they expected. We wanted to put that right and this product does just that."
The changes follow a full strategic review of IPB, which included a request for distribution feedback from Legal & General's IFA division, banks and building Societies, Legal & General Network and other key stakeholders.
Peter Le Beau, chairman of the Income Protection Task Force said: "I am delighted to see Legal & General being prepared to take income protection very seriously. Their new product looks very competitive and a lot of thought has gone into developing areas where there was room for improvement like the extension of the own occupation definition and the Income Guarantee.
"I also like their openness over claims disclosure. I think this has a very positive influence on other leading offices."
