Sun Life Direct rebrands and enters direct to consumer protection market

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Sun Life Direct is to rebrand as Sun Life, with ambitions to become the UK's leading direct-to-consumer financial services brand.

The insurer will be rolling out suite of savings, general insurance and protection products, both the firm's own and with partner insurers.

Sun Life is already the largest direct provider of insurance in the UK with over 850,000 Over 50 Plan policyholders.

Dean Lamble, managing director of SunLife, said: "RDR reduced the number of advisers and the number of customers seen per adviser, as auto-enrolment is driving people to engage with financial products and technology is leading people to self-serve ever more.

"There is a mass market for simplified products. Many everyday customers have been left underserved by the financial services industry.

"We have set ourselves up as a distributor, we are not going to be manufacturing the products, we just looked around the market for the best products and modified them accordingly for direct sales.

"Our main aim is to focus on the customer engagement."

Today's launch begins with Sun Life Direct's over 50 plan and a new stocks and shares ISA , with a guarantee of return of premium at the ten year point.

On the protection side Sun Life is launching a term with critical illness product, due in the middle of August this year.

In order to tailor the product for direct sales through telephony or online, the underwriting has been reduced to 12 questions with no medical underwriting. Sun Life estimates this will successfully underwrite 80% of the population.

By the first quarter of 2015 Sun life expects to release an income protection policy, through a partner, with a limited benefit period of one to two years, covering sickness and accident.

Other products include a cancer only policy due for market by the end of the year. This will be a simple product with a cash payout.

A funeral and will plan is also being released, with home insurance product expected at the end of this year.

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