In August this year, the British National Party (BNP) launched its financial protection arm, Albion ...
In August this year, the British National Party (BNP) launched its financial protection arm, Albion Life, offering life insurance and life insurance with critical illness cover to its members.
The move certainly raised a few eyebrows in the market, in particular, since the organisation seems to be encouraging its policyholders to name BNP as one of their beneficiaries.
Fair or not fair - this begs the question whether political parties should be allowed to offer financial products.
Taking the BNP's political stance aside (in itself likely to stop many people from treating Albion Life as a serious alternative), the majority of industry commentators see this latest development as a positive thing.
With the protection gap continuing to grow, every little thing that could help reverse this trend, should be greatly welcomed, they argue. If that means political parties promoting their own brand of life cover then so be it.
However, the issue with Albion Life is not the fact that it is offering life cover but that it is trying to encourage potential subscribers to consider not just their immediate family but also the "extended one", which in plain English means giving financial support to the BNP.
Should an organisation be able to fund its political agenda by offering life cover? This is debatable.
Sure, more choice should be a good thing, and the Albion Life offering will certainly be suitable for some. However, for the protection industry as a whole, becoming a financial instrument through which various political bodies support themselves runs the risk of damaging the sector's reputation further.
Johanna Gornitzki, editor
