Income Protection

The proportion of critical illness complaints upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service rose by 1% to 25% in the July-September 2014 quarter.

The Money Advice Service has announced that it is supporting the Seven Families campaign.

Unum has announced it will increase the number of staff on its sales team who work face to face with brokers in a bid to grow the UK protection market.

The UK 'protection gap"'is well documented but family lending is reportedly helping Britons to plug the gap in household finances to the tune of £31 billion. GRiD's Katharine Moxham ponders the role of employers in financial education.

Those living in rented accommodation are half as likely as mortgaged households to have any protection policies and only 15% are saving to have a mortgage.

GPs expect to refer just a third of eligible patients to the incoming Fit for Work (FfW) service and want it to be extended to people not working.

More life insurers are writing policies for people with HIV but critical illness and income protection policies are still unavailable despite 61% of people surveyed saying they would 'consider' taking out a policy.

Ellipse's charity initiative 'You quote, we donate' has chosen its three charities for the remainder of 2014.

ACE Group has launched an income protection product, Sickpay Plus, where claims can be made from 8 days after an individual is signed off as sick or injured.

Unum has urged the government to improve take-up of income protection (IP) through four key steps including channels such as the Money Advice Service (MAS) raising awareness of sickness absence.