ProtectionOct 31 2018

LV adds value to IP offering

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LV adds value to IP offering

I have three young children, so anything that benefits parents or children catches my eye.

Being an insurance adviser I am sure you can imagine that I have some pretty good insurance in place.

Even so, I still made sure that I signed up for the free parent life cover with Aviva and Legal & General for each of my kids.

I do not think it is possible to over promote just how important additional perks and benefits of insurance can be when it comes to protecting our children for the future.

Cue my interest in LVs recent update to their income protection contract. I have always felt that LV income protection is a strong product, being flexible to support different occupations and employee sick pay structures.

They have now upped the ante, by adding an automatic benefit that will pay six times the monthly income replacement (to a max of £25,000), if a policyholder’s child is diagnosed with one of 54 conditions or medical procedures; this is for biological, step or adopted children. This will allow parents to take unpaid leave to look after their children, at a time when all focus should be on the child.

For me, this would mean the world. The last thing I would want to think about if my child was ill, is whether or not I could pay my bills.

A claim can be made once for each child and is classed as an additional benefit to the income protection policy itself, and can be paid in addition to any child benefits that are in place under a parent’s critical illness plan.

Enhanced benefits for children are not for everyone, and LV has paid attention to this, by improving the whole of its income protection offering. 

It is now offering its NHS sick pay guarantee scheme, to include dentists, doctors and surgeons, that are eligible for this employee benefit, even if they are not directly employed by the NHS. It is also now able to consider one year’s income as proof of earnings for the self-employed, something that will be of great interest to this client set, who really do need as much help as possible if they fall ill, as they have no employer to fall back on for support. LV has also extended its rehabilitation support services to kick in as soon as they are unable to work due to ill health. This is a fantastic proactive mindset, providing practical support to address medical concerns and enable people to get back to work as soon as possible.

Chris McNab, head of protection at LV, says: “It is essential that we demonstrate the value of income protection and that our policies reflect the true experience of people who need to take time off work.”

Overall, I think LV has made some strong changes to their income protection offering. 

As a parent, this new product is attractive. As an adviser, it is clearly a strong contender for any client who may need income protection and has children.

Kathryn Knowles is managing director of Cura Financial Services