Just an update
Monday 17th March. This week's headlines:
Zurich | Make Improvements to Income Protection Cover
Zurich have enhanced their Income Protection proposition to offer your customers even more support if they are ill or injured and can't work.
Zurich have listened to your feedback about what your customers need from their income protection cover. Their new product is comprehensive yet simple and designed to provide greater certainty and clarity for your customers at the point of claim.
Here's what's included:
Cover 65% of the first £60,000 of gross earnings and 45% of anything above, up to £20,000 a month
Two guarantees to protect your customers who may experience fluctuating incomes or have uncertainty around regular salary increases - Maximum Benefit Guarantee and Minimum Benefit Guarantee
Rehabilitation support to help your customers with their recovery and ongoing financial support through our Return to Work Package and linked claims.
Four features that help protect your customers who fall ill or are injured when they aren’t working – Sabbatical Cover, Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Benefit, Own Occupation Guarantee and House Person Benefit
NHS sick pay matching for even more medical professionals with a simple payment approach
Fixed payments and improved coverage under our optional Income Protection Enhanced Cover.
Find out more about these changes and more by joining one of their webinars and discover the benefits these changes could have for both you and your customers.
Other updates and improvements to our products and Life Protection Platform
As well as updating our Income Protection proposition, we've also made some other changes to our products and platform to make it easier for you to do business with us.
Pipeline Impacts:
Following the above changes, Zurich are reducing the maximum age of entry from 64 to 59.Please be aware that any current quotes over the age of 59 need to be progressed at least to the AMRA stage as soon as possible.
Dedicated Income Protection Page:
https://www.zurichintermediary.co.uk/incomeprotection
Central Webinar Programme:
https://www.zurichintermediary.co.uk/documentlibrary/protection#ip
Webinars in March
We are pleased to confirm that once again all of the Protection Providers on panel will be running bite sized webinars in March, on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 March.
The sessions are perfect for everyone, from new advisers wanting to understand each provider’s proposition to more experienced advisers looking to keep their knowledge up to date. Each session is just 30 minutes long and qualifies for CPD (Self-serve via insight).
As well as all our protection panel providers, we have sessions from:
Openwork covering sales process top tips and a demo of the updated protection presenter tool
iPipeline covering how to get the best from Solution Builder
Paymentshield covering their GI proposition
Cura looking at how they can help with clients with adverse risks
Usay Compare exploring opportunities in the PMI market and how they can help and
Coop Legal Services explaining their proposition and how they can help clients, starting with a free legal review
Just use the links below to join or pre-register for the events you want to attend. Where pre-registration is required this is shown in the link.
Tuesday 25 March
Aviva: 25 March 9am (registration required)
Vitality: 25 March 10am (registration required)
MetLife: 25 March 11am
Protection Sales Process Top Tips: 25 March 12pm
Paymentshield: 25 March 1pm
Legal & General: 25 March 2pm (registration required)
Personal Protection Presenter Demonstration: 25 March 3pm (registration required)
Cura: 25 March 4pm
Wednesday 26 March
Zurich: 26 March 9am
iPipeline Solution Builder: 26 March 10am (registration required)
The Exeter: 26 March 11am
Usay Compare: 26 March 12pm
Royal London: 26 March 1pm
LV=: 25 March 2pm (registration required)
Guardian: 26 March 3pm
Coop Legal Services: 26 March 4pm
How Vitality is taking life insurance to the next-level
Vitality is excited to announce that their new Accident and Fracture Cover, along with the latest enhancements to their Income Protection Cover, and Advanced Funeral Pledge are now available for clients. These innovations, announced at their recent Launch 2025 event, are designed to provide comprehensive and flexible protection cover for your clients. Discover more below.
Accident and Fracture Cover has landed
The latest additions to Vitality's market-leading suite of protection products. Your clients won’t just benefit from market-leading payouts of up to £10,000 for fractures, they’ll also get unique cover for accidents and emergency surgery.* Plus, they’ll get access to up to six physio sessions to help them recover after their claim. All in one product.
Greater support for your clients
Clients making a relevant claim can now access enhanced support with the addition of a new neurological rehabilitation pathway as part of Vitality’s Recovery Benefit on Income Protection Cover. What’s more, as soon as your clients start using their Recovery Benefit, the premium will be waived for up to three months when they are in their deferred period.
Advanced Funeral Pledge
Sometimes medical evidence is needed to assess death claims before they can be approved, causing a delay. Vitality’s enhanced pledge means they’ll now pay £2,000 directly to a funeral director as soon as they receive evidence of death, and this advancement will help bereaved loved ones much sooner.
For more information, head to adviser.vitality.co.uk
Do 60% of your customers lack a will?
According to a recent survey1, almost 60% of UK adults do not have a will in place.
A lack of a will could lead to several complications:
1.Intestacy Rules: Without a will, an individual's estate is distributed according to the UK's intestacy laws, which may not align with personal wishes.
2.Family Disputes: Ambiguities in asset distribution can result in disagreements among surviving family members.
3.Increased Costs and Delays: The absence of a clear directive can lead to longer probate processes and higher legal expenses.
4.Unintended Beneficiaries: Assets might pass to unintended individuals, excluding those the deceased might have preferred to benefit.
As Mortgage & Protection professionals, you can avoid your customer being part of the 60% by referring them to Co-op Legal Services for a FREE and no obligation legal review.
As part of the FREE legal review, Co-op Legal Services will:
Work to understand your customer's circumstances and what's important to them
Review any existing estate planning and consider how effectively it meets their needs
Discuss which type of will is right for your customer and help them understand the benefits
Explain how to make a will that's Inheritance Tax-efficient (if relevant)
Discuss how a trust will might provide greater protection for your customer's home and savings
Explain how your customer can retain control of their healthcare and finances, and protect their loved ones, in the event of accident or illness, by appointing attorneys
Halifax | New Inte only calculator
What’s new?
Following your feedback, Halifax have added a new Interest only calculator to their website’s Calculator and tools page. For customer’s considering taking all or part of their mortgage on an interest only basis this will help you understand the maximum amount available on an interest only basis, particularly when using the Sale of Mortgaged Property (SOMP) repayment plan.
Key information
• The calculator will show the maximum loan amount available on interest only, or on a part interest only/part repayment basis.
• The result on SOMP will take into account the various tiers for the amount of equity required.
• Use the mortgage affordability calculator to check the maximum loan affordable for a particular customer.
You can find all Halifax’s interest only criteria here.
Try the Interest only calculator
HSBC UK’s economy webinars – not to be missed
If you want to know more about the current economic climate, register for one of HSBC’s webinars.
Hosted by HSBC UK’s Tracie Burton, Senior Corporate Account Manager, alongside their Group Economist, who will be giving you their latest views on the global and UK economy, as well as their reflections on the recent Spring budget.
How to register
To register for one of the webinars, please click on your preferred option below and enter your details.
Monday 7th April - 14:00
Friday 11th April - 11:00
Both webinars will last approx. 60 minutes (you only need to attend one as content repeats)
Foreign Nationals criteria reminder
HSBC recently changed their Foreign National lending policy:
Where any applicant is a UK National or Foreign National with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), Standard lending criteria applies, up to 95% LTV. Visa evidence will still be required for all Foreign National customers.
Any application(s) that does not fit the above criteria, the following new criteria will apply:
· Applicant(s) has an ‘acceptable’ visa type
· Max LTV increased from 75% to 85%
· Applicant(s) has lived in the UK for at least 12 months, OR
· Applicant has a minimum income of £75,000 per annum or a joint income of £100,000 per annum (excluding variable income)
There is no longer a requirement for a Foreign National without ILR to have 1 year remaining on their visa (as long as they have an ‘acceptable’ visa type)
HSBC will now accept debt consolidation applications (subject to our Standard lending criteria).
Please note, HSBC still require the following additional supporting documents for all Foreign National customers who have lived in the UK less than 12 months:
Credit report from the previous country of residence
Latest three months bank statements
Three months payslips.
First Time Buyers – Unlocking your clients’ dream home
To help you support your first-time buyer clients, Accord offers a variety of options and propositions designed to make owning their first home more accessible:
The £5K Deposit Mortgage
Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) Lending
Cascade Score product range
