Moneysworth wins Best Small Protection Advice Firm 2023! Learn more

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Moneysworth’s director Andrew Wilkinson talks about the adverse impact long NHS waiting times are having on the protection insurance market, and urges the new UK Government to take action. If you’re waiting for treatment, it becomes so much more likely that an insurer will decline an application for life insurance, critical illness or income protection insurance. Sadly, all too many of us are still waiting for increasingly long periods to get the treatment we need.

July 4th, 2024

Posted In: GP, life insurance, NHS

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Moneysworth is delighted to announce that it has been shortlisted in two categories for the inaugural Consumer Duty Leadership Awards. These are:

  • Consumer Duty Leadership in Insurance (for Moneysworth as a firm)
  • Consumer Duty Champion of the Year (Individual) (for our director Andrew Wilkinson)

The Consumer Duty was introduced by our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), on 31st July 2023. The Duty places new obligations on financial services firms to take positive actions to ensure they deliver good outcomes for their clients. Moneysworth wholeheartedly welcomed the introduction of the Duty and we have always been aware of the importance of treating customers fairly.

In the words of the organisers, “the Awards recognise and celebrate firms that demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and commitment to delivering good outcomes for their customers. Judged by an independent panel of experts, the awards shine a spotlight on leading firms’ efforts and accomplishments in embedding the Consumer Duty and driving positive change within the industry.

We were particularly pleased to have been shortlisted for these awards as there is only one category for all firms from the insurance sector, which includes all of the insurers as well as the brokers arranging the various types of insurance.

Moneysworth has regularly won awards in the past for being the best small protection advice firm in the UK. Whilst we did not take home either of the prizes at the Leadership Awards, we effectively achieved the same level of recognition, as we were the only specialist protection advisory firm on the shortlists. For the Leadership in Insurance award, the other finalists were two product providers and an advisory support firm. Our fellow finalists for the Consumer Duty Champion Awards were two building societies, two investment advisers, a credit union and a trade association.

The Leadership Awards judging panel praised Moneysworth for our “strong focus on customer needs and goals” and “interesting solutions for vulnerable customers.

We were also delighted to receive this endorsement as further recognition of the positive outcomes our clients receive, which complements the superb feedback they give us on a regular basis. We were also delighted to receive the Feefo Platinum Service Award earlier this year.

We have also been named in the final shortlist in two categories at the Health & Protection Awards:

  • Best Small Protection Advice Firm 
  • Best Individual Protection Advice Firm

We were fortunate to win one of these awards in 2023 and hope for further success at the ceremony in October.

Health & Protection is a leading publication for intermediaries, consultants and brokers in the world of healthcare, protection and financial advice.

Above all, these successes are testament to the efforts of our directors, advisers and administrators, and a fantastic acknowledgement of the quality of service we provide to our clients.

Find out more about what we can offer

Both our clients and the industry experts have recognised that we offer the highest levels of advice and customer service, so if you are a consumer seeking life insurancecritical illness insurance or income protection insuranceget in touch with us today. If you work for a financial services firm, then you can rest assured that your clients will be in safe hands if you introduce them to Moneysworth, so please contact us to find out more about what we can offer.

If you have a life insurance policy, you might think that the only role your insurer plays is to provide you with vital peace of mind. You pay your premium each month and, in return, the insurer keeps your policy in force, one which will provide much needed funds for your loved ones should the worst happen.

Increasingly, however, insurers are developing new ways of supporting their customers.

For example, the following support services might be on offer:

Counselling

  • General counselling
  • Bereavement counselling
  • Mental health counselling
  • Support when recovering from illness

Medical Helplines

  • Second medical opinions
  • Wellbeing support helpline
  • General health helpline
  • Remote GP services

Other Medical Services

  • Physiotherapy advice
  • Health MOT etc.
  • Wellbeing videos
  • Annual health checks
  • Nutritional support
  • Neurological therapy
  • Prescription delivery

Financial Assistance

  • Assistance with travel costs
  • Hospital parking payment help
  • Physiotherapy costs help

Other Services

  • Recruitment of replacement staff for your business when existing staff become ill
  • Access to solicitors, e.g. for probate
  • Consumer rights guidance
  • Employment rights and other work issues advice
  • Financial guidance
  • Advice for carers

No one insurer will offer all of these, and the exact level of support varies from one provider to another, but it’s likely that your insurer will offer quite a few of these support services.

This support is very welcome indeed in the modern world, where cost of living pressures are all too obvious, and where one in four of us experience mental illness, not to mention the fact that many people struggle to get NHS GP appointments.

Life insurance is something you should very much be considering from the start of your adult life, especially if you have children, or a mortgage, or you earn more than your partner.

Income protection – which pays a replacement income should you be unable to work due to accident or sickness – is something you need to consider taking out as soon as you are in employment. What would the consequences be were you to cease receiving a wage and be forced to reply on the very limited state support?

Critical illness insurance might also be appropriate for adults of any age – after all you can be diagnosed with a serious illness at any age, no matter how young and healthy you might feel. This type of insurance is often taken out to protect a mortgage, and ensure the balance is paid off were you to be diagnosed with a critical illness. It is important to note, however, that critical illness can be a useful way of ensuring that you (and any children) can receive a lump sum to pay for medical treatment or nursing costs, or for the necessary modifications to your home to adapt to your condition.

Examples of insurance Moneysworth has arranged for under 30s in 2024 include:

  • £100,000 of combined life and critical illness cover over a term of 30 years, for a 28-year-old-woman to cover her mortgage. The premium was £31.05, and this was more than the standard cost of this insurance, owing to the client’s mental health issues
  • £1,300 per month of income protection benefit or a 27-year-old man, with the benefit amount to increase each year in line with inflation. This benefit level covered around 70% of his take home pay. The benefit would be paid for a maximum of two years’ absence from work. Although the plan runs to age 68, the premium was just £15.47 per month.
  • £171,000 of life cover over 32 years, at a cost of £16.60 per month, for a 26-year-old woman. The amount paid out will decrease over time in line with the expected reduction in the balance of her capital repayment mortgage. Here, the insurer increased the premium by £7 per month owing to the client’s mental health disclosures.
  • £285,000 of decreasing cover to protect his mortgage, plus an additional £50,000 of level cover for his family. These were arranged over 35-year terms for a 26-year-old man, at a combined cost of just £23.12 per month.
  • £260,000 of life cover for a 29-year-old man, which provides enough to clear his mortgage in the event of death, plus an additional amount for his family. The policy also provides a level lump sum of £25,000 should his child be diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses covered by the policy, all for just £11.62 per month.
  • £211,500 of decreasing cover for a 29-year-old woman, to cover her mortgage. The premium is £14.03 per month, and had been increased by around £4 per month because of her history of depression.
  • £270,000 of decreasing cover for a 29-year-old woman, to cover her mortgage for the whole its 35-year term. The premium is £20.72 per month, and had been increased by around £10 per month because of her complex medical history
  • £195,000 of level cover for a 27-year-old woman, to cover her mortgage for the whole of its 30-year term. The premium is £18.68 per month, and had been increased by around £12 per month because of her epilepsy
  • £260,000 of life cover for a 28-year-old woman, which provides enough to clear her mortgage in the event of death, plus an additional amount for her family. The policy also provides a level lump sum of £25,000 should her child be diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses covered by the policy, all for just £24.89 per month. This cost figure includes an increase of around £10 from the standard rate due to her multiple sclerosis and mental health issues

Perhaps the best reason for taking out life insurance, critical illness insurance or income protection insurance at an early stage in your adult life is that your premiums will be much cheaper than would be the case at an older age.

If you would like to find out more, then contact Moneysworth today to see how we can help.

If people don’t take out life insurance, critical illness insurance or income protection insurance, then one of the reasons they might give is that they are prepared to take the risk and so they do not take steps to minimise the financial consequences of dying or becoming ill.

The problem with this approach is that, by not looking at appropriate insurances, you are potentially exposing your loved ones to the risk as well. A recent study by insurer LV= found that the average UK worker’s income supports as many as three people – so think about whether your spouse, partner and dependants could manage if your income was taken away suddenly.

The same study also exposed the low levels of savings held by the UK population, with 40% of workers not having an emergency fund of the recommended three months’ worth of average expenditure. This means that large numbers of people cannot rely on their savings to replace a wage earner’s income should the worst happen.

Life insurance can provide sufficient funds to replace the income of a family breadwinner should they pass away. It’s also possible to add critical illness cover to the policy, so that the same sum is paid out should you contract a serious illness.

Income protection policies can be set up to pay a significant proportion of your income, should you be unable to work due to accident or sickness.Moneysworth are experts in arranging lifecritical illness and income protection insurance. We are a whole-of-market specialist protection broker and we can search the entire marketplace to find the most suitable product and provider for your individual circumstances. Contact us today to find out more.

One of the main reasons why people might not take out the life insurance and other protection they require is that they think it would be too costly. 

In 2017, insurer Sun Life asked people to estimate the likely premium for £100,000 of life cover, and the average estimate turned out to be almost five times the correct figure!

Other studies have suggested that many people believe Covid-19 has driven a significant hike in premiums, but again, this is not the case. With the Covid threat having diminished, and death rates now down around the historic average, there is no reason for the insurers, who operate in a very competitive market, to charge any more than they need to.

These two recent cases illustrate how we can arrange competitive life cover for our clients:

  • 43-year-old woman who took out an income protection policy with a monthly benefit of £2,000. The plan also had a four-week deferred period, with the benefit payable for a maximum period of two years, payable should she be unable to work due to injury or illness before the age of 68. The monthly premium was £38.81. This premium could be achieved despite the client being HIV positive and having a recent episode of anxiety.
  • 29-year-old man who took out £260,000 of level life cover over 32 years, for just £11.62 per month.

Moneysworth can search the entire marketplace for the most suitable product and provider for your individual circumstances. We advise on and arrange life insurance, critical illness and income protection insurance and particularly specialise in finding cover for clients with complex individual circumstances, such as those with medical conditions, or who reside outside of the UK. Contact us today to find out more.