Legal & General Retail has updated its protection proposition, offering greater financial support to customers and their families.
The changes include increased payments made for Children’s Critical Illness Extra (from £30k to £35k ), and the following additional benefits: Terminal Illness (from £10k to £35k), Family Accommodation (from £1k to £3k) and Funeral Cover (from £5k to £10k).
Additionally, Legal & General has also improved Guaranteed Insurability Options (GIOs) across all products to allow larger increases of cover and more opportunities to revise cover following changes to the customer’s life.
It has also changed its definitions for cancer, heart attack and dementia including Alzheimer’s disease.
These enhancements follow the Association of British Insurers (ABI) recommendations and have been designed to facilitate better customer outcomes.
All changes will apply to policies bought from 26th March 2023 onwards.
Julie Godley, director of intermediary, retail protection at Legal & General Retail, said: “At Legal & General, we are committed to supporting advisers in giving their customers help when they need it most.
“We listened to feedback from intermediaries around changing customer need and in response we have made these important updates.”
She added: “We understand that lives change, sometimes unexpectedly, and the updates to our Critical Illness products and GIOs allow advisers to offer their clients the flexibility to adapt the cover to meet their needs.
“Helping advisers to protect and support their clients is central to what we do, and we work with them to provide the tools and knowledge they need to support people in making better-informed decisions, reach good customer outcomes and further demonstrate the value of their advice.”
Alan Lakey of CIExpert added: “All of these changes are positive with a strong emphasis on improved customer outcomes and with Consumer Duty in mind too, they’ll be welcomed by advisers and consumers alike. Legal & General has shown an increasing appetite in recent years to move away from the low premium approach and mingle with those insurers operating at the quality end of the market. Already the leading insurer in terms of sales, this can only increase their share of the market.”
All Legal and General protection products include additional support through Umbrella Benefits, a package of value-added services and optional benefits, allowing advisers to build a plan around their customers that’s right for them.
These range from personalised practical and emotional telephone support from a registered RedArc nurse who can help with chronic and physical illness, trauma, relationship breakdowns and care concerns.
The bespoke benefits of Wellbeing Support are offered as standard via intermediaries, making tailored practical and emotional support for physical and mental health conditions readily available.
