The Exeter has added two new features to its Income First protection product, providing greater support for members who find themselves in vulnerable circumstances.
This includes customers who recently started their first job and are unable to provide the required financial evidence to support their claim, and customers who suffered involuntary redundancy or business failure.
Typically, when an income protection claim is made, a member’s benefit is assessed against their previous 12 months of earnings.
However, for those who just started work following full-time education, this can be impossible to provide, exposing a gap in cover.
With The Exeter’s ‘first job promise’, if a member claims within their first year of employment, the firm will calculate income based on an annual salary of the income they have so far earned prior to the claim.
The second feature is the ‘redundancy premium holiday’, whereby The Exeter will waive protection premiums for up to three months, ensuring they can keep cover in place as they look for new employment.
The feature was made available to both employed and self-employed members.
An employed person must be in permanent employment and be made involuntarily redundant at least six months after the policy begins to qualify.
If the member is self-employed, they qualify for the feature if they suffer a form of business failure – such as bankruptcy, insolvency, or liquidation – at least six months after the policy starts.
The redundancy premium holiday was created in order to give members greater certainty during times of financial difficulty, and the ability to retain full cover, benefits, and access to value-added services, such as HealthWise.
Steve Bryan, director of distribution and marketing, said: “For those without access to employer sick pay benefits, or those just starting their careers, a reduction in income due to illness, injury or involuntary redundancy can have an immediate impact on their financial wellbeing and potentially lead to them being in a position of vulnerability.
“The enhancements introduced on our Income First product are designed to provide greater certainty to members who find themselves in these situations and highlight the importance of income protection in providing peace of mind to workers of all ages and occupations.
“The changes also support our alignment to the new Consumer Duty which requires firms to provide an appropriate standard of support to retail customers to meet their needs, including those with characteristics of vulnerability.”
