Income Protection

As the cost of living continues to increase and economic instability remains, it seems that Brits are still reluctant to protect themselves against a potential loss of income by addressing their protection needs.

With financial news dominating the front pages and access to financial information much more freely available, arguably financial awareness in the UK should be at a record high.

Commenting on new unemployment statistics released today Emma Walker, head of protection at moneysupermarket.com, said: "The economic downturn still rides high and job cuts are being revealed on a daily basis; the rise in unemployment has hit almost two million, or six per cent, and is very worrying indeed.

Nearly a third of adults would face financial disaster within two months if they lost their jobs, according to research for MoneyExpert.com.

With financial news dominating the front pages and access to financial information much more freely available, arguably financial awareness in the UK should be at a record high.

With the news that stressed out Britons are being forced to work extra hours and take on a second job in order to fund their households and families this Christmas, research from Combined Insurance has found that more than a third of Britons (34%) would face financial ruin after just twelve days should they suffer a sudden loss of income.

The Government's mortgage holiday scheme to rescue struggling homeowners is a great helping hand but should not be seen as a replacement for insurance, warns James Harrrison, chief executive of insurancewide.com.

With household debts and unemployment at a high, moneysupermarket.com urges consumers to safeguard their finances and improve awareness of life insurance policies such as income protection and Critical Illness Cover (CIC).

Now may not seem to be the best time to go out and invest in yet another insurance policy. But in times of economic turbulence it's unwise to chance not being protected against potential risks which are directly linked to your financial security.

Unemployment Cover has become increasingly popular in these uncertain economic times for people who want to protect themselves against redundancy.

Low awareness of benefit entitlements coupled with a lack of planning is leaving people in the UK open to financial crisis if they lost their job, according to research from the Post Office.

Leading protection provider LV= has announced a major new partnership with Standard Life, effective from 1st December 2008.

A new report by protection specialist LV= has revealed that 17.5 million UK adults in full time employment are unaware of the changes that the Welfare Reform Act has brought about, just one week after new legislation replaced Incapacity Benefit with Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

At a time when every penny counts, millions of people are paying over the odds for protection which may not reflect their needs, according to the latest protection study from the Post Office.

Predictions of around two million unemployed by Christmas in the wake of a deteriorating economy have further underpinned the case for protecting loan and mortgage payments, warns standalone provider Paymentcare.co.uk.

At a time when the Government are taking measures to help people with soaring gas and electricity bills, research from Combined Insurance outlines that Britons are still on the financial edge, struggling to make their pounds stretch further.

Commenting on unemployment figures, Emma Walker, head of protection at moneysupermarket.com said: "With Government statistics today revealing employment levels are down by over 120,000 and redundancy levels have risen by 28,000 over the last quarter, it's no surprise some Brits may be worried about job security.

Bupa Individual Protection has announced the launch of a new tele-interviewing service, following the success of a recent pilot scheme. This latest development is part of Bupa's on-going commitment to meeting the needs of its customers.

As the UK economy slips into recession, more of us are likely to lose our jobs. In September, 31,800 people claimed jobless benefit, lengthening the dole queue to almost 1.8 million. And at times like these, many of us may be tempted to insure ourselves against being made redundant.

Insurance and investment group LV= has won the Individual Income Protection category at this year's COVER Excellence Awards.

moneysupermarket.com advises consumers to consider protecting themselves against the worsening effects of the credit crunch.

News that the deteriorating economy is beginning to inflict a toll on the jobs market has seen a commensurate surge in demand for unemployment insurance protection polices, says Paymentcare.co.uk.

Matt Morris, Senior Policy Adviser at LifeSearch, comments on YouGov's recent Protection research: "The research that YouGov compiled for Financial Planning Week shows how important it is to take out financial protection.

Recent research by YouGov found that only 15% of people asked would get by without any financial difficulty should their financial circumstances change for the worse due to long term illness or incapacity.

Income protection is the single most important financial planning need and the first consideration in any financial plan.

Almost two thirds of Britons say they have been hit by at least one unwelcome financial surprise in the past three months (63%) and household and utility bills have been the biggest shock of all according to new research from Combined Insurance.

Matt Morris, Policy Adviser at LifeSearch, comments on the Yorkshire Building Society's new protection research: "I think the report that Yorkshire Building Society released today - The Protection Gap: How the UK is Living on the Edge

New consumer research commissioned by the ABI has shown that people are pessimistic about the current and future economic climate.

Legal & General launched its Family and Personal Income Plan (FPIP) seven years ago, and in that time over 73,000 families have been covered.

Legal & General is urging families to protect their mortgage and their lifestyle with the appropriate insurance as the difficulties in the financial markets really begin to bite.

The protection market can be very complicated to even the most experienced customer and Income Protection (IP) is one of the more complex products out there.

As the credit crunch continues many consumers may feel there is little they can do to safeguard their home and finances. Cheshire Building Society, however, advises that preparation is the best defence.

BUPA’s individual income protection plan is now even more affordable and comprehensive, yet flexible enough to meet individual customer needs.

Nearly a quarter of people have no idea how they would cope should they lose their regular income, according to research commissioned by the ABI.

LV= has announced that it is making significant improvements to its award winning income protection product range, to make the product simpler and more attractive to both financial advisers and their clients.

Friends Provident, the income protection market leader, has linked up with MorganAsh to provide a tele-interviewing service to speed up income protection applications and reduce non-disclosure.

Standard Life has introduced improvements to its Income Protection Plan, increasing the maximum benefit by £25,000 and removing all plan exclusions, including pregnancy and HIV.

LV= has won the Best Income Protection Provider award at the 2007 Investment, Life & Pensions Moneyfacts awards.

Income protection insurance (IPI) has an essential role to play in providing financial security, says Defaqto.

Provider apathy is the biggest threat to the development of the income protection insurance market and the cause for the current sales slump, leading financial research company Defaqto warns in a new report.

Despite rising interest rates, one in six (15%) young adults (under 35) in the UK would be happy to take on a mortgage of four or more times their annual wage and 30 per cent are clear they would forego financial protection insurance in favour of the largest mortgage they could borrow.

LV= has announced improved income protection rates effective from 13th July 2007, with 80% of its Level premium rates reduced by an average of 10.7%, and more than two thirds (69%) of Index-linked rates cut by an average of 6.2%.

LV= has announced it has enhanced its mimi income protection product features by significantly increasing maximum benefits by over 80% to £150,000 and by removing the only remaining standard exclusion across its income protection product range.

Friends Provident, the FTSE 100 life and pensions company, has removed the HIV/AIDS and war exclusions on its Individual and Executive Income Protection products, making it the first UK life assurance firm to ditch all standard exclusions on income protection benefits throughout the range.

One in three Brits has taken more than a week off work through illness or injury, according to new research from Standard Life. 39% of people confirmed they had suffered a loss of earnings because of this time off work, which equates to a staggering £31.65 billion.