"Although we’re still receiving Covid claims, we feel it’s the right time to remove the exclusion for the vast majority of new business."
During March 2020, the Mutual added a Covid-19 exclusion to new plans with a 1, 4 or 8 week deferred period, in response to the unknown risks posed by the pandemic.
The Society will also be automatically removing the Covid-19 exclusion from any existing plans that have a 4 week or 8 week deferred period.
The Society will be contacting members impacted and their advisers, by email, to confirm they are now also covered for Covid-19.
Suzy Esson, director of pperations at Holloway Friendly, said: “We’re delighted to be able to remove the Covid-19 exclusions, other than for the shortest available deferred period of one week. The impact of the pandemic has been unprecedented. As events quickly unfolded there was no way to predict the impact on claims, meaning we had to take a cautious approach to new business to protect our existing members.
"Although we’re still receiving Covid claims, we feel it’s the right time to remove the exclusion for the vast majority of new business. We’re also pleased to be able to remove it for members who bought cover during the pandemic, who have a 4 or 8 week deferred period.
"For now, we’ve had to retain the Covid exclusion on plans with a one week deferred period as a precaution, as some uncertainty remains. But we will of course review and monitor that position regularly, along with other factors like the success of the vaccine roll-out.”
