"For those who cannot either afford full cover or who may struggle to get income protection, AOIP offers an affordable alternative."
- Graham Singleton, CEO of National Friendly
Earlier this month, research commissioned by National Friendly revealed that younger customers are more likely to take out Accident Only Income Protection (AOIP) than older demographics. Of those surveyed (2,000), 51% of those aged 18-34 years old have some form of cover to protect their income against ill-health or injury, whereas 67% of adults in the UK don’t have any form of Income Protection (IP). This highlights a growing need to educate consumers on the importance of protecting their income as well as the range of financial products available.
Today, National Friendly has announced major developments to its AOIP proposition, offering a new maximum claim period of five years. This new claim period will pay a maximum benefit of £2k p.m. and for its hazardous pursuits’ members, the maximum benefit on a five-year claim period will be £500 p.m. Likewise, from today onwards, premiums will be reviewable on an annual basis.
National Friendly has also introduced fracture cover as a new add-on, alongside accidental death, and hazardous pursuits cover. This new add-on has a single benefit structure with a maximum claim benefit of £3k in any year, which will pay out based on mild, moderate, and major categories of fracture.
Furthermore, National Friendly’s AOIP policies now come with an annual £1.5k rehabilitation benefit, allowing access to scans & tests, physical therapy, and rehabilitation to support recovery. This benefit was introduced alongside a new deferred (“waiting”) period of 365 days, so customers have the option to wait, 30, 60, 90, 180 days or 365 before their benefits begins.
Graham Singleton, CEO of National Friendly, said its AOIP continues to address a gap in the market. “We listen carefully to feedback seeking to make improvements for our members […] By adding additional features such as rehabilitation benefit and fracture cover, we can provide our members more security and peace of mind on their road to recovery at an accessible price,” he explained.
“The need to have policies that are not medically underwritten are more important than ever, particularly with the growing number of diagnoses each year,” agreed Heidi Loughlin, Adviser at The Protection Parent. She believes that having more options on the market to offer clients financial protection for varying events is crucial.
“We shouldn’t have a protection world where the answer is simply ‘no, you cannot have insurance’ […] We shouldn’t have to worry about finances when we should be concentrating on our health,” she concluded.
