"We are delighted that Vitality have chosen to add to a growing number of insurers joining our IP Insight Zone alongside Life & Serious Illness Zones to cover all their protection offerings. "
- Paul Roberts, Proposition & Distribution Director at CIExpert
Yet another addition to CIExpert’s Insight Zones has been announced. Earlier this month, Scottish Widows joined its Life & Critical Illness (CI) Insight Zones which now highlight the availability of annual statements as a key policy feature.
READ MORE: Scottish Widows joins CIExpert’s Life & Critical Illness Insight Zones
Today, Vitality has been added to its Income Protection (IP) Insight Zone, joining AIG Life and Guardian as CIExpert develops the range of services offered to advisers looking to compare IP products for prospective clients.
Vitality’s Earnings Guarantee, Enhanced Recovery Benefit, Income Booster, support for public section employees plus details of their health & wellbeing benefits/rewards through the Vitality Programme have been highlighted as key features.
Over the last 12 months, CIExpert has seen “growing usage” of its Insight Zones among advisers with its Maximum Benefit Calculator described as a “clear and simple way to illustrate the benefits of IP products.” Additionally, after finding that 58% of consumers anticipate using the claim proceeds of a CI plan to replace lost income (30%) and everyday expenses (28%) rather than repaying a mortgage, CIExpert has extended its IP claims data to include claims by total amount in payment, by year, by condition, and by age to help advisers explain the merits of IP products.
Andy Philo, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Vitality, said the insurer has seen “considerable growth in IP sales” since enhancing the product last year. "It’s great that CIExpert’s new Insight Zone can present these from today, helping advisers recognise the strength of the Vitality IP product for their clients,” he added.
Andy highlighted that this strategic move to join CIExpert’s IP Insight Zone builds on an existing partnership, having assisted with the recent launch of its Conditions Appendix which allows advisers to better understand the different terms used by insurers for the same condition. Vitality is the first insurer with this extra level of information, but more will follow.
Paul Roberts, Proposition & Distribution Director at CIExpert, said it’s encouraging to see the growth of the IP market, however “our recent Critical Thinking 2024 Report has clearly demonstrated that advisers face challenges to educate their clients about the options that both CIC and Income Protection provide them.”
This has prompted CIExpert to strengthen its adviser dashboard. “We thought that adding interactive charts to explain the type of conditions and age distribution of IP claims would assist them in that process […] we believe the enhanced claims dashboard is a great addition for advisers and consumers as we strive to provide a consistent approach across the market,” he concluded.
