The company introduced a new life insurance product, LifeStyleCare Cover, which “gives people added flexibility should they suffer from serious ill health during later life.”
It said that the UK protection market has failed to adapt to the changing population demographic, with the focus having been on pre-retirement protection rather than post retirement. It is now expected that around 60% of people over 65 will need some form of care.
The lifelong care cover pays out on death, or crucially, if the individual suffer an illness which leaves them permanently incapable of looking after themselves. The product permits a pre-selected proportion up to 100% of their life cover to be accessed early, in the event of the insured being unable to permanently look after themselves.
An accelerated benefit will be payable on earlier diagnosis of alzheimer’s, parkinson’s or dementia, as defined by the Association of British Insurers.
VitalityLife CEO Herschel Mayers said:
"LifestyleCare Cover is a new category of protection. The Whole of Life market has seen a resurgence since we launched our revitalised product in 2012. However, we recognise that for many people the need for cover in their later years is during ill health and LifestyleCare Cover has been designed to protect people when they need it most."
VitalityLife also launched a short-term income protection option which will pay out for up to 24 months on each claim. The insurer said this would provide an affordable income protection solution for customers on a tighter budget, and is available in addition to its existing income protection cover.
Peter Le Beau, chairman of the Income Protection Task Force (IPTF) said:
"VitalityLife is a core member of the IPTF and was among the first insurers to agree to support the Seven Families initiative, which continues to cause a real buzz throughout the Protection industry and beyond. It is great to see that they are seeking to enhance their excellent product set and broaden the potential appeal of their Income Protection cover by adding this new product."
The company has also introduced the Mortgage Plus Plan - which combines life cover and mortgage incapacity cover to offer protection specifically designed to protect a mortgage.
A recent YouGov poll showed that 26% of mortgage holders had insufficient savings to cover just three of their monthly payments, with 13% unable to cover even one. The same research revealed that only 38% of borrowers had even basic life cover.
The mortgage cover will allow advisers to protect their mortgage clients in the event of death or inability to work due to illness. The incapacity element pays out up to 24 monthly payments should the client be unable to work, following diagnosis of one of a list of 29 specific conditions.
Herschel Mayers said:
"We recognise that mortgage advisers need a straight forward, complication free product which is tailored specifically to mortgage borrowers' needs. Mortgage Plus Plan is a brand new concept which makes protecting the largest liability of customers easier than ever before and I am confident that it will encourage a greater number of mortgagees to take our protection, thereby growing the market in that sector."
