The Exeter Enhances Protection Offerings for Advisers and Clients
UK health and life insurer, The Exeter, has launched a series of enhancements to its protection proposition, including a new multi-benefit application system designed to improve the application process for income protection and life insurance.
New Multi-Benefit Application System
The new multi-benefit platform enables advisers to generate multiple quotes simultaneously for income protection and life insurance products and automatically carries details through to the application process. Advisers receive upfront visibility of ratings, exclusions, and medical evidence requirements, helping them manage client expectations more effectively.
Expanded Accessibility for Life Insurance
The Exeter has also broadened access to its Real Life insurance product. It is now available on aggregator quote portals, allowing it to be included in a multi-benefit selection. Real Life is designed to cater to clients with varied health conditions, including dual cover and joint life options. The joint life policy pays out upon the first death or terminal illness diagnosis, while dual life policies permit couples to hold separate policies, each with its own sum assured.
Addressing financial abuse concerns in the industry, The Exeter has launched a joint life separation option that only requires consent from one policyholder. Beneficiary nomination has also been added to Real Life, allowing policyholders to name beneficiaries at the application stage without completing a trust form. Similar to a trust, beneficiary nomination ensures payouts bypass probate and are protected from Inheritance Tax.
Additionally, a waiver of premium has been added to Real Life, meaning that if a client claims on an income protection policy with The Exeter due to illness or injury, their Real Life premiums will also be waived.
Enhanced Income Protection
The Exeter has updated its Income First product, offering increased financial security and flexibility:
- Increased fixed benefit option: Clients can now secure 100% of their monthly income protection benefit (up to £7,500) within six months of policy commencement.
- Reduction in UK residency duration: Applicants now only need to have been resident in the UK for two years to apply for income protection, reduced from the previous three-year requirement.
- Indexation update: Policies will now track the Consumer Prices Index including owner-occupier housing costs (CPIH) instead of the Retail Price Index (RPI), providing a more accurate inflation reflection.
Industry Comments
Steve Bryan, Director of Distribution and Marketing at The Exeter, stated, “We are delighted to announce the latest enhancements to our award-winning protection proposition which underline our commitment to providing advisers with innovative and accessible solutions to help them meet client needs.” Bryan continued, “Our new adviser protection portal allows advisers to obtain multiple quotes for income protection and life insurance and carry these through to application. The experience has been designed to be intuitive, providing advisers with information about ratings, exclusions or any further information needed. This allows advisers to manage client expectations around the cost of cover and when they can expect to receive an underwriting decision…These developments are further complemented by enhancements to our income protection and life insurance products. The ability for applicants to now fix one hundred per cent of their income protection benefit within six months of their policy starting provides greater reassurance at the point of claim.”
Michael Chapman, Head of Protection and General Insurance, Dynamo, commented, “The Exeter’s excellent new system is designed with advisers’ ease and convenience top of mind. Today, advisers can source a recommendation for life insurance and income production offerings on a single platform, saving valuable time that would have been wasted on duplicating previously submitted work. The interface is user-friendly, well-made, and aesthetically pleasing. That may seem like a minor point, but for the average working adviser, it makes a huge difference. In the end, any platform that makes the adviser’s job smoother will lead to a much smoother process for the client.”
