Single life policies can work out better for individuals in couples in more ways than one, according to Alan Lakey, director at CIExpert.
Lakey (pictured) spoke to Health & Protection as CIExpert announced that its Single is Best campaign has now secured the backing of more than 100 firms, and more than 230 individuals.
Since its launch in November 2024, the campaign has gained support from a growing number of financial firms, including LifeSearch and Reassured.
Industry professionals reinforced its core message that individual protection plans offer superior flexibility and financial security for clients when compared to joint life first event policies.
The campaign challenges compliance guidelines, urging a shift in industry standards to ensure that recommendations for joint life first event plans are thoroughly justified rather than defaulted to.
It is also highlighting the need to better protect vulnerable clients. In the last year, 4.1 million UK women experienced economic abuse from a current or ex-partner, according to charity Surviving Economic Abuse.
This form of domestic abuse is when an abuser controls their current or ex-partner’s money and economic resources, including exploiting financial products, like joint insurance policies, to cause harm.
CIExpert’s Single is Best campaign presents evidence of the numerous advantages that individual protection plans offer over joint policies, at only a marginal additional cost.
Default for some advisers
Speaking to Health & Protection, Lakey explained there is a “default” among advisers not used to selling protection to recommend a joint policy.
“Their logic is it’s a joint mortgage, we’ll have a joint policy,” Lakey explained.
“Or it’s a joint child, to use that term, and therefore we will have a joint policy to cover whatever the risk may be.”
Lakey added that further issues can arise at claim.
“Imagine a scenario where there is a couple who are involved in a car crash for simplicity’s sake,” Lakey continued.
“One of them suffers a cardiac arrest as a result and the non claimant receives the money, but the non claimant now has no policy because it was a joint life first death plan.
“The injuries that he or she sustains make it impossible for them now to get any cover.”
Consequently, Lakey maintained that in these sorts of cases the individuals should have had a single life plan.
“If you add in children’s cover, then both plans would pay out for children.
“And if it was optional, in lots of cases with Scottish Widows or LV= for example, then it’s built into the plan automatically.”
Differing health risks
But there are also issues associated with the differing health risks men and women are prone to.
This is because while men are more prone to heart attacks, for women the bigger risk is cancer, Lakey explained.
“Add on to the fact that we look at what causes claims, we can see that 50% of men’s claims are for heart attack,” Lakey continued.
“If you add in all the other heart conditions, it’s up to about 70%.
“If you add in women’s claims, it’s very close to 80% due to cancer. Heart disease is about 2%.
“So logically, if advisers are sitting down with a couple, it might be that I’m looking at cancer cover for her and heart disease for him.”
Exploiting policies
These policies can also be exploited by domestic abusers as Lauren Garrett, senior financial services manager at charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), pointed out.
“For too long, domestic abusers have misused joint life insurance policies as tools for economic abuse, both during relationships and long after separation,” Garrett said.
“Perpetrators exploit these policies by withholding their consent to end them, trapping victim-survivors into unwanted financial ties for many years after separation.
“Alarmingly, some abusers even use their status as a beneficiary to reinforce their threats to kill, leaving victim-survivors living in fear for their lives.
“That’s why we are calling on the insurance industry to make single life insurance policies, at the same price per person as joint policies, the default offer.
“We’re pleased that CIExpert has supported our calls with its Single is Best campaign, and now we want to work with the sector to help providers better identify and support customers experiencing economic abuse and prevent their products from being exploited by abusers.
“We’re also urging the government to consider legislative reforms to enable firms to separate or end joint policies in cases of economic abuse. These reforms are vital for victim-survivors to achieve economic independence and safety.”
Opportunity for economic abuse
Also commenting on behalf of the charity, industry veteran Johnny Timpson OBE, added: “While life insurance policies represent an important financial protection for many people and their dependents, they can also be used as an opportunity for economic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour both during a relationship, and long after separation.
“On behalf of the Surviving Economic Abuse charity I applaud and thank CIExpert for their industry leadership and pioneering Single Is Best Campaign that, as can be seen from Swiss Re Term Watch data, is driving adviser policy and practice change by ensuring that protection policies in the UK are set up appropriately, with dual single rather than joint life policies the default.”
