Best Insurance has launched a single life insurance product in collaboration with mutual insurer Shepherds Friendly.
The product is available on a single life decreasing or level term basis only and is open to UK residents aged between 18 and 60. It provides a maximum lump sum of up to £500,000 on death or to those diagnosed with a terminal illness during the term of the policy.
Best Insurance has also scrapped the minimum monthly premium requirement and the product is available with a minimum term of five years and a maximum of 40. The policy covers applicants up to the age of 70, but all applications must be received before their 61st birthday.
The maximum pay-out amounts available are graded according to the age at which the applicant took out the policy and start at £500,000 for 18-45-year-olds.
Subsequent maximum pay-out limits of £400,000 for 46-50-year-olds, £300,000 for 51-55-year-olds and £200,000 for 56-60-year-olds are also available, while the minimum pay-out across all policies is £10,000.
Best Insurance and Shepherds Friendly said they had streamlined the application process in a bid to make it faster and easier for customers to get protected.
The online product now requires nine underwriting questions focused on health, lifestyle, and family medical history. This allows customers to receive an instant quote and purchase cover entirely online.
For those who would like extra support, Best’s team is also available over the phone to guide customers through the process.
Distribution model
The product is available to distributors through Best Insurance’s white-labelled model.
It enables partners to offer life cover directly to their customers under their own brand within their existing customer journeys without the need to develop in-house insurance capabilities.
Kesh Thukaram, co-founder of Best Insurance, said: “We want to make insurance more accessible to every family across the UK, especially for those on lower incomes, and ensure they have a financial safety net in place for life’s unexpected events.
“We have huge data and technology capabilities to spot trends ahead of time and we saw a product need that the market had not adequately filled.“
Thukaram added that by simplifying the underwriting check to nine questions and offering maximum pay-out amounts of up to £500,000 the firm was broadening its customer reach and continuing to innovate in the protection and general insurance markets.
Daniel Simpson, chief innovation officer of Shepherds Friendly, added the insurer was pleased to have worked closely with the firm to understand their customers’ needs and develop this product.
