Royal London has made a number of changes to its non-medical limits for income protection (IP) which are aimed at speeding up the process for offering cover to customers and its straight through acceptance rates.
The main changes are to increase the sum assured where Royal London first requires routine medical evidence, with the sum assured at which a GP report is first required has been increased across all age bands.
GP reports have been an increasingly difficult situation for advisers as doctors become more weighed down with patient backlogs and activities. The insurer said the changes are aimed at helping turnaround times and reducing the burden on the NHS.
The changes affect all age bandings and sums assured, but the most notable moves affect younger ages, the insurer said.
For customers aged under 40, the threshold for non-medical limits evidence has more than doubled to £75,001, previously it was £36,001. The threshold requiring a medical examiner’s report for this age group kicks in at £100,001.
For those aged between 40 and 44 the threshold for where a GP report is required is £50,001 and for a medical examiner’s report is £75,001, while for those in the age range of 50-54 a GP report is required at £35,001 and then £50,001 for a medical examiner’s report.
Elaborating further on the changes, Craig Paterson, chief underwriter at Royal London, (pictured) said: “We continue to focus on improving our customer journey to help customers obtain cover in the shortest time possible and make it easy for people to do business with us.
“Our latest enhancements will help make income protection more accessible and will make it easier for us to offer cover to all our customers. We firmly believe in the value of protecting income and will continue to work on improving our income protection product and proposition in 2022.”
