Unum has no date for relaunch of ‘paused’ Sick Pay Insurance product – exclusive

Unum does not have a date for the relaunch of its Sick Pay Insurance group income protection (IP) product after pausing it to new business in May, but is honouring active quotes.

The insurer told Health & Protection that it will communicate any key updates on its relaunch “in due course”.

It said the pause followed a regular review of its offerings and was to “strategically evaluate the design of the product and invest in the systems that support it, ensuring it meets the future needs of our customers”.

It was the second product Unum stopped accepting new business for this year having fully closed its Executive Income Protection product to new business in January.

In that case Unum said it was exiting the executive IP market completely which would enable it “to focus on the areas that we see as future growth opportunities in line with our strategy”.

It stopped accepting new applications after 28 January but said it would continue to service existing policies in the usual way that customers expect going forwards.

 

Honouring active quotes

However, it appears Unum may be planning a revamped version of the Sick Pay Insurance product, which was originally launched in 2013 as a short-term IP cover paying out for between 12 and 52 weeks.

Unum added it is honouring any active quotes within the guarantee period, that it was continuing to service existing policies in the usual way and there was no change for any existing policyholders.

“We are confident the product continues to provide value and support for existing customers across the UK,” it said.

Explaining its decision, the insurer told Health & Protection: “As the pandemic shone a greater light on the importance of employee benefits, Unum has listened to the needs of our customers and their employees.

“As part of this, we’ve committed to invest and grow the areas that most reflect these needs and requirements.

“Listening and responding to the market is key to delivering on this promise, ensuring that our products and services both meet customer expectations and are also aligned with our growth plans.”

Unum said it was seeing a genuine interest from the market in the Sick Pay Insurance field and that it was building “a greater breadth of offering in the future through reviewing, innovating and improving our products and services”.

“Whilst we do not yet have a date for re-opening to new business, we are still in the process of evaluating and evolving our Sick Pay Insurance product and will communicate any key updates on its relaunch in due course.

“In the meantime, we are excited by what the future holds for Sick Pay Insurance and our wider protection offering,” it added.

 

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