UK: £34 million paid to income protection claimants in 2003 shows report

Norwich Union Healthcare published for the first time today its Income Protection (IP) Claims Report. The report shows that in 2003 the company paid out over £34 million in claims. The Income Protection Claims Report is designed to be used by advisers as a sales aid to promote income protection to clients and show the valuable benefits available should a client need to claim.

Norwich Union Healthcare published for the first time today its Income Protection (IP) Claims Report. The report shows that in 2003 the company paid out over Ł34 million in claims. The Income Protection Claims Report is designed to be used by advisers as a sales aid to promote income protection to clients and show the valuable benefits available should a client need to claim.

Nick Homer, income protection product manager at Norwich Union Healthcare, said: "Income protection is a much overlooked policy. We hope these statistics will help advisers overcome product reticence and enable advisers to show that in a lot of cases IP can better meet their clients’ needs than the more favoured critical illness policies and in a lot of cases the payout with an IP policy can be much higher. "

He continued: "According to statistics from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2002/2003 the top reason for mortgage arrears in the UK was loss of earnings due to sickness and injury with nearly a quarter of people surveyed giving that as the reason. An income protection policy would enable them to continue paying the mortgage and in certain cases we could help to re-train and rehabilitate customers to enable them to return to work if not in their original occupation then something more suitable."

The guide follows on from the success of the recently launched IP/PMI toolkit, and the launch last year of Norwich Union Healthcare’s intermediary website – www.healthcarezone.co.uk all useful tools designed and developed by NUHC to help advisers grow their portfolio of business.

Advisers who would like a copy of the Income Protection Claims Report can request a free copy by calling the Healthcare Bureau on 0845 3000 649 or download the PDF from www.healthcarezone.co.uk.

-ends-

Press office contacts:
Lorna Wiltshire 07788 471849
James Evans 01904 452791 07800 699525

Notes to editors

  • Norwich Union is the UK's largest insurer. It is a leading provider of life, pensions and investment products and one of the leading IFA providers. IFAs provide around 70% of the company's long-term savings business in the UK
  • Norwich Union has strategic alliances with building societies and other leading UK brand names including Tesco Personal Finance and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
  • Norwich Union’s news releases and a selection of images are available from Aviva's internet press centre at www.aviva.com/media.

Norwich Union Healthcare

  • Norwich Union Healthcare was founded in 1990 as the healthcare arm of Norwich Union and now provides a range of income protection and private medical insurance products that cover over 750,000 lives. Norwich Union is one of the largest providers of income protection and private medical insurance in the UK.
  • The Healthcare Bureau is a dedicated intermediary one-stop-shop for all technical, marketing and administrative requirements regarding Norwich Union’s PMI and IP.
  • Norwich Union Healthcare is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is a member of the Association of British Insurers and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

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