06 SUMMER PROTECT NEWSLETTER that when any follow up documentation is sent to the client, that they check it and then return it as requested. This can help avoid any mistakes at the application stage – remember, no blame can be attached to Providers when incorrectly answered medical questions would have resulted in a decline on the application. What is important nowadays is that advisers are aware what conditions cause a decline or deferral. Increasingly, mental illness is an extremely ‘grey’ area and it is wise to understand what is likely to be the outcome of an application in certain scenarios. As always, our Protection Helpdesk are on hand to support with these sorts of enquiries, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch here, or call 03300 536061. In addition, UnderwriteMe is an option when assessing whether conditions have been excluded from the cover taken out or it is included but at a higher price. For anyone that has listened to a Vitality presentation in the past few years you will have heard them talking about driving healthier lifestyles to reduce mortality and morbidity risk. In their recent claims report, they show that healthy exercise habits are 15% more impactful on life expectancy at age 65+ than at age 45 to 65 – and interestingly their ‘engagement’ rates are highest in the over 60s age bracket! They claim that for say 4 hours walking a week (5,000 steps), this can add over 4 and a half years to life expectancy – that is some return! I worked it out to be 40,000 hours back for around 3,000 hours of ‘investment’ from 60–75! In addition, their members experience double the impact in reducing their future risk of hospitalisation when they engage with Vitality. Another interesting statistic came from Scottish Widows showing that 40% of all CI claims paid are for individuals between the ages of 30 and 50. The point being that we cannot now tell when morbidity and/or mortality may strike, and therefore it is incumbent on all advisers to point out the risks using risk calculators – readily available via Providers or using SolutionBuilder. In case you’re not aware, Paradigm members can get SolutionBuilder licences for free, so please let us know if you’d like to know more. Finally, another thought-provoking stat from The Exeter on claims is that their average IP claimant in 2023 was born in 1987 – another reason not to assume claims on any products will arise later in life. Product evolution Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention the latest feature from Zurich – Accelerate. It is something of a ‘bridge’ between Insurance and Healthcare, and is designed to support both adults and children in the event of cancer, heart issues and brain malfunction, such as a tumour, dementia etc. It has been developed under the guidance of Sam Wells who himself faced some difficulties in getting treatment for his daughter when she was diagnosed. The story is told here in an interview we did with Sam. Looking ahead... We have had a strong start to the year at Paradigm Protect, and are consistently looking to add new products and services that will help you develop your own propositions and add value to your business. We expect to have some new Providers on panel this year, so keep an eye out for those developments and as always you can expect to hear important updates on what’s going on in the market via our Protection webinars or our Mortgage & Protection face to face events. You can see what’s on and register for free here. I hope you have all had a vibrant first 6 months of the year and thank you for your continued support of Paradigm Protect. If there is anything we can do to help, please get in touch by email or call 03300 536061.
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