05 SUMMER PROTECT NEWSLETTER Continued on next page... • Non-Advised purchases represented 33% of new LTA business, with a 6.5% drop in non-advised purchases from the previous year (following on from a 27.7% drop in 2023). • Sales of Multi – Benefit Policies grew by 12% - and multi benefit Sales now make up a third of the market. • Business Protection, Relevant Life AND Whole Life all showing strong growth – Underwritten WL leading at +26%. In last month’s edition we talked about the implications of the Autumn Budget and the opportunities this will bring in our sector. As the concern continues to grow in relation to IHT biting in to Pension Pots in 2027 – activity continues to grow in this space. According to iPipeline there has been a 92% rise in underwritten whole of life products in Q1 2025. This is hardly surprising as we see headlines telling us that IHT receipts for April 2025 were at £800 million - £97m higher than the same period last year, showing an increase in the scale and commonality of IHT liabilities. Total Revenue receipts for IHT for 24/25 was £8.25bn – up 14% on the previous year. This gives all of us an opportunity to talk about the issue and looking for ways to mitigate or offset the liability using Life Products, gifting and trusts. Responsibilities to clients under Consumer Duty is to “avoid foreseeable harm”, and the likelihood is that claims management companies will use this as they have with other areas in the past to implicate adviser firms in the process. I would suggest for those whose clients may have a problem with IHT to get as much communication as you can generate around the issue and the “risks” of not at least looking at the options would be a good start. Claims Season Again, in last month’s article I mentioned that claims season is upon us when most insurers will tell us what percentage have and haven’t been paid, and it is pleasing to see more and more Providers are showing why claims were not paid – supporting the need for transparency and the importance of getting the underwriting questions answered correctly at application stage. This quarter we saw Guardian do just that too – what also impressed was the output from them showing how their innovations are making a difference . For Life Claims, it’s the second year in a row that Guardian has paid 100% of Life claims. Of those, 56% of policies were paid using Payout Planner (their beneficiary nomination), meaning the payout could be paid directly to the named beneficiary, bypassing probate and saving an average 4 months average. In relation to their Terminal Illness claims, they were listed separately in their results and reflect Guardian’s claims experience on its premier Life Protection cover, which has an enhanced terminal illness definition. Their definition pays out on the definite diagnosis of incurable stage 4 cancer, motor neurone disease,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI4MjU4NQ==