Scottish Provident Self Assurance
Scottish Provident
The Product
Self Assurance is Scottish Provident’s menu flagship plan. It has now introduced a number of changes to coincide with its 175 year anniversary. The main changes are:
- Accident hospitalisation cover has been added as a new critical illness benefit.
- Third degree burns (covering 10-20% of the body’s surface area or 25-50% of the surface area of the face) has also been added as a new critical illness.
- The definition for multiple sclerosis has been improved, taking it to ABI+ level. Scottish Provident now has ten CI definitions that exceed the industry standard, and six of those are in its top ten conditions covered in terms of claims paid in 2011.
There are now a total of 45 conditions covered, of which 41 pay the full sum insured. The other four pay out a partial payment (the lower of £15,000 or 20% of the main critical illness benefit).
The plan itself includes cover buyback, which allows the customer to have further cover after a claim for cancer, heart attack or stroke. As well as CI cover, customers can choose to have life cover, income protection and unemployment benefit within the same plan.
A wide range of literature, including sales aids, can be downloaded from the website.
The Company
Scottish Provident is part of the Royal London group where, along with Bright Grey, it is the group’s UK protection market arm. The company celebrated its 175th birthday in May. The group has around four million customers and employs 2,800 people.
Contact Details
Website: www.scottishprovident.com
Telephone: See website for most appropriate contact details.
The Literature
See website for details
What They Say
Senior product development manager Jennifer Gilchrist said: “Scottish Provident has been urging people to make 2012 the year where they take more of a financial initiative, and ensure that they purchase valuable protection. By reducing the cost of the majority of our rates, it is now even cheaper to take out protection. Scottish Provident is using its 175th anniversary to ensure people get themselves the cover they need from a pioneering protection provider at a competitive price.”
What We Say
Andy Couchman
"The number of conditions being covered by the leading CI providers is gradually increasing, with Scottish Provident now covering up to 45 named conditions and situations. Moreover, ten of the conditions covered are ABI+, while four pay a partial payment (often for conditions that are more common than some of the mainstream conditions covered).
"In one way, such cover inflation is regrettable as it adds complexity and many of the newer conditions covered will only affect a small number of people each year. On the other hand, the product is moving towards covering all critical illnesses, not just some of them, which must be better for consumers.
"Overall, this plan has much to commend it, particularly as Scottish Provident has now cut many of its rates too."
The HI Profile: Aetna's Nic Brown
Health Insurance editor David Sawers asks the questions
"The cost of parents’ contributions to the home is a great conversation starter for advisers" Bonnie Burns of Legal and General