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PruProtect cuts premiums - and some consumer offers too

14 November 2008 Breaking News

Life and serious illness insurance provider PruProtect is offering policyholders the opportunity of "locked in" premium reductions if they engage in its "Vitality" health and wellbeing programme.

However, it has scaled back some of its discounts with consumer retailers in return for the premium discounts.

PruProtect, the joint venture between Prudential and South Africa's Discovery, said that customers who commit to its "Vitality" programme will be able to reduce their premiums in the future. Moreover, they will not be faced with increased rates in the years to come.

PruProtect lauched in 2007 and offers life cover, IP and severity-based serious illness cover, built around a Vitality points system which is designed to encourage customers to take control of their own health and wellbeing. It also offers discounts on a range of consumer-focused products and services such as holidays, cinema tickets and gym membership.

Vitality covers five areas including education, exercise, nutrition, screening and smoking cessation. Policyholders can earn points by participating in healthy activities related to each area, such as going to the gym, downloading healthy meal plans from the PruProtect website, or having a health screening. By earning points, members can move up to different status levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum) and could benefit from reduced premiums for doing so.

In a simultaneous series of IFA-focused launches yesterday, PruProtect said that from November 16, policyholders who look after their health and wellbeing by engaging with its Vitality programme will not face annual price increases and premiums will in fact fall. If policyholders then stop engaging in Vitality, the lower premium remains "locked in" and will not rise in the future.

Pipeline and existing customers will be given the opportunity to either continue with their existing policies, or move to the new policy model, without additional underwriting.

However, Kevin Carr, director of protection development at PruProtect, said that in order to improve the premium and remove the potential for future increases for all policyholders, some consumer discounts have been reduced under the "Lite Rewards" programme.

Lite Rewards offers policyholders discounts and special offers from companies including Nuffield Health, Fitness & Wellbeing Centres, LA Fitness, Virgin Active, Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking, Champney's Health Resorts, Fitbug, Cineworld Cinemas, Eurostar and Mark Warner.

Carr said: "Our Serious Illness Cover is already the most comprehensive of its kind in the UK. As well as becoming more competitive, we are enhancing our proposition for consumers by allowing them to reduce their future premiums and keep them low."

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