Sunshine, Sprints and underwriting changes
What a start to the week, the sun is shining, the summer holidays have officially started, and (at the time of writing) Team GB have already won 4 medals at the 2024 Olympics. However, do we have a future Olympian champion here at Protection Guru?
For those of you who have followed his journey, our very own Adam Higgs completed the T100 London Sprint Triathlon yesterday which consisted of a 750m open water swim, a 20k cycle finished with a 5k run to the finish line. Adam completed this in a fantastic finish time of 1:29:59 coming 8th in his age category.
Adams reason for competing in this was very personal, it was shortly after the first lockdown that his mum had a severe stroke. Overnight she lost her ability to communicate and a lot of mobility. Fortunately, she pulled through and is happy at home, but she is only able get out a few words and is heavily reliant on his dad. Overnight he became a 24-hour carer and whilst his mum has made a lot of progress the recovery continues to be very slow. The Stroke Association specialist support, research and campaigning are only possible with the courage and determination of the stroke community. With more donations and support they can help support rebuild more lives like Adam’s mums. There is still time to donate if you can here
Well done Adam, the team at FTRC (Protection Guru’s parent company) are so proud of you, a fantastic achievement. The question is what is Adams next challenge?
It was also a busy week last week for Cirencester Friendly Society as I had the pleasure of attending the ‘’What Mortgage Awards’’ at the OXO2 London as their guest. The awards celebrate achievements in the mortgage industry and includes categories such as Best Buy to Let Lender, Mortgage Network of the Year and Private Bank of the Year. These awards are voted for by readers who are invited to put forward the names of firms they have had good dealings with and would recommend to friends and family. A massive Congratulations to Cirencester Friendly Society who won Best Financial Protection Provider for the FIFTH year in a row. Alan Waddington, Distribution Director quoted ‘’We are delighted to win this award, especially as it’s voted for by our members. Protecting a mortgage from the financial impact of illness or injury is vital and we are very proud to be recognised for it. ‘’ Thank you to Alan and the team for inviting me and celebrating on your success.
That was not the only news for Cirencester Friendly Society last week. They also enhanced their underwriting stance for clients with HIV. Prior to the changes made any client disclosure of HIV was a decline however they are now offering cover to individuals living with HIV.
With this inclusive approach, they will not be applying exclusions specific to HIV. Instead, they will apply a 50% loading with no exclusions, subject to underwriting of any other disclosures, and offering a deferred periods of 4 weeks or above. Understandably, there are still certain requirements when underwriting the application and any other medical conditions may mean more adverse terms.
To be given terms for HIV, clients would need to meet the following criteria:
- Anti-retroviral medications for at least 3yrs
- CD4 count never below 500
- Viral load is undetectable
- Has not suffered with or from any HIV or AIDs related illnesses
HIV is no longer the death sentence it once was so it’s great to see providers are showing that they are basing their decisions upon the reality of what it has become, a manageable lifelong condition.
Cirencester Society Friendly are not the only provider to make positive changes to their underwriting. Today Royal London introduced a new underwriting approach for those who have previously been diagnosed with cancer.
The changes made allow them to expand the instances it can offer terms for Critical Illness (CI) and Income Protection (IP) where in the past it may have been unable to offer cover. Life Cover outcomes have also been amended to reflect current evidence. This will hopefully mean improved terms for customers who have previously had cancer, including breast, colorectal and skin.
