In 2023, the provider streamlined the recommendation process for its proposition by consolidating three Vitality IP products into one, to which it introduced an ‘income boost’ feature.
The boost increases a policyholder’s payout by up to 20 per cent for six months if they were participating in the provider’s Vitality Programme, which incentivises and rewards policyholders for keeping active.
The provider also offers Vitality IP claimants private healthcare benefits to support their rehabilitation and return to work, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, physiotherapy and cancer treatment support, designed to target the most common conditions that IP policyholders claim for.
Meanwhile at Guardian, which entered the IP market in April 2023, sales director Hilary Banks points to the product’s ‘own job’ definition, which she says has been popular with advisers and clients.
“Our ‘own job’ definition goes a step further than an ‘own occupation’ definition. While the difference is subtle, ‘own job’ provides clients with just that little bit more certainty that we’ll be looking at the activities of their own job, as opposed to the activities of their wider occupation, when they come to claim.”
In addition to its ‘own job’ definition, Guardian says it does not offer new clients an ‘activities of daily working’ definition as it rarely results in a successful claim.
“We’ll be sharing some more data and insights around our IP business to date on the first anniversary of our product going live in early April,” Banks says.
“In the meantime, we can certainly say it’s been a good first year for the product in terms of sales, surpassing our expectations and feeding into our ambitious growth targets as a business.”
While the cost of living crisis has highlighted the value of IP, could the IP market’s momentum diminish when the crisis eases?
“I think IP’s growing popularity is mostly down to increasing adviser and consumer awareness of the benefits of this type of product,” says Banks. “This has been driven in part by the shock of Covid as well as the increased cost of living pressures we’ve all experienced.
“While Covid is no longer impacting us in the same way and inflation may be falling, I don’t think this means that the greater understanding and awareness that’s been created will disappear overnight. My view is that the effects will be longer lasting.”
Boys at Aviva agrees that demand is unlikely to drop if the cost of living crisis lets up.
“Customers still want the financial reassurance that IP can offer, and an increased disposable income should enable them to take the step to either purchase IP for the first time, or to complement it with other products to protect more of their needs.
