Improvements to our critical illness products
With people living and working for longer, we're making changes to our critical illness products to meet the changing need for protection.
From 14 November 2021, you'll be able to offer longer policy terms on all our critical illness products. In doing this, you can help us support more people and ensure they have the required cover in place.
What are the improvements?
- Increasing the maximum policy expiry age, from their 70th birthday to their 75th birthday
- Increasing the maximum policy length, from 40 years to 50 years
Supporting the new normal
The first-time buyers’ landscape is changing. The average age of first-time buyers has increased, rising by 21% since 2007, to age 34¹. As well as the increased age of first-time buyers, longer mortgage terms of over 35 years becoming increasingly more popular within the UK. Recent research found there has been a 70% increase in mortgage terms of more than 35 years during 2021, with 25,112 sold compared to 14,765 in 2019².
While extending the term is helpful from an affordability point of view, it does mean that the longer the mortgage term, the older the homeowner will be when they’re still making repayments – and the more interest there’ll be to pay. In fact, one in 10 people expect to be over 70 before they’re mortgage-free³.
This is likely to have a knock-on effect on retirement planning. It will make it necessary for some to work more years to accommodate longer mortgage terms on properties that on average, have increased in value by £100,000 in the last 13 years¹. In addition, research by PensionBee found that 43% of Britons will have to delay their retirement plans as a result of the pandemic. While some are staying on because they enjoy work, affordability is the reality for many4.
The need for protection
Financial commitments are encroaching further into our later lives, and because we’re living longer, periods of ill health could interrupt the reliable income needed for later life financial commitments.
That’s why it's important to ensure your clients have the required level of protection, should the worst happen. Critical Illness Cover provides your clients with financial breathing space so they can focus on what’s important - their road to recovery. And now it’s there to protect even more people, for longer.
Find out more about our critical illness offering and how it can be tailored to suit different budgets and needs.
