The product will be launched via online provider, AntInsurance.co.uk and provides customers with three and six months cover as well as the 12 month industry standard.
Pam Needham, director of AntInsurance.co.uk, said: “Our research revealed that two-thirds (63 per cent) of unemployed people find work in under six months and so we decided to build a proposition that would allow consumers to pay for cover that they needed rather than for something that they would be unlikely to use. We wanted to cut the frills and the fanfare to offer plain and simple value for money.
Assurant Solutions has designed and underwritten the product on behalf of AntInsurance.co.uk and will be handling the claims and administration. Assurant Solutions is a specialist in creating insurance products that protect UK consumers’ income, health, home and possessions.
The income protection product is accessed via a one-page quote engine on AntInsurance.co.uk. The flexibility that Assurant Solutions has built in to the product range allows consumers to mix and match accident, sickness and unemployment cover with different benefit periods according to their needs, circumstances and budget. Every policy has back-to-day one cover with a 30-day qualifying period.
Assurant Solutions and AntInsurance.co.uk have worked together to introduce two return to work features:
1. ‘Return to Work’ benefits help customers ease themselves back into work for up to three months in any 12-month period after any illness or accident by compensating them for the financial shortfall if they return to work part-time on a reduced salary.
2.The ‘Temporary Return to Work’ feature is designed for customers receiving unemployment cover who would like to undertake temporary work for up to six months. The policy will not pay during the period of employment, but once the temporary employment concludes and the customer re-registers with the Job Centre Plus, it will continue payments as if there had been one continuous claim.
Ian Moffatt, sales and marketing director at Assurant Solutions, said: “Assurant Solutions is bringing a new breed of protection products to the market that will bring about a sea change in our industry. Following the introduction of our innovative new Matrix range of mortgage payment protection products, our specialist team of actuaries and underwriters have successfully developed an income protection product which puts the customer’s needs at the heart of the underwriting process. We’re delighted to work with AntInsurance.co.uk and help them bring a fresh new option to UK consumers, allowing them to choose a solution that will protect their own individual lifestyle in times of need.”
