Legal & General has launched its ‘funeral payment pledge’ that will see the insurer pay part of a life insurance claim early and advance up to £10,000 to help bereaved families pay towards a funeral.
Legal & General has launched its ‘funeral payment pledge’ that will see the insurer pay part of a life insurance claim early and advance up to £10,000 to help bereaved families pay towards a funeral.
The pledge covers all life insurance policies with a death benefit claim and the offer of payment will be made by Legal & General if they are not already in a position to pay out the full claim value and if the funeral payment is outstanding.
Mark Jones, product director, Legal & General said: “Legal & General is committed to making life easier for its customers and their loved ones at all times, and so we are proud to announce our support for the funeral payment pledge today.
“We recognise that families dealing with the death of a loved one can often find themselves facing unexpected costs at what is already a very distressing time, and so we’ve taken our support a step further by doubling the amount we would advance for funeral costs to £10,000.
“We firmly believe that this new commitment will give extra peace of mind for our customers, offeringthem an extra level of support when they need it most.”
The announcement goes beyond the Protection Distributors Group’s (PDG) ‘funeral payment pledge’, which called on insurers to do more to support a policyholder’s family by proactively offering to advance up to £5,000 of a claim for funeral costs.
The group previously encouraged insurers to go beyond the minimum £5,000 advance, as not enough policyholders have a will or trust in place to support beneficiaries when a claim is made.
Once a funeral pledge payment has been agreed, Legal & General will simply verify details of the funeral director, confirm the payment amount and then make direct payment to the funeral director.
Emma Thomson, life office relations director at Lifesearch and chair of the PDG, said: “We are delighted that Legal & General has signed up to the Funeral Payment Pledge.
“The commitment to advance up to £10,000 goes well beyond the minimum set by the pledge and will prove crucial in providing support to bereaved families in times of tragedy.”
