Engage Mutual has launched an adviser campaign to show how it can make quicker payouts on its over 50s life cover, releasing up to £5,000 before probate.
For Friendly Societies, if policyholders simply nominate a beneficiary, in the event of their death the named person can contact Engage, provide a death certificate and complete the claim form, so up to £5,000 can be released the next working day.
“The ability to access cash quickly to help pay towards funeral or other expenses takes significant stress away for those dealing with bereavement and loss of a loved one,” explained sales director, Stuart Tragheim.
“Advisers tell us that the simplicity of the product is a key advantage to the sales process. But what advisers can also offer their customers through Engage is a quick and easy claim process that can release up to £5,000 within a day of us receiving a claim form and death certificate from a nominated beneficiary – something not available from non-Friendly Society organisations.”
Over a third of the mutual’s life cover customers take advantage of the nominated beneficiary option.
“With average UK funeral costs increasing by up to 12% in the last two years and just over a quarter of over-50s putting money aside to pay for their funerals, we know from customers that nominating a beneficiary is a major benefit,” Tragheim added.
Research undertaken by Engage shows that the majority of purchasers of its over 50s life cover want the policy’s lump sum to go towards their funeral to help ensure they don’t leave a funeral debt for their families. The average cost of a funeral in the UK is now £4,690 for a burial and £3,239 for a cremation.
Dominic MacKenzie, a member of the Law Society’s Probate Section, and partner at Ison Harrison, said: “Probate takes around three months for a simple estate, whilst the average length is six months, and for more complicated estates where property is involved, or inheritance tax, it could take a year or more.
“That’s why this is a fantastic benefit which can get funds released quickly at a very stressful time. The option should be put in place at the same time as doing your will so that your affairs are easier for your loved ones to deal with when you die. It’s staggering that statistics show that 57% of people in the UK will die intestate.”
Engage Mutual has recently launched an updated ‘funeral calculator’ on its adviser community site, providing access to average cremation and burial costs by county throughout the UK.
The calculator can also estimate future costs at the touch of a button and has proved a useful tool for advisers to help sell Engage Mutual’s over 50s life cover.
“Feedback from our advisers has shown that the funeral calculator is an extremely useful tool for them.” said Tragheim.