Legal & General has made changes to all its Term Assurance products and Terminal Illness Cover (TIC) to reflect changing customers’ needs and life circumstances.
It has increased the maximum expiry age of its term only products from 80 to 90 and extended the maximum policy length to 50 years. This change applies to level, mortgage and business protection cover.
Legal & General’s TIC has also been improved, with the removal of the final 12 month exclusion period. This will allow customers to claim following diagnosis, at any time whilst their policy is in place, meaning they will now be covered should they be diagnosed with a terminal illness up to and including the last day of cover. This enhancement will apply to all products with TIC included.
Legal & General paid out on 96.9% of TIC claims in 2014, at a value of £86m. With this change in place, the insurer believes it will be able to pay even more claims in the future.
Steve Bryan, director of intermediary at Legal & General, said: “The UK has an ageing population and with 60% of projected household growth, over the next two decades being among those aged 65 and over, it is vital that our financial products cater to these changing customer needs.
“With increasing numbers of lenders also changing their mortgage terms, in line with these demographic changes, we need to ensure that borrowers of all ages can protect their homes and loved ones for longer. So we will continue to develop and review our products, to help us to pay even more claims and support our customers when they need us most.”