As the end of the year approaches it is a good opportunity to reflect on what has changed within the protection market.

One of the biggest areas of improvement has been in the added-benefit services that many providers offer. These rewards can be used to engage people who otherwise might not be attracted to protection, especially as they are able to use them regardless of whether they make a claim.

Providers have recognised the need for greater mental health support with many now including access to mental health care as one of their additional benefits. Those who may benefit from such services include ‘sandwich carers’: people who are looking after sick, disabled or older relatives as well as dependent children. According to analysis conducted by the Office for National Statistics at the beginning of the year, this group is more likely to report symptoms of mental ill health compared with the general population. As more than 1.3 million adults have this twin responsibility, nearly 27 per cent of whom show symptoms of mental ill health, you can see how including access to services like these can make a huge difference.

In March, LV= enhanced the features on its existing Doctors Services benefit. The service now provides remote access to mental health professionals and physiotherapists, as well as a discount on health MOTs that can be carried out by a medical professional at a local surgery.

Similarly, in August AIG launched ‘Smart Health’, providing access to mental healthcare and a 24/7 virtual GP. The service also includes a health check, optional nutrition consultations and an online fitness programme.

Care advice service

Vitality too has recently enhanced its already extensive benefits package with the addition of Care Support Services among other innovations. Vitality’s partnership with SuperCarers is of significant interest because trying to access appropriate care when you or a loved one is diagnosed with a later-life condition can be overwhelming. A care advice service can advise on a range of topics, including what support is available to family members, and there is access to technology to match members to the most suitable care solutions.

All these products provide customers with excellent additional benefits that should be more widely promoted, although they need to be communicated clearly and proactively.

Uptake of income protection in the first half of this year reached its highest level since records began 15 years ago, according to FCA data. Providers that are focused on innovating in this area are no doubt helping with this.

Royal London, for example, expanded its IP range in April to include five-year short-term protection cover, and in July, LV= added a 12-month claim period to its ‘budget IP’ offering. Short-term IP can be a great option for those on tighter budgets.

Cirencester Friendly innovated greatly in October when it added children’s critical-illness cover to its IP policies, providing a one-off lump sum of £2,500. Although this is only a small amount of benefit, it goes some way to covering a gap in IP that was previously found only as part of CI cover.

Aside from the improvements to added-benefit services and IP, 2019 has mainly been a year of tweaks and tidying up. Some providers proved a victim of their own success this year, with certain additional benefits proving so popular that they were forced to make changes. Guardian, for example, repriced its fracture cover earlier this year before finally withdrawing completely from the fracture cover market. This followed Zurich also adding exclusions to its fracture cover.

Guardian also introduced some amendments, bringing it more in line with the rest of the CI market in order to make it more accessible. Its cover still retains several unique plusses, including a premium waiver for up to six months after customers have a baby or if they lose their job.

Back in July, Legal and General combined several of its CI definitions and Aviva also made amends to its CI cover. These included removing the condition of loss of speech, having not paid a single claim for this condition since 2004.

These tweaks and streamlining efforts on the part of providers have been generally positive and hopefully 2020 will bring continued focus and innovation.

Lucy Brown, head of protection, L&C Mortgages