Think you know protection? Think again

LifeSearch names the Top Ten rare and unique policy benefits that most consumers don’t know exist.

Most people know the main types of protection policies available. Life cover pays out on death, income protection replaces your income and critical illness pays out on diagnosis of a serious condition, but that’s far from the end of it. Some car insurance policies include Breakdown Cover and some home insurance policies provide Accidental Damage cover. Protection is no different and some policies include much more than you might first realise.

Protection specialist LifeSearch has unearthed what they believe to be the ten best policy features that offer excellent cover to customers but have not received the attention they deserve. Here, in no particular order, are the top ten unsung protection benefits:

Carers Benefit on Income Protection (Royal Liver) pays a lump sum of four times the gross monthly Income Protection (IP) benefit to parents who want to take time out from work to care for their seriously ill child.

Grey Claims Panel (Scottish Widows) is an independent panel who take a second look at all claims on all products where the decision is not clear-cut to ensure that a fair conclusion is reached.

SmoothMove (Legal & General) is a free rescue service for those taking out mortgage policies.Itprotects in case of emergency when a client is moving home, such as providing a removal van if the one hired does not arrive or breaks down. If the previous owner of a new home has not moved out when the client need to move in, the policy can ensure that they are put up in a hotel and take care of kennelling any pets. SmoothMove will also cover for up to three months for domestic emergency repairs and legal advice after moving in to a new home.

Helping Hand service (Bright Grey) comes with every Bright Grey plan at no extra cost and offers a broad range of help and support throughout the term of the plan to clients and their families. It includes access to a Specialist nurse Therapist and Counsellor, a range of helplines as well as discounts and deals on a range of health and lifestyle products and services.

Children’s Income Benefit (Scottish Provident) is designed to allow a parent to reduce their hours or stop work to care for their critically ill child. Up to £5,000 a year will be paid for up to 5 years. It continues to be paid even if the child recovers.

Back to work initiatives (Pioneer). As part of their Income Protection policy, Pioneer will fund appointments and investigations privately, where appropriate, when there are long NHS waiting lists. Also, if a claimant is unable to resume their own occupation Pioneer will consider funding college courses, vocational training etc.

Healthy Steps (Liverpool Victoria) is an interactive online service that provides a personalised profile of a customer’s health, including their risk of suffering from heart disease and common cancers. It gives advice on how to improve health and wellbeing and a plan to improve or manage any problems.

Best Doctors (BUPA). Policyholders who make claims under their BUPA Critical Illness Cover (CIC) have 24-hour access to this independent service that can locate and contact specialists worldwide who are qualified to treat the condition for which the claim has been made. A 24/7 BUPA Healthline is also available on all BUPA policies. They also have a "TCF" committee to look at grey claims and includes lay people from within the business who review the claims as ‘the man in the street.’

Extra Care (Liverpool Victoria) is aimed at improving the living situation for critical illness customers. After their claim is complete, customers have the option of receiving oncology, cardiology or neurology care, therapy, physio, counselling etc. Extra Care also provides customers with the option of a follow-up from a personal nurse, with ongoing help available by phone and through support groups.

Skandia Protect (Skandia) is the only plan to cover angioplasty, low-grade prostate cancer and mastectomy (breast removal) due to ductal carcinoma in the same plan. Also there is the option to continue provision of life and CIC protection after a claim without further underwriting through the replacement cover option.

Matt Morris, LifeSearch Policy Adviser, said: “It’s important for customers to seek independent advice, as a good financial adviser will be able to identify the most suitable policy for a client that many direct sellers just don’t have the expertise to do.

“There are many excellent and unique benefits available to customers that deserve to be more widely known. It’s important that price is not the only consideration when buying protection. These policy features could really make a difference to people’s lives and hopefully more customers will start to take advantage of them in the future.”