Liverpool Victoria Income Protection [REVIEW]

Who Are Liverpool Victoria?

Liverpool Victoria (LV) are the UK’s number one provider of individual Income Protection and one of the top providers of financial services.

Founded way back in 1843, LV started out as ‘The Liverpool Independent Legal Victoria Burial Society’ and sold Life Insurance at the cost of only a penny per month. Now with over 175 years of experience, it offers a range of protection products and has acquired over 1.28 million customers.

On 2 January 2020 LV moved away from friendly society status and became registered with Companies House as a company limited by guarantee.

Liverpool Victoria’s Income Protection

Liverpool Victoria is one of the leaders in the Income Protection market, combining a straightforward product with clear literature and competitive premiums.

This policy is known as LV’s Flexible Protection Plan and can be included with other products like Life Insurance and Critical Illness cover.

Policy Overview

• Offers a comprehensive and low cost budget option which are flexible and include a number of special features for no additional cost.
• In order to apply for Liverpool Victoria’s Income Protection, you must be permanently living in the UK, a UK resident for a minimum of 2 years, and have been registered with a UK doctor for at least 2 years.
• Uses an Own Occupation definition of incapacity, which means the policy will pay out after the selected deferral period if you are unable to carry out your usual job role.

Documentation

What Does Liverpool Victoria’s Income Protection Cover?

Key Benefits

Benefit Guarantee

Insurers base the monthly income benefit you receive on your income, therefore if your income falls between you taking out a policy and making a claim, the likelihood is that your benefit will reduce too.

However, LV offers a ‘benefit guarantee’, so if your benefit is £1,500 or less, they will still pay your chosen monthly benefit minus any continuing income you are receiving.

If you are a registered Doctor or Surgeon who is licensed to practice in the UK, LV will increase the guaranteed benefit to £3,000.

Fracture Cover

Automatically included with your policy, LV will pay a lump sum payment if you suffer from one of a number of specific fractures. You can make one claim a year and the highest amount that may be claimed is £2,200.

Death Benefit

If the worst should happen and you die during the term of your plan, LV will pay a lump sum benefit to your loved ones. However, the benefit amount will vary depending on how long the policy has been in place, for example if you die within 4 years of having it they will pay £5,000, for policies that have been in place for 4 or more years they will pay £10,000.

Unemployment Payment Holiday

If you become unemployed through no fault of your own, LV will pay up to 6 months worth of premiums for you whilst keeping your insurance in place.

This 6 month payment holiday can only be used once during the lifetime of your policy, however the 6 months don’t have to be in one continuous period.

Parent & Child Cover

If your child (up to the age of 21, including step and adopted children) is diagnosed with certain illnesses during the life of your policy, LV will pay a lump sum of 6x your monthly benefit, up to a maximum of £25,000. LV will allow one claim per child.

Indexed Cover Available

LV offers an optional index-linked Income Protection. If you choose this option your benefit amount will increase with inflation based on the Retail Prices Index (RPI). There is a maximum increase of 12% per year.

Life Change / Guaranteed Insurability

Without additional medical evidence, LV offers you the chance to increase your cover by up to 50% of your original cover or £12,000 a year. Life changes include:

• Increase in salary
• Mortgage increase
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Childbirth or adoption
• Rental Increase

If any of these changes occur you must inform LV within 3 months of it happening.

Additional Benefits

LV Doctor Services

As an LV policy holder you and your children (up to the age of 16) will be able to use its Doctor Services at no extra cost. Services can be accessed via phone or an app and include:

• Remote GP services
• Private prescription service
• Second medical opinion

NHS Sick Pay Guarantee

NHS dentists, doctors & surgeons are eligible for LV’s NHS Sick Pay Guarantee. This means LV will pay 50% of your Income Protection benefit when you receive reduced NHS sick pay. When the NHS sick pay stops completely, they will increase the benefit to 100%.

Doctors and Surgeons Sabbatical Break Cover

If you have had your policy for at least 12 months and choose to take a sabbatical break, LV will continue to treat you as employed for up to 2 years. As a result of this, during this time they will provide you with full cover under the standard own occupation definition. This means if you fall ill during the sabbatical, your benefit will be based on your earnings prior to taking the break.

Teachers Sick Pay Guarantee

If you are a teacher and have to go off sick, as long as your sick pay is set out in one of the appropriate Conditions of Service for School Teachers, LV will pay 50% of your benefit when you are receiving half pay and the full benefit when your sick pay stops entirely.

Key Comparison Points

Own Occupation

LV’s Income Protection offers own occupation cover to all policyholders, so you will be able to claim if you suffer an injury or illness that prevents you from carrying out your specific job role. However, if you have been out of work for more than 12 months when you claim, LV will apply their homemaker definition.

With the homemaker definition, if because of an accident or injury you are unable to prepare a meal or do basic housework, LV will pay your amount of cover at the time of your claim up to a maximum of £1,500 a month (less any monthly payments from other accident and sickness insurance policies you may be receiving).

Higher Risk Occupations

LV not only have the Flexible Protection Policy, they also offer a Personal Sick Pay Plan. This is a separate stand alone policy, designed for higher risk occupations. More information on this product can be found here >>

Shortest Deferral Period is 4 Weeks

LV’s shortest deferral period is 4 weeks, whereas other providers offer 1 week or even 1 day. As a result of this, if you would need your benefit to kick in before 4 weeks a different provider may be a better option.

Special Features For Teachers and Medical Professionals

LV is one provider that offers special features for teachers and medical professionals. For example they offer increased benefits, sick pay mirroring and adjusted definitions of incapacity. So if you are a medical professional these are benefits you might be able to take advantage of.

Overseas Claims

LV will allow you to claim on your policy as usual if you are in a country that is specified in your policy. However, if you are not in any of these countries and are elsewhere outside of the UK, LV will only pay your benefit for a maximum of 26 weeks until you return to one of the specified countries.

Compare Income Protection Quotes & Get Expert Advice

As you can see, when looking to compare Income Protection Insurance there are lots of points to consider. With so many factors and a lot of different terminology at play, it can be tricky to do an accurate like-for-like comparison between providers.

Why Speak to Us?

We started Drewberry™ because we were tired of being treated like a number.

We all deserve a first class service when it comes to issues as important as protecting our health and our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to talk to us.

• There is no fee for our service
• We are an independent insurance broker who work with all the leading UK insurers
• You’ll speak to a dedicated expert from start to finish
• We are very proud of the 3027 and growing independent client reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5
• Claims support when you need it most.
• We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can find us on the financial services register here 🧐
• Claims support when you need it most.

For help and fee-free advice on Income Protection, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can reach us on 02084327333 or email help@drewberry.co.uk.