News that Partners Life lifted some of the restrictions it placed on the self-employed due to Covid-19 ranked as this week’s top story…
Partners Life has revised its policy on offering monthly disability cover to the self-employed following restrictions it put in place in 2020 as a result of Covid-19.
It says that responding to adviser feedback, and having reviewed its underwriting and claims experience, the firm’s agreed-value suite of monthly disability covers is now available to more clients.
Partners Life says most self-employed applicants will now be able to apply for the following benefits:
- Income cover – agreed value
- Income cover – taxable agreed value
- Income cover – agreed loss of earnings
- Mortgage repayment cover (assessed on 45% of income or actual mortgage payments)
- Household expenses cover (assessed on 5% of income or actual household expenses)
However, the firm says certain self-employed occupations still present a “significant financial risk”, and have been excluded from the change that came into place on 1 April 2023.
These include some roles in high-risk industries where significant disruption has occurred including the tourism and hospitality sectors, and/or where significant fluctuations in income are likely due to the nature of their remuneration structure – such as those who are paid on a commission or as-earned basis.
Partners Life will also continue to apply the payment term restriction option to all self-employed applicants.
Amending in-force business
The firm says pending new business applications can be updated and may require additional underwriting specific to the change – such as evidence of income.
For cases that have been issued during the past three years, these will follow the firm’s current business processes requiring completion of:
- A signed request from the policy owners
- Quote for alteration outlining the changes required
- Underwriting – occupation disclosure questionnaire, which can be found in My Partners Life
- Underwriting – income mortgage expenses questionnaire, which can be found in My Partners Life
- Where ‘financials yes’ has been selected, evidence of income will also be required