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