Protection

Is the ‘illness race' on critical illness policies about to start up again? I hope not, because recently some additions to critical illness products seem to have been borne entirely out of the desire to find something to add to the list to create a perceived...

Skandia has appointed Ian Brown to head up its protection marketing team, following the departure of Alison Turner-Holmes at the end of last year.

Intermediaries should be regarded as agents of insurers when they obtain pre-contract information, unless they are genuinely searching the whole market on the insured's behalf, suggests the Law Commission.

The government has confirmed it will no longer provide tax relief on individuals' contributions which are used to fund pension term assurance policies.

The FSA is proposing to split its insurance conduct of business regime into two categories and apply more stringent rules to protection products, which it deems a greater risk to consumers, than 'other general insurance' products.

One in six people rely on an inheritance windfall to fund their future, according to research from Lincoln Financial Group.

A lot of people are still clinging to the hope a form of pension term assurance will continue after the Budget, but there is a strong possibility the product will be scrapped and it may be wise to expect the worst.

Concerns have been raised about the future of pension term assurance, following comments from Ed Balls stating the government "will act" when a regime is not in accordance with its pensions tax relief principles.

Introducing a non-contestability period into life insurance contracts is unlikely to result in consumers taking less care over disclosing information, says a Court of Appeal judge.

It's fair to say that I've spent more time behind my desk recently than I usually do. That's sometimes not a bad thing - especially for the IFAs and journalists fed up with listening to me going on and on about Liverpool beating Barcelona…