It noted that the average age of claimant was 56 and that it paid out almost £42m in benefits to bereaved families.

Scottish Provident said the data served as a reminder for adults of all ages to look after their financial responsibilities throughout the whole of their lives. The figures show that nearly one in five claims paid out (18%) were for policyholders aged just 44 or under, with a further third (32%) aged between 45 and 54 years old.

In total during 2011 the provider paid out £41,863,503 in life cover claims with the average claim being £84,744.

Jennifer Gilchrist, senior product development manager at Scottish Provident, said:

“There has been plenty of discussion in recent years about Britain’s aging population, with new figures showing that almost one in four Britons will be 65 or over in 2051.

“However, our claims figures are a stark reminder about the very real need for individuals to look after themselves and their families’ financial livelihood throughout their whole lives.

“Tragically, in an age where there are regular calls for people to provide for their pension, there are many thousands of people who do not live to retirement age,” she added.

The warning come in a guide published by the ABI for people considering buying PMI. It is designed to help potential customers understand the benefits of PMI, why people buy it and how it works, including the likelihood of above inflation price rises

The guide notes that: “Even with the wide range of PMI policies available, it is likely that whatever policy you choose your premiums will rise above the rate of general inflation.”

It then cites the reasons for this including advances in diagnosis, new and more expensive drugs and surgical technologies. Intermediaries are referenced as a source for consumers to buy PMI, alongside direct from insurers or an agent such as a bank or supermarket.

The booklet notes that advisers must explain to customers whether they are independent, advising on a range of insurers, or just a representative of one insurer. And it warns that if a customer chooses to buy direct from an insurer or insurer’s agent without receiving advice, it is the buyer’s responsibility to choose a policy that is right for them.

It also broaches the differences between full medical underwriting and moratorium underwriting, while other subjects covered include the typical path for a claim and common treatments covered and excluded.

The 16 page booklet is available to download or can be ordered from the ABI.

According to a survey at an Alpha Generators event today, which polled 366 delegates including IFAs and wealth managers, ongoing problems in the eurozone and low economic growth constitute the primary concerns for intermediaries.

Three quarters cited the eurozone debt crisis as most likely to hit investment returns. A similar propotion (73%) of respondents also said they felt the eurozone would be better off without Greece.

The results arrived on the same day Euro ministers agreed a second bailout for the beleaguered Mediterranean state. Amid the ongoing troubles in the eurozone, investment advisers are looking further afield for returns.

From an asset allocation perspective, almost two-thirds (61%) said they expect to increase allocations to emerging market equities in the coming months. A further 58% are looking to up exposure to global equities and 57% to US equities.

On a region basis, respondents expected the US, Asian and BRIC economies will offer the best risk/return profiles for investors this year.

“The findings of the survey show the eurzone crisis and low economic growth are the main concerns of IFAs, wealth managers and multi-managers,” said OBSR joint managing director Richard Romer-Lee.

“It is encouraging to see advisers looking at the full spectrum of asset classes and regions on offer as a means of providing client solutions.”

Bestinvest senior investment adviser, Adrian Lowcock, said Asia is an area where active managers can add real value. He said 2012 could be a strong year for Japan, as it looks particularly cheap from a risk/return perspective.

The new inquiry follows the committee’s review of auto-enrolment and the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), which it is due to report on in the coming weeks.

In a statement, the committee said planned state pension and auto-enrolment reforms will be “significant steps” in improving retirement incomes. However it added “further steps” are needed to bridge the pensions gap.

The inquiry will explore governance and best practice in workplace pensions. In particular, it will focus on the transparency of charges and costs and the clarity of communication to pension scheme members. It will also look into ways in which scheme members can be supported in making investment decisions and assessing risk, including during annuitisation.

This comes after the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) called for the government to create a national annuity brokerage service if the industry fails to improve the way it supports pensioners during deccumulation.

The inquiry will examine the management of risk and return in DC schemes, and whether greater economies of scale within DC pension schemes can produce better value for money for members.

Industry discussions around mastertrusts and the launch of large-scale, low-cost pension schemes such as NOW: Pensions have brought the issue of scale to light before.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) plans to create a system where small pension pots are automatically transferred to follow their owner will also be discussed. The committee has called for submissions to its inquiry by 13 April 2012.

The quarterly UK Insurance Benchmark Survey by Global Reviews looks at several hundred online criteria designed around the needs of consumers researching and applying for insurance online.

These criteria include whether the site enables users to trust the provider, whether the site gives users all the information they need to get a quote and apply, as well as looking at the site’s coverage of products and support for users if they need help.

“The benchmarks conducted in Q3 2011 found that the average UK insurance site scored well below the minimum required to be deemed to be meeting consumer needs, suggesting that the UK insurance industry overall struggles to meet customer expectations,” said Rebecca Jennings, Global Reviews’ senior client advisor.

“Across the specific industries examined – life, health, motor and home – just a handful of UK insurance provider’s sites satisfied sufficient criteria to be meeting a basic level of customer needs.

“The highest scoring brand overall was LV, whose sites all just exceed the basic score required, with Aviva not far behind across most sectors, though Axa’s health site was the best health insurance site examined.”

She said four significant areas needed to be addressed: providing users with all the information they need to actually go through the quote and buy process; using the pricing page to convince users to become customers; self-service tools; and price and service comparisons.

Ms Jennings described these as “quite basic design and functionality issues” which can be easily and quickly addressed, and added that it would give insurers “measurable competitive advantage” in improving conversion rates.

However, she concluded: “But the simple fact remains – that all UK insurers are all failing a long way short of the most basic usability standards – which is not only costing them wasted online investment, but most importantly, valuable new customers.”

According to insurance companies, the UK has become the ‘whiplash capital’ of Europe, with these claims costing the industry £2bn a year and adding £90 to the cost of the average insurance policy.
The cost of motor insurance rocketed by 40% in the year to March 2011.
David Cameron is hosting a meeting today at number 10 with insurance companies and consumer groups to discuss ways to reduce costs.
The Commons Transport Select Committee recommended in January that the government should introduce primary legislation to require objective evidence – both of a whiplash injury and of it having a significant effect on the claimant’s life – before compensation is paid.
According to MPs the number of motor insurance injury claims has leapt by 70% in the last six years, despite the number of casualties caused by road accidents falling 23%.
Whiplash claims, which currently do not require medical evidence in the UK, accounted for 70% of the claims.
Insurers are calling for the adoption of measures similar to those already in place in Germany where there is a 10kph (6.25mph) threshold for whiplash claims.
Drivers in Germany also have to obtain two medical opinions to diagnose the injury.

According to research commissioned by the provider, men purchase greater levels of life cover, critical illness (CI) and income protection (IP) than women, and the situation could get worse.
The provider found 36% of men surveyed currently held life insurance with just 30% of women doing so.
These results were reciprocated in both CI (10% compared to 7%) and IP (5% vs 4%).
With the introduction of gender-based pricing being forced upon the industry by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in December, it is widely expected life insurance rates will rise by as much as 10% for women.
Although this may be offset by increases for men in IP prices, Ageas queried whether the industry could do anything about closing this gap before gender neutral pricing kicked in.
Overall men are more likely to hold insurance policies of any kind; only 12% do not have any compared to 14% of women.
Pet insurance is the only cover where more women (13%) hold a plan compared to men (10%).
Breaking the data down to a regional level, Scots were those most likely to own life insurance (43%) but perhaps surprisingly they were the least likely to own CI or IP.
Londoners were the most unlikely to buy life cover (26%).
However this trend was reversed when considering IP as London led the way (6%) alongside the East Midlands.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire and Humberside and the north east were the two regions boasting the highest ownership of CI (13% and 12% respectively).

Seeking to inject a note of certainty for UCITS IV funds, the Irish Funds Industry Association (IFIA) reported on how Finance Minister Michael Noonan has kept his Budget speech promise to include a number of “very welcome measures that will enhance Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for regulated investment funds generally and UCITS IV funds specifically.”

 The recently announced Finance Bill 2012 has included provisions to provide further tax efficiency and certainty for the cross-border merger of investment funds and ‘master-feeder’ structures, two significant features of the UCITS IV Directive.  

 includes further stamp duty amendments noting that, “The guiding principal in the case of investment funds is that stamp duty should not apply in situations where there is no change in economic ownership of the underlying assets being transferred.”

 What’s more, says IFIA, this new Bill provides some welcome clarifications and extensions to the format and requirements for tax reporting by industry companies.

 Commenting on the Bill, Gary Palmer, Chief Executive of the Irish Funds Industry Association (IFIA), said:

“While the provisions of the Bill include a number of very welcome enhancements to the tax environment for Irish funds, the measures specifically designed to provide certainty and efficiency for UCITS IV funds will be much welcomed by the international promoters of UCITS funds, as they can now extend the efficiencies and opportunities anticipated by and included in the UCITS IV Directive.”