Free to Switch your questions answered
'Why I switched to save with i:protect insurance'
Q: Who buys i:protect ‘Free to Switch' Insurance?
- Anyone who discovers they are paying far too much for their existing Payment Protection, Income Protection or (especially) Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance.
- In 2007/8 there was a lot of adverse publicity about the findings of the Citizens Advice Bureau. Fines have been imposed by the FSA on major High Street names including Alliance and Leicester fined £7m.
- The major investigation by the Competition Commission regarding the poor sales practice selling Payment Protection Insurance when arranging loans has been completed and the FSA have taken their recommendations and imposed major changes to the Finanace Industry.
No wonder many people are beginning to realise they may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance by commission driven sales agents. Many simply look at what they are paying now and realise they can get a much better deal by switching to i:protect.
Q: Why switch cover for Income Protection Insurance or Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance to i:protect?
- You have the freedom to switch provider without incurring the initial exclusion period (defined below) during which you are not allowed to claim for unemployment when you take out a new policy.
- Our premiums highly competitive - compare rates on Money Supermarket.com - you will find i:protect to be one or the few providers to offer low premiums AND a simple on-line facility to switch insurers.
- The switching process can be arranged with i:protect entirely on-line, no sales agents will call, no commission is paid to intermediaries.
Q: What is the initial exclusion period?
The definition of the initial exclusion period is 60 days for a New Mortgage and 120 days for an Existing Mortgage commencing from your start date during which you cannot make an unemployment claim.
A new mortgage is defined as having been completed within the last 30 days. An existing mortgage is defined as having been completed outside the last 30 days.
The standard initial exclusion period for an Income Protection/Lifestyle policy is 120 days.
The rule above will apply unless you have been accepted by us on a reduced (or nil for 'Free to Switch') initial exclusion period or you have been notified and we have received your agreement in writing of an extended initial exclusion period.
Q: How is i:protect's policy more flexible than others and what are the benefits for customers?
- You can choose when your benefits start according to your individual circumstances. i:protect is one of the few providers that enable you to start your payments for accident/sickness at a different point in time than unemployment.
- For example some people want their benefits for sickness to start when their company sick pay scheme ends. Whereas their unemployment benefits can wait 6 months as they know they would receive a substantial redundancy payment. Others may choose to commence all benefits from day one.
- Most importantly i:protect is flexible so customers can tailor when they receive their benefits for best value for money.
Q: Arrangement fees are usually charged to change mortgage providers, are there fees or charges that customers must pay?
- There are no arrangement fees or charges made by i:protect to switch providers - the monthly direct debit figure shown is what you pay.
- No intermediaries or agents are employed by i:protect and the resultant cost savings are passed on to our customers.
- We always insist you keep your existing cover in force until your i:protect policy commences. For your protection this is critical. Furthermore, i:protect give you a 30 day money back guarantee if you change your mind. Therefore we would like to think you would agree that this is a truly 'Free to Switch' process.
Q: More about i:protect, will customers receive good service?
Launched in 2007 iprotectinsurance.co.uk was a response to the changing protection insurance market offering a high value, simple and customer oriented products exclusively on-line.
- i:protect insurance is a trading name and a registered trademark of Wessex Administration Services Ltd (part of the Wessex Group).
- Wessex Group has been providing insurance solutions to the intermediary market since the mid 1990's. This is combined with over 15 years of experience administering insurance products on behalf of insurers, you know you are in safe hands.
Q: Are the underwriters of i:protect Lifestyle and Mortgage Protection products financially strong?
- Amtrust International Underwriters Ltd have been our preferred supplier of protection insurance since 2004.
- AmTrust International Underwriters Ltd (authorised and regulated by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, and licensed by the UK Financial Services Authority, registration number 203014).
- AmTrust International Underwriters Ltd are a large multinational insurer, financially stable and have an excellent credit record. rated with an A- (Excellent) grade by A M Best (A M Best are a leading provider of data to the insurance industry and provide the benchmark for assessing financial strength and credit quality).
Q: What do other customers think of i:protect?
Check out the Review Centre - an entirely independent source of customer feedback
