Life Premiums See Hike of 58%

Life premiums for the whole of life insurance have seen a rise of 58% overnight for women over 40, according to comparison site payingtoomuch.com.

 

Some women aged 40 have seen rises from £48.30 to £76.40. The equivalent increase for a male in the same age band is 40 per cent.

 This increase comes from PruProtect, the largest provider of underwritten whole of life insurance in the UK.

Michael Ward, managing director of payingtoomuch.com said: "Virtually all customers under age 50 are likely to have a premium increase, the younger the more the increase."

 The rise in premium rates is a direct result of the EU Gender Directive due for implementation by 21 December 2012 which demands that insurance premiums cannot be calculated differently based on the sex of the applicant, broadly speaking women have paid less than men because they are likely to live longer.

Ward added: "Existing customers aged over 55 might be able to make a saving by re-quoting on the new gender neutral terms. Having analysed what PruProtect have done, we wonder if this is what the whole market might do before 21 December so those who want to beat such an enormous hike with other providers must act now."

The importance of technology to the insurance sector

The rate of technological change in recent years, and particularly with respect to ICT, has been remarkable. Never before has so much information been available to so many people around the world. In this thinkpiece, the Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts MP, discusses the many links between insurance and information technology in the UK. In his view, the UK’s comparative advantage is intrinsically linked to industries like financial services building increasingly strong ties with research and development centres and universities which are at the frontiers of developing new technology.

Below is the summary of latest findings:

• There are many links between the insurance industry and investment in technology and research and development in the UK. This thinkpiece investigates some of them. 
• Science and technology is for example, enhancing the ability of insurance to underwrite diverse risks like climate change, drug trafficking and piracy by providing new and more accurate data streams from which to judge the relative likelihood and impact of various hazards occurring. 
• Computational modelling is also changing the way in which insurance brokers operate, with the potential to deliver a “modern version of the classic broker function”. 
• The UK’s current and future comparative advantage lies in the skill to programme computers to maximise their capabilities, and to employ those capabilities to great effect in business.
• For this to occur, government, industry and the scientific community must work together to ensure that technological developments are fully utilised across the industry and for the benefit of society.

Kindly visit http://www.cii.co.uk/media/3691513/future_risk_report_no_4.pdf  for detailed report.

MORE WOMEN THAN MEN WILL CARRY ON WORKING PAST THE STATE RETIREMENT AGE age

More women than men will carry on working past the state retirement age, according to a new report by insurers LV=.

The number of over-50s expecting to work past the state retirement age has risen to 6.5m, an increase of 43% on the 4.5m people planning to do so in 2010.

This group says they expect to work an extra 6.2 years on average.

However, more women say they will work past the State retirement than their male counterparts.

4.1m women over 50 expecting to work past the state retirement age, compared to 2.4 million men.

But men who expect to work past retirement will do so for over a year longer than their female counterparts.

Both male and female workers say that they will continue to work because of affordability, with some mentioning enjoyment of work as the next reason.

Ray Chinn, LV= head of pensions, said: "With the Government increasing the state pension age we would hope that those approaching retirement wouldn't feel they need to work beyond it.

"Unfortunately, this is not the case as many find that they have insufficient funds in their pension pots.

"Although there are many people who feel too young to retire and want to work for as long as they can, our research shows the majority say they will be forced to do so to survive financially."

London has the highest number of over-50s who say they will carry on working, and many predict they will work 7.4 years past the state retirement age.

Chinn continued: "Regardless of how close people are to retirement, it is essential that saving remains a priority. The earlier in life you can start saving the better, but it's never too late to make a significant difference to your pension pot.

"There are many different options available to people at or near retirement, from which type of pension they have their money invested in, to whether they take a lifetime annuity, enhanced annuity, or put their money into drawdown.

"If someone qualifies for an enhanced annuity they can see their income in retirement rise by up to 30% for instance.

"People should seek professional advice to make sure they are getting the most out of the money they have saved for retirement."