LV to grant payment holidays on life insurance and income protection

LV has become the first insurer to offer payment holidays for protection insurance customers affected by coronavirus, meaning they won’t have to pay their premiums but still keep their cover.

The group will offer a break of up to three months for existing policyholders who have held their insurance with LV for a year or more and who have suffered a significant drop to their income, or seen their usual earnings stop completely as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Payment breaks will be offered a month at a time, for up to three months, and policyholders will not need to pay back any unpaid premiums at a later date.

Cover is kept in full at the same level for the duration of the payment break, and customers will still able to access services and make a claim in the usual way.

LV’s life insurance, income protection and critical illness are all covered under the scheme

As things stand these breaks are only available to protection insurance customers and no such announcement has yet been made for general insurance, such as car or home insurance.  

The payment break will be available to members who are unable to pay premiums for a variety of reasons including mental health issues, bereavement of a close family member, ill health or terminal illness, signs of being taken advantage by a third party or potential homelessness.

Debbie Kennedy, director of protection at LV, said: ‘There is a strong link between financial and mental health and vulnerability, and introducing the option of a payment break during these particularly uncertain times means we can offer more support and reassurance when members are at their most vulnerable.

‘With the payment break we’re able to prioritise additional financial support to those existing members who need it most and, importantly, keep their cover in place.’

The group has also increased non-medical limits by 10 per cent for income protection, personal sick pay and critical illness cover. 

This means that the amount of cover policyholders can apply for before needing a doctor’s note will rise by 10 per cent. 

If you’re an LV customer, make sure you talk to them before cancelling your payments – you will need to be approved for a payment holiday before stopping your payments.