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Most life insurance and life assurance policies today are sold by intermediaries (often called brokers) which can be businesses set up to specialise in insurance, banks or building societies or traditional retailers who are simply trying to find new ways of making money from their customers.
Some life insurers do sell their policies direct to the public although they often do this on a limited basis and, contrary to the way other retail markets work, these policies can be more expensive when bought directly from the life insurer.
Intermediaries or brokers can nowadays offer life insurance and life assurance products from a single insurance company, a panel of insurance companies or from what is also described as ‘whole of market’, although in truth ‘whole of market’ is rarely the whole of the market and is just a way of describing a large panel of insurers which are prepared to sell their life insurance and life assurance products through the particular broker or intermediary.
For customers the benefit of using a broker who offers life insurance and life assurance policies from more than one life insurance company isn’t always obvious because not all brokers discount the basic cost of life insurance and life assurance policies. It is also true that not all brokers selling one life insurance company’s life insurance and life assurance policies offer discounts all of the time and therefore it pays to shop around.
At Direct Life we do provide discounts to customers on their life insurance policies and these are hard coded into our online and call centre quotations service.
14 April 2008 18:03:03
Women who smoke are at an increased risk of developing colorectal tumours, according to a new study.
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in America found that that smoking puts older women at significant risk of losing DNA repair proteins that are critical for defending against the development of some colorectal cancers - a finding which may affect their life insurance policies.
Women who smoked were found to be lacking some or all of four proteins, known as DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins.
These proteins keep cells lining the colon and rectum healthy by recognising and repairing genetic damage as well as mistakes that occur during cell division.
The researchers also discovered a direct association between the number of cigarettes smoked daily by study participants and increased risk of developing these specific tumours.
"Our findings suggest that tumours may form because cells can't repair themselves from damage induced by smoking," Mayo gastroenterologist Dr Paul Limburg said.
The findings also could have other clinical implications regarding chemotherapy, as tumours that lack MMR proteins might respond differently to standard treatment regimes, he added.
The study is to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
According to Cancer Research UK, around 36,100 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
14 December 2007 14:01:37
Individuals who keep fit beyond the age of 40 could lower their risk of stroke, it has emerged.
People still able to climb stairs, kneel, bend and lift after the milestone birthday potentially cut their chances of a stroke - one of the major spurs for the purchase of life insurance or critical illness cover - by half.
Research published in the latest issue of journal Neurology examined 13,615 men and women in the UK from 1993 to 1997 who were between the ages of 40 and 79 and had not suffered a stroke, heart attack or cancer.
They completed a self-reported test on their physical functions 18 months later, looking at how well they were able to climb stairs, carry groceries, kneel, bend and lift, while scientists from the University of Cambridge monitored how many strokes were suffered in the group during 2005.
"People who reported better physical health had significantly lower risk of stroke," confirmed study author Phyo Kyaw Myint.
"This is independent of the known risk factors for stroke in the general population," added Dr Myint, referring to considerations including age, blood pressure, smoking and diabetes.
Several scientific studies in the past have concluded that increasing physical activity and eating more fruit and vegetables may also help reduce stroke risk.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
14 May 2007 17:06:26
The UK life insurance market has grown by 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2007, according to market analysts.
A report from financial services company Lehman Brothers reveals the UK life insurance market to be growing faster than the comparative markets in France, Germany and potentially Italy.
In conversation with MarketWatch, Matt Lilley, an analyst for the firm, said that the A-Day pension changes had stimulated the pensions and life insurance markets, as people choose to change their methods of saving.
"Margins are on the whole increasing rather than decreasing and with every single listed UK insurer a genuine potential acquisition target, we would recommend investors take some position in the UK insurance space," he said.
Speculation of mergers and acquisitions among UK life life insurance firms has been fuelled by market growth, evident in the proposed partnership between Royal London and Royal Liver and whispers of a sale of Prudential assets.
Standard Life was a huge beneficiary of the effects of the A-Day changes, reporting a 40 per cent worldwide rise in first-quarter life insurance and pensions business.
