An innovative insurance solution for newly qualified professionals

At PPS Mutual, we only provide insurance cover to a select group of professionals. Because of our unique focus on, and understanding of, our Professional Members, we are finely attuned to their pressures and needs, and are well placed to make obtaining the right amount of insurance easier for them.

It’s with this focus in mind that we have launched a market-first income protection underwriting offering for newly qualified professionals at the beginning of their professional career. This is an enhanced future insurability benefit that is a solution that is designed to grow with this cohort. We understand they would like a hassle-free and responsive insurance solution that caters for professionals in their early careers. Ideally they’d like to ensure their protection increases in line with the rapid growth in their earning capacity during this time.

Under the offer, newly qualified professionals can increase their monthly income protection benefit by a maximum of 50% in any two year period, without the need for additional health or medical underwriting, however evidence of their increased income will be required.

The monthly benefit can be increased up to a maximum of 75% of their regular income, subject to income limits that apply to each profession. To be eligible, newly qualified professionals need to have registered or received their qualification within the last three years, be working a minimum of 20 hours per week, and be generating an income. The Professional Choice offer expires either five years after its commencement or when the insured reaches age 45, whichever is earlier.

The underwriting offer architect and PPS Mutual national underwriting manager Gabi Varnier describes the offer as “another step forward in our quest for continuous improvement and innovation”.

“We recognise that newly qualified professionals need a solution to protect their increasing earnings without having to complete additional medical assessments on top of those they initially have when they take out cover. For professionals, time is – quite literally – money, and having to undertake several time-consuming medical assessments within a short period of time is not the best use of that time,” Ms Varnier says.

While reducing the time burden on newly qualified professionals was the primary factor behind the development of the Newly Qualified Professionals Package, the new offering also fills a gap in the market left by the requirement on life insurers to cease offering new agreed value income protection policies in 2020.

 “We realised that the discontinuation of agreed value income protection was a loss for newly qualified professionals, and also left a gap in our portfolio of products to meet the needs of our target market,” Ms Varnier says.

 This offer also incentivises professionals to take out insurance cover at the beginning of their professional careers, and in doing so, helps to combat underinsurance amongst an age cohort where it remains prevalent.

It is also in line with our philosophy that taking out insurance cover with PPS Mutual is a long-term proposition. By taking out cover at a younger age, our Members obtain market-leading cover with the short-term benefits of future insurability and the long-term potential to participate in our unique Profit Share arrangement, which enables our Members to share in the profits generated from their insurance cover.

This latest development to remove underwriting friction and optimise Member experience is in line with our commitment to provide insurance that remains relevant to the needs of our unique target market.

It’s all a part of our mission at PPS Mutual: to provide exceptional insurance benefits to our exclusive group of professional Members and their families to ensure they have security, peace of mind and continued prosperity both throughout their working lives and in retirement.