AIG Income Protection [REVIEW]

Who Are AIG?

AIG Life Limited, formerly Ageas Protection, is the UK life insurance arm of leading international US insurance giant American International Group Inc (AIG).

With its roots dating back to 1919, AIG has grown to be a global organisation serving customers in more than 80 countries.

AIG Life Limited has been operating in Europe for more than 65 years and is currently the largest US-headquartered property-casualty insurer in Europe. It is also one of the UK’s largest property-casualty insurance companies by gross written premiums.

AIG’s Income Protection offers comprehensive cover with in-built flexibility and a number of additional benefits. These include a 24/7 virtual GP, mental health support and nutrition consultations.

Samantha Haffenden-Angear
Independent Protection Expert at Drewberry

AIG’s Income Protection Overview

This policy is known as AIG’s YourLife Plan Income Protection. It is a part of AIG’s Life’s Menu Plan that also offers Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover.

Policy Overview

• Not only does AIG provide you with an income if you’re off work due to accident or sickness, but you also get access to a range of additional services that could help improve or maintain your health via AIG’s Smart Health package
• Smart Health’s primary focus is on your rehabilitation. Designed to help get you back on your feet, they can help you recover faster from illness and injury. Moreover, they can help prevent some illnesses from worsening to the point where you need to make a claim in the first place
• AIG is one of only four Income Protection providers that offers guaranteed premiums to individuals with type 2 diabetes.

What Does AIG’s YourLife Income Protection Cover?

AIG offers a comprehensive Income Protection plan with in-built flexibility and a number of policy options available.

Key Policy Factors

Minimum Benefit Guarantee

When you apply for Income Protection, insurers base the monthly benefit you’re entitled to on your earnings. If your earnings fall between you taking out the cover and you needing to make a claim, insurers recalculate your benefit accordingly based on your new salary.

However, AIG offers a minimum benefit guarantee. If your benefit was more than £1,500 per month but your income has fallen and, on recalculation, your benefit would be less than £1,500 per month, AIG promises to pay you a monthly income of no less than £1,500.

Wide Availability of Additional Benefits

AIG’s additional benefits — particularly its Smart Health program — are free with the policy. These are among the most comprehensive in the industry.

Automatic Waiver of Premium

AIG includes a waiver of premium automatically. As soon as you start to receive a benefit after the end of your deferred period, you no longer have to pay your premiums until you’re well enough to return to work.

Life Change / Guaranteed Insurability

AIG lets you increase your cover by the lower of £835 per month or 50% of your monthly benefit, providing you request the increase within 13 weeks of one of the following major life events:

• Birth / legal adoption of a child
• Marriage / civil partnership
• Promotion / salary increase
• Increase your mortgage.

Proportionate Benefit

If you still meet the definition of incapacity laid out in your policy but choose to return to work either in a different occupation or in your own occupation for less money due to restricted duties or hours, AIG will pay a reduced monthly benefit to ‘top up’ your earnings.

AIG will continue to do so until your income is equal or greater to what it was when you stopped work.

Over-insurance Protection

If your income is less than you originally stated at the time of a claim and makes you ineligible for your full benefit, AIG will offer you a refund in the form of a premium holiday when you get back to work.

Rehabilitation Support

AIG’s early intervention rehabilitation program is designed to help you from the moment you are unable to work due to illness or injury. It provides assistance during your deferred period and sources specialist providers to suit your needs.

Indexed Cover Available

AIG offers optional index-linked Income Protection. If you choose this option, your benefit amount increases each year in line with inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI). AIG caps the increase at 10% per year.

Note that if you opt for indexed cover, your premiums will go up by a higher amount than your benefit in percentage increase terms.

Additional Benefits

Smart Health

This provides you with unlimited access to six valuable services to help you manage your health and wellbeing. These include:

• Get access to 24/7, 30 minute telephone or video appointments with a UK-based professional
• Best Doctors — offers a second opinion on a complex medical concern or help with a diagnosis from world-leading experts who can assess your case and provide recommendations for a treatment plan
• Mental health support — help to cope with stress, anxiety, trauma, depression or bereavement from a team of dedicated mental health support staff
• An online health check offering tips on how to improve certain medical conditions and help with your nutrition
• Access to nutrition consultations with a trained nutritionist to advise on weight loss, food and the best diets for pregnancy
• An online fitness programme, offering 4 or 8 weeks of exercise training from sports coaches and nutrition experts.

All six services can be used 24/7 all year round at no extra cost. They’re also available to your immediate family, including children up to the age of 21.

Winston’s Wish

Leading UK Charity Winston’s Wish provides specialist support to help bereaved children after losing a parent or sibling. The charity offers a wide range of help and support, including online resources, publications, a telephone helpline and professional support and group work.

Should you pass away or your child suffers another bereavement, AIG has a partnership with Winston’s Wish to help bereaved children get the specialist support they need.

Terminal Illness Benefit

Should a doctor diagnose you with a terminal illness (where you have less than 12 months to live), AIG will pay out a lump sum worth 12 times your monthly benefit. This is not subject to your policy’s deferred period and you can receive it as soon as you make a claim.

If you survive longer than 12 months but can’t work, AIG will continue paying out your normal monthly benefits as standard. Your policy will continue to do this until, according to your definition of incapacity, you are well enough to work.

Death Benefit

Should the worst happen and you pass away during the term of your policy, AIG pays out a £10,000 lump-sum to your estate.

Hospitalisation Benefit

If you are hospitalised during your deferred period, AIG pays £100 per night for each night you spend in hospital beyond 6 nights and up to a maximum of 90 nights during the life of the policy.

Trauma Benefit

Should you suffer one of six six traumatic conditions (blindness, deafness, loss of hands or feet, loss of independence, loss of speech, paralysis of limbs) you can claim a lump sum payment of the lower of six times your monthly benefit or £50,000.

However, your ability to claim for these conditions depends on the severity of the condition and also whether or not it’s permanent and irreversible.

Family Carer Benefit

If your spouse / civil partner or one of your children suffers an injury or illness and is incapable of performing a certain number of daily tasks for 3 consecutive months, AIG pays out the lower of £1,500 or your monthly benefit.

You can claim this benefit once a month for up to a maximum of 12 months for each family member.

How Does AIG Compare?

Wide Number of Additional Benefits

AIG’s Income Protection comes with a wide variety of additional benefits. These, particularly AIG Smart Health, make AIG’s policy one of the best on the market in terms of its benefits.

Income Protection For Diabetics

AIG is one of only four income protection insurers in the UK to offer income protection cover to applicants with type 2 diabetes. They are also the only insurer to offer diabetics income protection policies with guaranteed premiums and not exclude diabetes.

Guaranteed Premiums as Standard

AIG offers guaranteed premiums as standard, so they’ll only go up if you’ve requested your benefit be indexed or you decide to increase your cover.

While this is often beneficial for low-risk workers, such as office staff, manual workers may get better rates with age-banded premiums, which AIG doesn’t offer. Check with your adviser to see which is best for you.

Guaranteed Minimum Benefit

AIG offers a monthly guaranteed benefit of £1,500. This means that if your salary is decreased at a time when you need to claim on your policy, AIG will still pay out the lesser of your insured monthly benefit or £1,500.

Incapacity Definition

AIG only offers ‘own occupation’ or ‘suited occupation’ cover for income protection. For suited occupation cover the definition includes own occupation cover for the first 12 months. In some cases, they may offer ‘specified work tasks’.

Deferred Period

AIG’s minimum deferral period is 4 weeks. That means you’d need to wait at least last 4 weeks before your policy starts paying out. If you need a shorter deferral period, there are other insurers that offer 1 week or even day 1 cover.

However, if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, AIG waives the deferred period and pays out as soon as you make a claim.

Income From State Benefits Discounted

AIG discounts income from state benefits when looking at ongoing income after an incapacity.

Some other insurers take state benefits into account when assessing your income after an illness / injury and won’t pay the full benefit amount if you’re in receipt of benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance.

How Much Does AIG Income Protection Cost?

To give you an idea of how much you can expect to pay for AIG Income Protection, we’ve provided example premiums based on varying ages below.

To get these quotes, we have assumed that the individual looking for cover wants a monthly benefit of £1,250 (earning £28,000 per annum) and:

• Wants a 4 week deferral period
• Is in a low-risk office based role
• Has no pre-existing conditions
• Is a non-smoker.

Get AIG Income Protection Quotes & Expert Advice

With so many different factors to consider taking out Income Protection can be a bit of a minefield.

If you need a helping hand we have a team of expert advisers who are here to answer your questions.

Alternatively, if you feel comfortable you know what you are looking for you can compare the top UK providers in seconds using our handy Income Protection quote tool 😊 →

Why Speak to Us?

We started Drewberry™ because we were tired of being treated like a number.

We all deserve a first class service when it comes to issues as important as protecting our health and our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to talk to us.

• There is no fee for our service
• We are an award winning 🏆 independent insurance broker who works with all the leading UK insurers
• You’ll speak to a dedicated expert from start to finish
• We are very proud of the 3900 and growing independent client reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5
• Claims support when you need it most.
• We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can find us on the financial services register here 🧐

For help and fee-free Income Protection advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can reach us on 02084327333 or email help@drewberry.co.uk.