Friends Provident Income Protection Insurance

Having recently house I had to have a good look at all my insurance polices, as they either needed updating or changing for a new product. I will be honest and admit that with my previous property when the insurance renewals came up I just took the easy option and let them continue, even if they were slightly more expensive than others available to me, after all the market for things like this is fairly competitive right…?

I booked an appointment with my financial advisor and it soon became apparent that I could save myself some money after shopping around. After securing better deals for my buildings and contents insurances I was annoyed with myself for never having taken the time to look into my policies before. I then needed to set up some sort of income protection insurance, after all nobody knows what is around the corner in the current climate and this is when I came across Friends Provident.

I admit to not having heard a great deal about them before and I certainly was not pushed into using them as my Financial Advisor is a family friend and also works on an independent basis. Firstly I was impressed with the companies’ competitive rates. Without going into my personal information, for the price I was paying Nationwide for my insurance I was now paying the same to Friends Provident, the only difference being I needed to cover a bigger mortgage so straight away I was impressed as I had naively assumed that a bigger mortgage meant that my insurance would go up but this really does depend upon who you choose for your insurance.

Friends Provident ask some questions, all of which I expected in order for me to apply for their cover. Some of these include the following:

Are you self-employed?
Are you a company Director?
Are you aware of any impending redundancies at your place of work?

After answering the questions honestly the application is then forwarded to Friends Provident and it was a very quick process as less than a week later arriving in the post was a copy of my proposed policy.

The documents came in a folder with all details being correct. My policy number was highlighted and all direct debit instructions were correct. The paper work came in good time before the first payments were due so I was fully aware of when and what amount of money would be deducted.

If for some reason I had decided I no longer wanted to go with this insurance there was a cancellation form and pre-paid envelope enclosed, I liked that the company did not just assume that I still wanted the policy and if I did chose to cancel there was no costs involved. I have to say that from start to finish of setting up this policy it was quick and hassle free, there were no ‘trick questions’ and everything was upfront.

The policy seemed easy to understand and more than once in my paperwork I was made well aware of my levels of cover. You also get a full copy of the Policy conditions so there really are no hidden agendas in my opinion.

I hopefully will never have to use the company to take advantage of the insurance so it would not be fair of me to comment on how good they are when it comes to paying out but from my early dealings with Friends Provident I can only speak as I find and they have been very professional yet friendly at the same time. When I needed to just ask a quick question I got through to the Helpline after only a very short time on hold unlike other companies where I have been on hold for up to 20 minutes. The Helpline is also open from 8.30am to 6pm.

There is also a great website, you can have a look at what the company has to offer at:
www.friendsprovisent.com/customer. It is really easy to navigate around and you can also set up an online account facility where you can view your policies online, this is something that I will be taking advantage of.

In summary, I am really happy with the service which I have received from the company and it has been efficient and helpful. I have experienced no long delays when phoning Friends Provident and I have found their rates to be very competitive.

5 out of 5 from me and thanks for reading.

*** This review is also on Dooyoo under the same user name ***