LV= has handled £3.7m in coronavirus-related income protection and death claims to 470 individuals and families.

Personal sick pay
Two months after its first Covid claim, LV= has paid out 150 pandemic-related claims to policyholders with short waiting period Personal Sick Pay policies. Payments totalled £50,000 with the most common claimant occupations being nurse, care assistant, carpenter, hairdresser and builder. The youngest claimant was 21 and the oldest 60, with an average age of 36 years. Claims – 24% male and 76% female – were all assessed individually by telephone and paid into accounts within two days.

Death claims
LV= received more than 270 coronavirus-related death claims from members totalling over £3.6m, including non-underwritten life policies. For underwritten life policies, the highest claim value was £380,000, the oldest claimant was 87 and the youngest was 47 with 74% of death claims for men.

Member support services
LV= offers members emotional and practical support that they can access every day. Bereavement support services are available for people affected by the loss of a family member.

LV= Doctor Services provides members with access to six expert medical services provided by Square Health – it recently extended its remote GP service to 24/7. Over the Covid period LV= has seen 35% uplift in LV= Dr Services app downloads and 90% increase in remote GP appointments.

Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, LV= has introduced a series of measures to help members keep their policy in place.

• A premium reduction option for existing customers with income protection, critical illness, life insurance and business protection policies can reduce their cover and premium amount for up to six months. After six months, LV= will automatically revert the cover and premium back to the original amounts, without further underwriting.
• ‘Payment break’ financial support for qualifying existing members. Funded through the LV= Member Support Fund, payment breaks are offered a month at a time, for up to three months, to members experiencing financial distress. While members are on a payment break their policy and cover will remain in place and they will be able to access services and make a claim on the usual way, in line with the terms and conditions of their policy.
• Members in exceptional circumstances are able to apply for additional financial support through LV=’s Member Support Fund. If they meet the criteria, this could be a lump sum payment to help them through hardship. Last year LV= supported 78 members with a total of £98,000.Since lockdown was announced on 23 March, LV= have had a 400% increase in enquiries and supported 18 members with £9,000 all related to the pandemic.

In the first month, LV= has arranged payment breaks for 87 of its members, 92% of whom are self-employed, with ‘waived’ premiums totalling £7,650 a month.

Debbie Kennedy, director of protection at LV=, said: “LV= saw a 70% rise in call volumes to our claims teams during the first weeks of lockdown and I’m proud of the way our team rose to the challenge and provided members with much-needed individual support during an extremely difficult time

“The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is shocking and the families who have lost loved ones will be devastated. Yet it’s in times like these that the strengths of mutuality can come to the fore.

“We understand the emotional impact of bereavement and are doing all we can to make sure death claims are paid as quickly as possible so that families do not have to worry about the immediate financial impact of bereavement while they are grieving.”