National Friendly has launched ‘Assisted Living Insurance’, a product specifically aimed at supporting older people to extend independent living in their own home in later life.

The policy provides funding that can be used for domiciliary care services, assistive devices and respite care. The policy also provides a care advice benefit.

According to Age UK, almost 1.2 million older people do not receive the care and support they need with essential daily activities such as eating, dressing and bathing. National Friendly’s Assisted Living Insurance product aims to address this issue by supporting older people, so they can continue to live independently in their home.

Policyholders can choose between two initial levels of cover – £20,000 or £30,000, which increase by 2% each year to help offset the effects of inflation. The policy provides funding for assisted living, including:

• Care services delivered in the policyholder’s home.
• Equipment, such as a stair lift or wheelchair ramps.
• Modifications to their home to fit or accommodate the equipment, such as widening of doorways to accommodate a wheelchair.
• Short term respite care, should a policyholder have an unpaid carer who needs to take a short break.
• Telephone access to care advisers to help policyholders make care decisions appropriate to their circumstances. This can be accessed either by the policyholder or the second contact on their policy to provide invaluable advice at difficult times.

When setting up the policy, policyholders can also choose when their claims start to be paid, which can either be 6 or 13 weeks from when the policyholder qualifies for the benefits.

Wayne Carter, head of sales and marketing at National Friendly, said: “Maintaining our independence in old age is a key concern for many of us. Certain activities we take for granted such as walking up the stairs can become a struggle in older age, yet the cost of adapting your home or having care in place to support you can be prohibitive. At National Friendly, we are delighted to have launched an industry-first product that aims to support people in later life, so that they can continue to live independently in their own home.

“As the number of people living longer continues to grow, it is important and appropriate that the insurance industry responds to this changing demographic. National Friendly’s Assisted Living Insurance is an innovative product that seeks to supplement local social care provision by helping individuals to manage the costs of care and adapt their homes. This could help them to carry on living independently in the future. We are proud of this product which fits our vision to be a forward thinking and trusted mutual that meets the health, welfare and protection needs of its customers.”