National Friendly has launched a new product, Friendly Shield, designed to support stretched household finances from unexpected accidents in an affordable way.

Designed following adviser feedback, Friendly Shield’s pricing structure aims to be both affordable and simple. It is aimed at individuals who may struggle to afford traditional protection products or who don’t have a need for full income protection.

It is designed to provide a number of protection benefits to help protect individuals against unexpected accidents. It provides an income benefit, fracture cover, hospitalisation benefit, and both natural and accidental death benefit, plus a rehabilitation benefit to help policyholders get back to work sooner.

The policy also allows for multiple claims at the same time should policyholders need to claim more than one benefit as a result of their injury. For example, a leg fracture might necessitate an emergency hospital visit, qualify for fracture benefit, and result in a claim because they cannot work for more than 14 days.

Friendly Shield has a simple three-level structure that requires no medical or financial underwriting with a price that is standard for all ages from 18-50, across all accepted occupations. The new product covers, per policy year:

• Hospital cash: a cash benefit of £50 per night for any covered accidents for up to 360 days
• Fracture cover: a lump sum benefit for fractures of bones up to £3,000
• Income Benefit: short-term accident-only income benefit up to £2,250 per month for up to 3 months
• Accidental death benefit: a lump sum payable upon accidental death up to £85,000
• Natural death benefit: a lump sum payable on any cause of death of £2,500 after a 2-year qualifying period
• Friendly GP: 24/7 access to a virtual GP for the whole family from the policy’s opening
• Rehabilitation benefit: a payment of up to £1,000 providing access to private facilities covering physical therapies i.e. acupuncture, physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic treatment, follow-up scans, and tests and consultations.

The amount of cover received will depend on which one of the three tiers is selected: Bronze, Silver, Gold with premiums starting from only £10 a month, or 33p a day.

The policy also provides cover for the whole family providing policyholders with the option to add a spouse and children at a small additional cost.

Friendly Shield can be added as a rider to existing policies or can also be sold standalone.

Graham Singleton, National Friendly’s CEO, said: “Brokers have told us they want a quick, non-underwritten, cost-effective suite of benefits with minimal exclusions to help members cover the unexpected that’s not covered by a standard long-term Income Protection policy. This is especially important to brokers with mortgage and renter clients.

“We believe that Friendly Shield will appeal to most individuals aged between 18-50, providing essential peace of mind should the unexpected happen for a very affordable price.

“Whilst core inflation may be falling, the cost-of-living crisis is still affecting UK households, with ONS reporting that 55% of adults in May 2024 felt an increase in their household expenses compared to the month before.  Friendly Shield gives advisers an alternative and viable product for when traditional protection products may not be needed or perceived as too expensive helping them to serve more needs and keep more clients protected.”