Previously some occupation classes were only able to secure cover to a maximum age of 55; the restriction has been removed and all occupations now have a maximum age of 70. Occupations that have had the age restriction removed include professional drivers, fitness instructors, nurses, teachers and security guards.

The products that have changed are:

• Personal Menu Plan
  • Income Protection
• Business Menu Plan
  • Income Protection
  • Key Person Income Protection

Debbie Kennedy, group head of protection strategy at Royal London, said: “We have improved our income protection by offering cover up to age 70. As people are living and working for longer it made sense to increase the maximum age to 70 to make sure that our range of income protection covers meets the needs of today’s customer and that income protection is available to people for the whole of their working lives.

“Income protection is the one protection product that every working adult in the UK should consider but our State of the Protection nation report revealed that just 4% of adults have an income protection policy compared t0 6% with critical illness cover and 26% with life insurance.

“There is more that the industry needs to do to get across the message that insurance is important and making our IP more accessible is a step in the right direction.”