As the ABI examines publishing claim statistics on short-term income protection (STIP) policies, British Friendly's Mark Myers says we need greater clarity on these plans.
Whether or not consumers trust our products largely depends on whether or not we pay our claims.
Publishing claims rates is important for the industry to help build trust and to support advisers with messages they can use with clients.
However, with so many different types of short-term policies available across the market it is important to compare like-for-like as much as possible so that the data is meaningful.
It has been reported in recent weeks that the ABI is holding talks on publishing short-term IP claims stats, which is to be commended.
As an income protection specialist insurer we already publish our claims data, including both long and short term policies.
The ABI has published detailed claims statistics for IP and other protection products earlier this year, while similar work from companies such as F&TRC is also helping to get the message across that our industry really does pay claims.
It is early days though and caution is often wise. We are optimistic about the future of the income protection market and publishing continued claims data, as long as it is positive, can only help in the longer term.
But should the ABI proceed with publishing data, specifically on short term products, two key questions arise: Which products will be included and what will the numbers look like?
