One Direct, the financial services subsidiary of An Post, has entered the life assurance market. The insurance agent now provides death benefit policies for those aged 50 to 75 and serious illness cover through New Ireland Assurance.
The new guaranteed death benefit plan provides cover at a fixed premium for amounts ranging from £1,000 to £50,000.
More than half the population of the State is without insurance cover because they fear a medical examination or believe it's difficult to organise, says a Lansdowne Market Research study cited by One Direct.
Medical examinations, queries and reports are not required to qualify for a One Direct policy. All applicants in the specified age range are guaranteed acceptance.
The amount of life assurance cover selected is paid in one lump sum on death, provided the policy has been in place for at least two years. If the policyholder dies before this date, his or her dependants will receive one and a half times the annual premiums paid in that period.
Monthly premiums must be paid until age 85 without interruption and failure to pay means cancellation of cover.
A serious illness plan is also on offer to those aged 18 to 60. Cover lasts 25 years and pays a lump sum if the policyholder suffers from one of seven major illnesses - cancer, heart attack, kidney failure, major organ transplant, coronary artery surgery and stroke. The minimum premium is £10.
The plan's illness definitions were "slightly more expansive" than other policies in the market, said a spokesman.
The advice in general to consumers is to carefully study definitions of illness before deciding on serious illness cover from any provider.
Since One Direct's inception 14 months ago, it has introduced several financial service products in association with various insurance and credit companies.
Managing director, Mr Tim McCarthy, says the direct insurer now has 1 per cent of the motor insurance market or 15,000 policyholders. By 2002, it hopes to have more than 40,000 such customers. In all product areas, the insurer claims 112 new sales a day.
One Direct will introduce secured loans and a website later this year. A savings product is expected in the first quarter of next year.
The tied agent's success or failure may depend on customers' tendency to follow trends from abroad. In Britain, over the last five years, approximately 3 per cent of life assurance protection business has been transacted by telephone and forecasts show this figure is likely to increase to 15 per cent over the next five years.
The An Post subsidiary's products are available by phone at 1890 22 22 22, by mail, or through any of the 1,900 post offices in the Republic.
Before deciding on life assurance, consumers should always shop around for the best policy to suit their needs and budgets.
