Who Are The Exeter?

The Exeter, formerly known as Exeter Family Friendly, was established in 1927 and is based in the city of Exeter, Devon. In 2008, the Exeter Family Friendly Society and Pioneer Friendly Society merged to form Exeter Family Friendly, and in 2015, they started to trade as The Exeter. The Exeter is what is known as a mutual, meaning it is not privately owned and has no shareholders, and reinvests its profits into keeping down costs.

The major selling point of The Exeter is that it offers insurance policies for people who would normally be declined for insurance. Specifically, people with Type 2 Diabetes or a High BMI. While the policies encourage healthy living as a way to lower premiums, they are sold through financial advisers, and the failure to meet goals set could result in higher premiums.

The life policies The Exeter offer are:

• Managed Life
• Real Life Insurance

They also offer two Income Protection products:

• Pure Protection Plus
• Income One Plus

In addition, there are three Health policies:

• Health Essentials for Me
• Health Choices for Me
• Health Cover for Me

What Is The Managed Life Policy?

This is available to UK customers between the ages of 18 and 80 and is available in level or decreasing terms. Level cover means that the payout amount and the monthly payments stay the same over the term of the policy. Decreasing cover is where your premiums stay the same throughout the time of the policy but the benefit will reduce. You also have the option to increase your cover.

The term for this policy can be between 5 and 50 years and stipulates the following:

• The policy will pay a lump sum in the event of the insured’s death.
• It will pay out if the policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness when the life expectancy is less than 12 months.
• The policy has to end before the age of 90.
• The cover benefit is from £20,000 up to a maximum of £3,000,000.
• The minimum monthly premium is £15.

The Managed Life plan offers an incentive to reduce your benefits from year to year if you can show proof that your health has improved. But if your health worsens, it could cause your premiums to increase.

What Is Real Life Insurance?

This policy covers people with serious or multiple health conditions life cover. The stipulations are the same as the above with the same criteria…

• The policy will pay a lump sum in the event of the insured’s death.
• It will pay out if the policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness when the life expectancy is less than 12 months.
• The policy has to end before the age of 90.
• The cover benefit is from £20,000 up to a maximum of £3,000,000.
• The minimum monthly premium is £15.

As an additional perk, policyholders get access to the Health Wise app:

• It provides medical advice and treatments via their smartphone or tablet and can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
• Access to a GP on-demand and prescription service.
• Second medical opinion.
• It also provides lifestyle coaching and health advice, such as diet and nutrition.

What Are The Income Protection Policies?

Exeter Life Insurance offers two Income Protection products:

• Pure Protection Plus
  The Insurance Pure Plus policy pays a chosen benefit if you cannot work due to illness or injury. While the standards apply to your chosen occupation only, it covers most job titles and the premium stays the same regardless of your job title, whether a doctor or factory worker, the payment doesn’t change. The benefit gives you two options to simplify a claim:
  ==> 75% of the initial benefit, as long as you prove financial evidence.
  ==> A fixed £1000 of the benefit without any financial evidence when submitting the application.
• Income One Plus
  This policy covers low-risk jobs, such as those that work in an office but the premium you pay may reflect your job role. As with Pure Protection, simplifying a claim is done via:
  ==> 75% of the initial benefit, as long as you prove financial evidence.
  ==> A fixed £1000 of the benefit without any financial evidence when submitting the application.

Both policies give you the choice when will it end, and can be between 50 and 70 years old.

The benefit of Income One Plus is that you get offers of your choice of claim periods, especially if your budget doesn’t allow much legroom. You can file a Limited Claim Period of 2 up to 5 years which will provide a lower premium. But you can choose premiums to suit your situation, such as a level premium, and an age-costed premium, which starts lower but increases as you age.

What Are The Health Policies?

The Exeter Family Friendly offers three different levels of cover to appeal to different budgets and people who need differing levels of protection:

Health Essentials for Me

This is the low-cost private medical insurance plan, and covers the following:

• In-patient treatment.
• Day-patient treatment.
• Out-patient private treatment.
• Cancer treatment (optional).

It should be noted that there is no cover for the diagnosis or investigation of medical issues so you would have to visit your healthcare provider or pay for a private appointment.

Health Choices for Me

The Health Essentials components are covered as well as cover for diagnostic procedures; this includes MRI and PET scans. If you are covering a child on the policy it also covers home nursing and parental accommodation, as well as a few extras, but this will increase the premiums.

Health Cover for Me

The policy offers unlimited treatment for the types of treatments covered in the policy. As well as the treatments covered by the previous two policies, it also covers:

• Manipulative treatment.
• Private ambulances.
• Home nursing.

People are concerned with health policies should a pre-existing condition not be covered. The company is unique in that it offers fixed moratorium underwriting, so any conditions not included in the policy can be claimed for the two years after the policy begins. However, the insurance company will not pay for them. After two years of being free of the condition, The Exeter will include it.

How Much Does The Insurance Cost?

While there is no set cost due to the premium relying on your individual circumstances, they take into account your lifestyle factors, such as age, health and pre-existing medical conditions. It is also worth noting that The Exeter takes your BMI (Body Mass Index) into account when tallying up the cost. Even if you are relatively fit and healthy, but your BMI indicates otherwise, you may pay more for the policy.

Is The Exeter For Me?

On Trustpilot, they have a 4.5 out of 5, and a rating of “excellent” based on 306 reviews. As a policy for those who do not qualify for an insurance policy with other providers, especially those that suffer from Type 2 Diabetes or are overweight means that peace of mind is available to those who are deemed uninsurable. They are also very engaging on the customer service front and are keen to respond to good and bad feedback. And as a Mutual, they appear to be focused more on the customer side of things. For those people who are concerned they have too many illnesses to get life insurance, The Exeter can provide a ray of light.