Who is Co-op, and what’s the Co-op life insurance?

Founded in 1867, the Co-operative Insurance Company Limited was committed to providing fire insurance to societies in the UK. True to its values of cooperation, the business has always been owned by its members. As such, the desire to provide insurance services is driven by member-shared profits that support the entire community. Co-op offers a variety of insurance plans, such as car and home, as well as their Co op life insurance cover. They, therefore, receive mixed and various reviews regarding their insurance plans, as a result of their cover diversity. The Co-op member family consists of over 17 million members, dedicated to helping communities. On Trustpilot, Co-op insurance receives a very low score, with 83% of users rating their experience as bad. However, it is fair to mention that reviews refer to all insurance plans rather than focusing on the specialist Co op life insurance cover and Co op life insurance over 50s. Insurance seekers should, therefore, be cautious about online reviews, as many published comments don’t refer to life plans. Some of the benefits of Co op life insurance include:

• Affordable life insurance plan, as minimum premium starts from 23p a day, according to Co op life insurance advertising campaigns on search engines. For comparative purposes, life insurance plans cost less than £2 per week, which is one of the main selling arguments for the brand.
• Terminal illness is automatically part of your Co-op life insurance for all, including over 50s without any premium increase.
• Co-op is dedicated to supporting their members and helping with budget management. The insurance plan includes payment holidays for anybody who’s had their Co op life insurance for at least 12 months.
• Three different types of cover are available for the typical life insurance plan to support customers in different life situations.
• UK residents aged between 50 and 80 are guaranteed to be accepted for the Co-op life insurance over 50s without medical questions.
• Serious illness cover can be included in your cover for an extra premium. The serious illness payout of £1,000 or more is guaranteed for the following illnesses: cancer, heart attack, stroke, dementia, benign brain tumour, and multiple sclerosis.

The three types of Co op life insurance plan

Co op is one of the few life insurance providers that offer three types of cover. Typical life insurance providers offer only two types of protection. These covers refer to the chosen method of payout once a claim is made on the policy. When the policyholder dies, the type of cover has no impact on the waiting time before the beneficiary receives the expected payout. Co-op life insurance aims to pay claims within 3 working days as long as the insurer has been provided with the necessary information, which includes not only proof of death but also medical evidence when relevant. The type of cover is decided by the policyholder at the time of taking the Co-op life insurance plan.

• The level cover is the most common type of cover. It requires the insurer to pay a fixed lump sum amount to the beneficiaries mentioned on the policy. The life payout with the level cover remains the same.
• The decreasing cover is a popular option for policyholders who want their life insurance to help repay debts or mortgage. As a result, the payout decreases over time as the debt is repaid.
• The monthly income benefit cover is a unique monthly income cover of up to £2,500 that will be paid to the family of the policyholder for the remainder of the life insurance policy.

Co op life insurance focuses on affordability

The primary selling argument for Co op life insurance covers and Co op life insurance over 50s is affordability. Individuals under 50s who are looking for a life insurance plan can find covers that start from £7 per month with the provider. Your specific medical and financial situation will determine the final premium. Co op life insurance over 50s starts as low as £3.95 per month, and will never exceed £100 per month. For over 50s policyholders, the payout will be made in full if the death occurs after two years of the start of the policy. Co op also offers payment holidays to policyholders who have had their life insurance plan for over 12 months. As a rule of thumb, policyholders can take two payment breaks of up to 6 months over the whole duration of the policy without affecting their life insurance cover. However, missed payments will affect your monthly premiums. If you don’t make up for the missed payment, your life cover payout will be reduced to cater for the payment holiday amount. Unfortunately, the provider doesn't offer payment holidays for over 50s plan, which means that missing a payment can affect the payout and the policy. If a payment is missed before the policyholder is more than 35% through the plan, the cover ends. Any payment missed before the end of the policy can proportionally reduce the payout to 35% or 75%. If you want to compare Co op life insurance and Co op life insurance over 50s covers with other plans, our Discount Life Insurance team can help you without ‘advised sale’ service. We take full responsibility so that the policy you take with us is the most suitable for your unique situation.