We are pleased to announce that Shepherds Friendly has been acknowledged as an accredited Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation.

This recognises our commitment to paying our staff the real Living Wage, a minimum hourly wage of £9 for everyone 18 years or older, higher than the governments minimum for over 25s, currently at £8.21 per hour.

The Living Wage Foundation is a campaigning organisation, dedicated to encouraging employers across the UK to pay the real Living Wage.

There are currently 5,000 accredited Living Wage employers in the UK, employing over 1.72 million employees.

It is calculated according to what people actually need, to make ends meet, by taking into account the real cost of living. The real Living Wage provides a voluntary benchmark for employers who believe a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.

Currently, 22% of employees in the UK earn below the Living Wage, nearly a quarter of the UK workforce.

Nasrin Hossain, culture director, said:

“We are delighted to have received the accreditation of being a Living Wage employer. Our values as a Society include fairness and integrity, not only towards our members but also towards staff, therefore this recognition of being a responsible employer is truly a proud moment for us.

“We are committed to creating a workplace where staff are happy and motivated to achieve the best outcomes for our members, and strongly believe they deserve fair pay for all their hard work.”

Katherine Chapman, Director or the Living Wage Foundation said:

“We’re pleased that Shepherds Friendly has joined the movement of over 5,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.

“They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as IKEA, Heathrow Airport, Barclays, Chelsea and Everton Football Clubs and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Shepherds Friendly, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”

We’re delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted in the COVER Excellence Awards 2019 for the Best Individual Income Protection category.

The COVER Excellence Awards celebrate firms and intermediaries that are leading the charge across the protection, life and health insurance space.

They seek to recognise and reward those firms and intermediaries who have been innovating and serving their customers to the highest standards.

Shortlisted alongside us are LV=, Zurich, Royal London and a few other companies. A full list of the awards categories and the finalists is available here.

Antony Uttley, head of sales, said:

“It’s an honour to have been shortlisted for the Best Individual Income Protection category in the Cover Excellence Awards, which have become highly coveted in the insurance industry. We are delighted to have been recognised as it reiterates the competitiveness of our Income Protection in providing our intermediaries with a product that meets their customers needs.”

Winners will be selected by a panel of top industry experts and announced at an award ceremony in London on Thursday 10 October 2019. Wish us luck!

Thank you to everyone who took time out to vote for us in the Investment Life & Pensions Awards 2019. We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for four categories!

Categories that we have been announced as finalists for are:

• Best Income Protection Provider
• Best Claims Support
• Best Protection Service
• Best Junior ISA Provider

The awards are presented by the Moneyfacts Group annually and are highly coveted and totally independent. They recognise product excellence and outstanding service, covering various products from across the range of financial services.

The judging process is made up of two elements. The first step involves advisers nominating their top three providers for different product categories. After this a panel of analytical experts will scrutinise the pricing and features of each company’s product, before coming to their final decision.

Being shortlisted for these awards alone is a huge honour for us.

Some of the companies who have also been shortlisted include Vitality, LV=, Hargreaves Lansdown. For a complete list of all the nominees in each category is available here.

Richard Eagling, Editor of Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts, said:

“The Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards showcase all the hard work conducted by the financial services community and recognise the product providers and financial advisers that have excelled over the last 12 months. By covering the full spectrum of investment, retirement and protection markets, the Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards remain the most comprehensive in the sector. Central to the prestige of our awards and our confidence in ensuring that they provide a true measure of industry-wide excellence is the rigorous process by which the finalists and eventual winners are decided.”

Antony Uttley, Head of Distribution at Shepherds Friendly, remarked:

“It is a great honour to be shortlisted for four awards in the Investment Life and Pensions Awards 2019. We are pleased with this recognition we continue to aspire to develop and grow, whilst putting our members at the heart of every decision and insuring we can provide our partners with great service. We’d like to thank all our advisers who helped us reach this stage by voting for us.”

We look forward to attending the awards ceremony, which will take place in London on 19^th September 2019. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome!

We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for three categories in the Cover Customer Care Awards 2019.

The categories we have been recognised for include:

• Best Underwriting Team Award
• Best Claims Team Award
• Above and Beyond Award

Daniel Palk, Head of Underwriting and Claims at Shepherds Friendly, said:

“We’re thrilled to have been recognised in the Cover Customer Care Awards, which have become highly coveted awards in the insurance industry. It’s great to be shortlisted for the Best Underwriting Team, Best Claims Team and Above and Beyond award categories as we always strive to make the claims process for our members as easy as possible. This recognition reinforces our commitment to place the interests of our members at the heart of all our decisions.”

Cover Customer Care Awards shine a light on the best examples of excellent customer service shown by providers operating within life, protection and private medical insurance, as well as associated technology firms and third-party services.

The awards search for providers who have gone the extra mile in recent times to ensure their claims are paid, fast and efficient services are provided to customers and support given to individual people and their families at critical times of need.

They celebrate the ‘unsung’ heroes working across our industry. The claims handlers, underwriting teams and online services; the intermediary support and marketing individuals truly making a difference behind the scenes at insurers and service providers.

A full list of the award categories and the companies we are up against is available to view here.

We look forward to attending the awards ceremony on Friday 10 May in London, where the winners will be announced. Wish us luck!

We are proud to announce that we paid 95.8% of Income Protection claims in 2018.

The majority of claims in 2018 were made for musculoskeletal pain (non-spinal), which accounted for 27.15% of the claims received, followed by spinal issues (14.5%), mental health related problems (11.97%), viral infections and flus (9.61%) and fractures (6.91%).

Of the declined claims, the most common reasons were non-disclosure of details at the time of the application, not meeting the terms and conditions of the plan and non-payment of premiums.

Daniel Palk, head of claims and underwriting at Shepherds Friendly, said:

“2018 has been a very busy and successful year for the Society in which the claims team have strived to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of our members. A common misconception amongst individuals is that insurance companies don’t always pay claims. However, with us having paid 95.8% of claims in 2018 it goes to prove that this is not the case.

“We pride ourselves on ensuring that from start to finish we are able to support our members in their time of need. Our trained specialists are there every step of the way to explain, guide and keep our members up to date with the progress of their claim and to assist them in their return to work.”

A forward-thinking mutual approach

As a mutual our aim is to ensure we put our members’ interests at the heart of everything we do and in 2018, we have continued with our claims promise to our members, which focuses on delivering the best claims process possible.

The claims promise is based on the Society’s mission to ask, listen and respond in order to help us provide an individual experience for every member, applying equally to any occasion where we need to be contacted with a claim.

After feedback from our members, we also launched our online notification feature in 2018, whereby members are given the option to notify us online through our website about an Income Protection claim they would like to make, to make the process of claiming easier.

We have also continued to use rehabilitation providers to help facilitate the transition back to work for our members who make a claim.

Ann-Marie O’Dea, chief executive at Shepherds Friendly Society was pleased to report such a positive claim statistic, a great rate when compared to the industry average.

Protecting your income

Our Income Protection plan is designed to ensure that you’ll continue to receive a regular tax-free monthly income while you’re unable to work because of illness or injury. It also offers you access to a valuable network of support services when you are off work.

You find out more about some of the benefits our Income Protection plan has to offer, here. Alternatively, you can give our Member Service Team a call on 0161 428 1212 if you are interested in finding out more.

We’re pleased to announce that we have added two new members to our expanding Shepherds Friendly Business Development team. The Society has worked closely with intermediaries over many years and these new appointments are further evidence of our commitment to expanding and enhancing the support we provide to help and grow intermediary businesses as rapidly and efficiently as possible.

The two new members are Charlotte Fowler and Kate Whelan. Charlotte joins Shepherds Friendly from a commercial insurance broker organisation and her expertise in the fields of Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance will prove particularly of value to intermediaries looking to promote our highly successful Income Protection plans.

Kate joins the Society’s team from a role as Intermediary Account Manager for a leading UK insurance group and is looking to further demonstrate her skills in developing successful and lasting relationships with both existing intermediaries and those new to Shepherds Friendly.

Antony Uttley, head of distribution, commented:

“We’re pleased to welcome both Charlotte and Kate to the Society. Their addition to the Business Development team will contribute significantly to the number of intermediaries we work with and help us to deliver our mutual advantage promise to each and every adviser submitting business through us.”

The new recruits have already expressed how impressed they are by the Society’s real commitment to supporting intermediaries and, in particular, how this is demonstrated through our programme known as “Mutual Advantage”.

The programme has evolved through our many years’ experience of working with the intermediary market and brings together several services expressly tailored to meet the changing needs of the sector.

So, we’d like to say welcome to the two new members of our Business Development team and we’re confident that you’ll find them as just as helpful and supportive as the rest of the Shepherds Friendly team who are out and about working with intermediaries around the country.

Shepherds Friendly would like to announce and congratulate Laura Hassall in her new role as Business Development Consultant, as part of the expanding intermediary team.

Laura, who joined the Society in January 2018 and quickly proved her worth in a sales support role, successfully progressed to a position as business development associate and has now been appointed to a full role within the team. She will be looking to not only manage relationships with current key accounts, but to also contact and introduce new intermediaries to our growing network.

Laura commented:

“I have really enjoyed my time with the Society to date as everyone has been so supportive. I am very grateful for the training I’ve been given and for the opportunities offered to me to make such a rapid progression in my career. I’m now looking forward to getting out and about to meet with intermediaries and help Shepherds Friendly continue with its impressive growth record.”

Antony Uttley, our Head of Distribution, added:

“Laura has been a valuable asset to the Shepherds Friendly business development team. The appointment to her new role corresponds with her efforts with our intermediaries.  Laura is smart, determined and devoted to ensuring all intermediaries gain the best from working with a mutual”.

The Shepherds Friendly Society is a thoroughly modern mutual which has been helping families with their finances since 1826. Built on an ethos of putting our members at the heart of all we do, this philosophy has been extended to the intermediary market with a firm commitment to helping build businesses today and into the future.

Our dedicated Business Development team has worked closely with intermediaries for many years and believe we have developed a good understanding of how we can best support and provide all our intermediaries with a bespoke service, designed to give a distinct and clear advantage when it comes to helping grow a financial business.

Our Mutual Advantage programme means we treat intermediaries as more than just another number; we take time to understand your organisation’s needs and objectives so we can support you with the tailored services that will help you most. Support that allows you to concentrate on providing your clients with the highest levels of service each and every day. It’s an advantage that means that we can both face the future with confidence.

With Christmas approaching fast, we thought it’s about time to get into the festive spirit and to celebrate, we are running a competition especially for advisers.

We are giving you the chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher, to treat yourselves to a Christmas present of your liking!

Entering the competition is simple. For Shepherds Friendly Income Protection Plans we issue to your clients between 3^rd and 18^th December, on top of the regular commission you receive, your company will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher!

Christmas is an expensive time for most families undoubtedly and so this would be a great time to encourage them to consider protecting their most valuable asset, their regular income.

From all the entries received, the winner will then be chosen at random and the winning company will be notified by email, no later than 5pm on Friday 21^st December 2018. We will also announce the winner on our Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, so make sure you keep an eye out there so you don’t miss out.

To view the full terms and conditions of the competition, please click here.

Good luck. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We are proud to announce that we have partnered up with iPipeline and our Income Protection plan is now available on their digital platform.

This is a fantastic opportunity as the partnership will make it possible for our current and potentially future advisers to research and recommend a variety of plans and apply for them on behalf of their clients, all in a matter of minutes.

Further good news for those opting to utilise the iPipeline platform is the price we quote is the price their client will pay, as we do not load our premiums based on high-risk jobs, health conditions or pastimes. Moreover, our indicative underwriting process allows for applications to potentially be accepted on the same day.

iPipeline is an online portal that provides tools for the insurance and financial services markets to sell their products. The platform will allow for advisers to compare and identify protection solutions, tailored to suit the needs and budget of their clients.

As a modern mutual we are always looking for new and innovative ways to deliver our products. Partnering with iPipeline will ensure an efficient digital experience for our advisers and in-turn our members, by helping speed-up the buying process.  Our dedicated Business Development Team is also here to help and support all our intermediaries every step of the way, whenever needed, with quick response times to any questions or queries.

Antony Uttley, our head of distribution, commented on the partnership:

“We are pleased about partnering up with iPipeline and to be able to offer our Income Protection on their platform. Working with iPipeline brings us one step closer to increasing the awareness of the need for protection in the UK. This will enable us to offer our advisers even more choice and a better digital experience, as a result of which they can help better protect their clients.”