It’s always a proud moment for us when we have awards news to share with our intermediaries. This time, the team here at Shepherds Friendly is celebrating not one but two accolades at the esteemed Investment Life & Pensions (ILP) Moneyfacts Awards 2021.

The awards take place annually and involve rigorous judging. Their purpose is to recognise and applaud the providers and advisers who are going above and beyond within the realms of investments, life and pensions.

How did we get on?

This year’s ceremony took place on Thursday 16^th September; it was an exciting return to live events for the awards, following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. And we are thrilled to announce that we were recognised in two categories with some noteworthy competition. Here’s how we did:

• Best Claims Support – Highly Commended
• Best Junior ISA Provider – Commended

“A huge thank you”

Our Head of Sales, Alex Fallowes said:

“The ILP Moneyfacts awards are highly sought after in the industry, by both providers and advisers alike. We’re delighted to have been recognised in two categories this year, both of which have some really strong competition. Being acknowledged in a prestigious arena and amongst some big names in the industry is a real testament to what we do at Shepherds Friendly and shows us that we’re doing things right.

“On behalf of Shepherds Friendly, I would just like to offer a huge thank you to all the advisers that voted for us, we really appreciate your support.”

How do the awards work? 

There are multiple stages in the thorough judging process. For product-related categories, there is a combination of steps. First of all, advisers are asked to vote for their top three providers across the market – they can choose whoever they feel deserves the accolade, rather than being given a list. The nominations are then shared with a research team for review, comparison and analysis. The research team assess the pricing and features of a product over an entire 12-month period.

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our new health and wellbeing benefits for Income Protection members in partnership with Nuffield Health, as part of our Enhanced Benefits package.

When your clients take out an Income Protection plan with us, they get peace of mind knowing that they won’t need to worry about their finances if they are unable to work due to sickness and injury. At Shepherds Friendly, we believe that everyone can benefit from being part of our mutual society. So, we’ve made sure that your clients get more out of their Income Protection plan.

Going one step further for your clients

In partnership with the UK’s largest healthcare charity, Nuffield Health, our Enhanced Benefits package for Income Protection plan holders now includes access to a new range of health and wellbeing benefits. This is good news for both members and advisers, as our Head of Sales, Alexander Fallowes, explains:

“It’s reassuring having Income Protection there when you need it. We wanted to go a step further by adding value in the form of benefits that your clients could find helpful on a daily basis. Our partnership with Nuffield Health means we can do just that, and we now offer some great health and wellbeing benefits to Income Protection plan holders.

“The new benefits are available for both new and current plans; which means you can talk to your new clients about the new benefits and these changes could also open up a conversation with your existing clients, too.”

What’s new?

The new Nuffield Health benefits, that will be available to your clients from today, include access to:

Nuffield Health’s Virtual GP service, powered by Doctor Care Anywhere – 24/7, 365 days a year worldwide access to private online and phone appointments with GPs. With unlimited 20-minute appointments and no need to unregister from your current GP, your clients can rest assured knowing that a healthcare professional is just a call away.

Nuffield Health’s Emotional Wellbeing platform – Emotional wellbeing can have a huge impact on overall health. Nuffield Health’s Emotional Wellbeing platform allows your clients to explore and address any underlying issues that could negatively impact their mental health; and it all starts with a quick questionnaire.

20% discount on Nuffield Health Gym membership – Get fitter, healthier and stronger… and save some money at the same time. Our Enhanced Benefits also include a discount on ‘Anytime’ membership at Nuffield Health gyms which have a range of health and wellbeing facilities to enjoy.

‘Another key reference point’ for advisers

Our Chief Executive Officer, Ann-Marie O’Dea believes the new Nuffield Health benefits will have a real positive impact on the lives of our Income Protection plan holders and said:

“Our new health and wellbeing benefits are tangible, genuinely helpful and can be used on a day-to-day basis, should your clients wish to do so. Not only do they add value for those with Income Protection plans, but they could also help people make positive changes for life.

“The Nuffield Health brand will resonate with consumers, giving advisers another key reference point when selling our Income Protection products.”

Family Support Benefits

Alongside these new Nuffield Health benefits, Shepherds Friendly offers financial support as part of the Enhanced Benefits package. These are our Family Support Benefits, and consist of:

New Child Payment: We’ll pay £250 into a Junior ISA upon the birth or adoption of a child. This gives members the opportunity to give their little ones a head start for the future.

Bereavement Payment: A £6,000 payment to support the loved ones of a member, should the worst happen and they pass away during the term of their plan.

Find out more

To find out more about Enhanced Benefits, click here. If you’d like any more information, please get in touch and our Business Development team will be happy to help.

Your clients can access the new Nuffield Health benefits via a hub on the Shepherds Friendly website: Enhanced Benefits Log-in. We’ve also created a helpful guide that you can share with your clients when discussing our Income Protection plan:

Enhanced Benefits Guide

The team here at Shepherds Friendly is still celebrating recent successes at the Insurance Post Claims and Fraud Awards and the UK Employee Experience Awards, and yet even more shortlist nominations have been announced!

Even though there’s plenty for us to celebrate, we’re delighted to announce that we’ve been shortlisted for two more awards:

• ‘Claims Team of the Year’ at the British Claims Awards 2020
• ‘Underwriting and Claims Award’ at the Protection Review Awards 2020

The British Claims Awards

Claims Media’s British Claims Awards put the claims process front and centre, to recognise and reward those companies, teams and individuals who are doing great work within this field.

The event organisers describe the awards as being focused on championing “Claims as a Service across insurance. The event celebrates the achievements and progress made by the leading professionals in the claims sector on behalf of their clients.”

In line with government guidance, the ceremony cannot take place in-person, but a virtual event will take place on 19^th November 2020, when all the winners will be revealed.

Chief Sales Officer, Antony Uttley said:

“Shepherds Friendly works hard to regularly review and improve our claims process; it is our goal to ensure that each member who claims with us has a personal, smooth and fair experience. Therefore, we’re pleased that our efforts have been recognised.”

The Protection Review Awards

We have also been recognised in the shortlist for the Protection Review Awards 2020. The aim of these awards is to recognise “excellence in protection”.

In normal circumstances, these awards would involve a full day conference focusing on protection and a gala dinner. However, similarly to the British Claims Awards, the 2020 awards will also be taking place online. Antony commented:

“Shepherds Friendly’s Income Protection has been designed to provide our members with vital income support when they are unable to work due to illness or injury. We listen to members and our intermediaries to help us shape this product, and the service we provide alongside it throughout the entire member journey including underwriting and claims, so more members can benefit from it.

It’s great to see this hard work being acknowledged and we can’t wait to see how we get on.”

Wish us luck

For now, all that’s left to do is wait and keep our fingers crossed ahead of these award ceremonies. We hope all of our members will wish us luck and we will be sure to keep you up to date with how we get on.

To stay up to date with all the latest news at your Society, keep an eye on our website and social media channels!

The team at Shepherds Friendly has yet another reason to celebrate following today’s virtual ceremony for the UK Employee Experience Awards 2020. We are thrilled to have been recognised in the Best Company to Work For (SME) category in which we received a silver award.

The UK Employee Experience Awards aim to recognise and reward firms who have implemented innovative employee initiatives and put an outstanding employee experience at the forefront. They celebrate businesses who have gone above and beyond in rewarding, retaining, supporting and developing their staff, to strengthen the company from within.

Like many others, today’s awards ceremony was completely online and included finalist presentations, keynote speakers and even a magician. Senior Marketing Manager, Libbi Martin attended the event and represented Shepherds Friendly at the presentations. Here’s what she had to say:

“Today’s event was really well-organised, even though it was quite strange presenting in front of my laptop. There was a lot of great competition and I enjoyed seeing what other companies have been up to in relation to improving work life for their staff.

“I relish opportunity to talk about Shepherds Friendly and share the great things we do to keep our team happy. We do an unbelievable amount of work to make sure our staff feel appreciated, supported and satisfied in their jobs. So, this silver award means a great deal to all of us.”

As part of our entry, we talked about a selection of the employee initiatives we have introduced over the past 12 months. Our members and staff will always come first at Shepherds Friendly, and we know that the key to happy members is engaged and content staff.

It looks like we might need to start making more room on our trophy cabinet…

To stay up to date with the Society, keep an eye on our website and social channels.

We are thrilled to announce that Shepherds Friendly is celebrating a double success at the Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards 2020.

Today saw the announcement of all the winners of the Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards 2020. Moneyfacts is a highly respected comparison and research firm which aims to help consumers make informed financial decisions. These awards focus on highlighting and celebrating those firms and independent advisers within financial services who offer excellent products and outstanding customer service.

Despite the planned awards ceremony being cancelled due to COVID-19, shortlisted providers and advisers all spent the morning waiting with bated breath as the winners, highly commended and commended were all announced via social media.

It is with great pleasure that we announce our successes in the following categories:

• Best Junior ISA Provider – Highly Commended (for the third year in a row.)
• Best Claims Support – Commended

Chief Sales Officer, Antony Uttley said:

“This is a great result for the whole team. As a business, Shepherds Friendly works tirelessly to make sure the products we offer and the service we provide are the best they can be. Putting members first and meeting their needs are things we take very seriously.

“What an honour to be nominated – let alone be highly commended. We’re really pleased, especially considering the tough competition.”

Well done to everyone who won or was commended!

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to our intermediaries for voting for us, we couldn’t have done this without you.

While we’re still smiling after being named in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work For, there’s even more fantastic news that we’re delighted to share with our intermediaries. We can now reveal that we’ve been shortlisted for the Insurance Post’s Claims Awards 2020!

The Claims Awards shine a spotlight on “the companies, teams and individuals who have gone beyond the point of call to offer exceptional services and results over the past 12-18 months.” The ceremony is an extravagant affair, usually attended by more than 400 industry professionals.

We’ve been shortlisted as finalists for the ‘Customer Care – Company’ category, which focuses on companies putting the customer at the heart of their business. This means that you and your clients can have confidence in our claims process and customer service.

Shepherds Friendly’s Head of Sales, Alex Fallowes said:

“It’s brilliant news that we’ve been shortlisted for The Claims Awards.

“There’s no doubting the fantastic work our claims team does. They’ve put in so much time and effort to make the whole claims process as member focused as possible. Members really appreciate the human-to-human manner in which their claims are dealt with. The levels of communication and transparency involved also makes a world of difference to advisers.”

The Shepherds Friendly claims team is dedicated to creating a great experience for your Income Protection clients from the very first point of contact. We get to know them, treat them as individuals and listen to any feedback we’re given in order to learn and make positive changes.

When your clients make a claim, it’s likely that they’re going through a difficult time or may feel vulnerable. It’s therefore our aim to ensure that the claim process is as smooth, straightforward and transparent as possible, so that all parties are kept up to date and members feel fully supported.

Our personal approach has been well received by our members. The average turnaround time for dealing with a claim is currently 24 hours and 96.55% of members that have completed our claims survey would recommend us to a relative or friend.

The prestigious Claims Awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 17^th June 2020 at The Brewery in London. Be sure to follow us on our social channels for updates.