INSURERS WE ARRANGE
Liverpool Victoria (LV=) Life Insurance
Best known in protection for income protection — which is also the product where comparing on price does you the least good, because the value is in the definitions.
LV= And Liverpool Victoria Are The Same Insurer
Worth clearing up first, because it genuinely confuses people comparing quotes. LV= is the trading name of Liverpool Victoria, an insurer with mutual origins and a long history in the UK market. You will see the full name in some places and the short one on the paperwork.
We arrange LV= for life cover, combined life and critical illness, and business income protection — though it is the last of those it is best known for.
Why Income Protection Is The Interesting Part
Life cover is largely a commodity. You are buying a fixed sum on a defined event, and while insurers differ on underwriting, they do not differ much on what the product does.
Income protection is not like that. Two policies with the same monthly benefit and the same premium can be worth wildly different amounts, because the terms decide when they pay and for how long. This is the product where advice earns its keep, and it is the one LV= is most associated with.
The Three Clauses That Decide Everything
If you read nothing else on an income protection quote, read these.
The incapacity definition. Own occupation pays if you cannot do your own job. The weaker versions pay only if you cannot do any suitable work, or assess you against everyday tasks like walking and lifting. A tradesperson who loses the use of a hand has a clear claim on the first and very possibly none on the third. This is the single most important clause in the policy.
The deferred period. How long you wait before it pays. Longer is cheaper, and the right answer is the point at which your employer's sick pay stops and your savings run out — not the cheapest option on the list.
How long it pays for. A short-term policy that pays for one or two years costs considerably less than one that pays to retirement. That is a real difference in what you own, not a discount, and it is the most common way an income protection quote is made to look competitive.
If You Are Self-Employed, Get The Benefit Basis Right
Income protection matters more for the self-employed than for anyone else, because there is no employer sick pay sitting behind them. It is also where applications most often go wrong.
The problem is how income is defined. For an employee it is a salary figure and there is little to argue about. For a sole trader or a company director it may be based on net profit, on drawings, or on salary plus dividends, and the policy will say which. State the wrong figure at application and the mismatch surfaces at claim — when the insurer asks for accounts and the benefit is recalculated on the correct basis.
It is entirely avoidable, and it is the main reason self-employed income protection is worth arranging with someone who will ask about your accounts before the application rather than after the claim.
CoverLife is a UK insurance broker and is not LV=. We can arrange LV= cover and are paid commission by the insurer; the policy terms that apply are the ones in LV='s own documentation. See the other insurers we arrange.
On Income Protection, Compare Terms Before Price
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.
- Income protectionThe product LV= is most associated with, and the one where the policy terms matter far more than the premium.
- The other insurers we arrangeWho else is on the panel and what each tends to be strongest at.
- Executive income protectionIf you are a company director, the version paid for by the business is usually more efficient than personal cover.
Common questions
Is LV= the same as Liverpool Victoria?+
Yes. LV= is the trading name of Liverpool Victoria, a long-established UK insurer with mutual origins. Most people search for the full name and see the short one on the paperwork, which causes a fair amount of confusion when comparing quotes — they are the same insurer.
What is LV= known for?+
In protection, income protection is what it is most associated with. It also writes life cover and combined life and critical illness, so it is worth considering for more than one need.
Is LV= good for income protection?+
It is one of the insurers worth comparing seriously for it. What actually decides whether an income protection policy is any good is the definition of incapacity, the deferred period and how long it pays for — and those vary between insurers in ways that matter far more than the premium. Comparing income protection on price alone is close to meaningless.
What is an own occupation definition?+
It means the policy pays if you cannot do your own job, rather than any job at all. It is the strongest definition available and it is the one to look for. The weaker alternatives pay only if you cannot do any suitable work, or judge you against a list of everyday tasks, and both set a considerably higher bar for a claim. If your income depends on a specific skill, this single clause matters more than the price difference between quotes.
What is a deferred period on income protection?+
The waiting time between being unable to work and the policy starting to pay — commonly four, eight, thirteen, twenty-six or fifty-two weeks. A longer deferred period costs less. The right choice is not the cheapest but the one that matches how long your employer would pay you and how long your savings would realistically last.
Can I get LV= cover through a broker?+
Yes, and much of LV='s protection business is arranged through advisers rather than sold directly. There is no price penalty for going through a broker — commission is paid by the insurer — and for income protection specifically the advice is worth having, because the policy terms are where the value sits.
Does LV= cover self-employed people for income protection?+
Income protection is available to self-employed people across the market, and it is arguably more important for them than for employees, because there is no sick pay behind them. How the benefit is calculated is the thing to get right — for the self-employed it is usually based on profit or drawings rather than a salary figure, and getting that wrong at application is what causes disputes at claim.
Is LV= more expensive than other insurers?+
It varies by product and by your circumstances, and on income protection a straight price comparison is misleading anyway. A cheaper policy with a weaker incapacity definition or a shorter payment period is not cheaper in any meaningful sense — it is less cover. The comparison worth running is like for like on terms first, then price.
Does LV= offer business protection?+
Yes, business income protection is available alongside personal cover. Business arrangements bring in questions of ownership, trusts and tax treatment that matter more than the premium, so they are worth arranging with advice rather than online.
Can I hold income protection alongside critical illness cover?+
Yes, and they are frequently confused with each other but do genuinely different jobs. Critical illness pays a lump sum on diagnosis of a listed condition. Income protection pays a monthly income for as long as you cannot work, whatever the cause, listed or not. If the worry is being unable to earn rather than a specific diagnosis, income protection is usually the more relevant of the two.