It’s not often that I’m impressed with a new product launch, but LV= (formerly known as Liverpool Victoria) has recently launched a mortgage protection insurance  plan which doubles up as an income protection plan.

Crucially, it offers ‘own occupation’ cover to all but the riskiest of jobs, allows applications up to age 65 and only charges ‘guaranteed’ rates, which means that your premiums will not rise as you grow older.

It provides cover for accident, sickness and unemployment, with level mortgage payment protection and a choice of level or index-linked living expenses protection.

You can choose a deferred period of one, two, three or six months and waiver of premium automatically kicks in during a claim.

Another plus point is that the plan allows you to run the plan until you are able to resume work, until the end of your mortgage term or until you die, unlike most MPPI policies which terminate at age 55, 60 or 65.

LV= employs telephone underwriting which means that clients are interviewed over the phone by medically qualified staff - a process which has been found to lessen the risk of the insured failing to disclose relevant medical details and hence the chances of non-disclosure disputes.

Premiums reflect age, gender, smoker status and occupation and premiums for lower-risk occupations are especially competitive.

The product has a Defaqto 5 Star rating. Defaqto insurance principal, Mike Powell, says: “This product is flexible, simple and easy to understand, and can be tailored to the consumer’s needs. The introduction of a long term contract with guaranteed premiums for an MPPI product is a massive step in the right direction for the MPPI market”

For more on income protection, read our guide: http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/insurance/life/income-protection.aspx

For more on LV=s products visit: https://www.lvmlp.co.uk/