ABI Aim To Increase Financial Inclusion

by Richard Kilner

Story link: ABI Aim To Increase Financial Inclusion

The ABI is to work with insurers to try and develop products for the less well off and will seek to increase the takeup of insurance with “insurance with rent” products for social housing tenants.

The institute has been working in partnership with the governmental financial inclusion task force to develop the programme, which was announced at the launch of the ABI’s Financial Inclusion Action Plan on Tuesday morning.

Economic Secretary Kitty Ussher spoke at the launch, stating that more financial inclusion would be beneficial for all concerned with insurers making more profit and more people being covered and protected by insurance.

The task force will concentrate on making more insurance products available to those on low incomes, and will try to persuade local authorities and others responsible for social housing provision to market “insurance with rent” schemes effectively. Such schemes involve tenants paying a small premium when they pay their rent in return for a basic product.

Stephen Haddrill, ABI’s director general, stated the institute’s belief that insurance should be available for everyone and his desire to extend the benefits of insurance protection to those in poorer households, who should be able to take out insurance more easily and confidently than at present.

ABI research has revealed that of those in very low income households (under £10,000 per year) 35% do not have any insurance of any kind, sevenfold the rate of wholly uninsured households of average income.