Marsh Affinity Practice has operated in the Credit Insurance Market for more than 21 years. From the beginning, we have been at the forefront of development of the product in Ireland across our clients and the market as a whole. Creditor insurance is a product which has seen some dramatic changes in the perception in recent years. Marsh has welcomed the movement towards greater product transparency which we have advocated through the years.

Customers need to fully understand the product they are purchasing so they can make an informed choice. We have implemented, with our clients, the various directives and regulator-led product changes well ahead of the market and continue to be a leader in the selling process.

We have also attained accreditation for our training to dovetail with the Financial Regulator on product competency requirements.

Today, most products in the personal credit market offer the choice to borrowers of including the optional payment protection as part of the loan and, furthermore, such protection is accepted by borrowers as an important financial precaution for themselves and their families. The product is not limited to the lending institutions but can be offered to support utility bill and membership subscriptions.

Creditor insurance pays either a lump sum equal to the outstanding balance on a finance arrangement, or the monthly payment.

While the design of a creditor insurance programme varies with the customer profile and the range of lending provided, most modern plans provide one or more of the following benefits:

• Life cover
• Disability cover resulting from accident or sickness
• Hospitalisation cover
• Critical illness cover
• Unemployment or redundancy cover.