Head of Content
Former Senior Protection Advisor
British Friendly
About British Friendly
British Friendly are a mutual society that was founded back in 1902, originally to provide sickness benefits to commercial travellers. Today these specialise in income protection insurance, helping individuals and families avoid financial difficulty during trying times.
This insurance provider exclusively offers its products through intermediaries, meaning you will need an insurance adviser, like the ones here at Teito, to apply for them.
Get a bespoke protection quote today
Use our free service to access bespoke quotes and a market comparison from a protection insurance specialist today.
We will compare British Friendly insurance deals against the entire market to help you find your ideal insurance coverage without the stress.
To get started, fill in our quick online form or call 01484 242424 to speak to our expert protection advisers today!
What type of income protection insurance do they offer?
British Friendly divides its income protection policies into two main options:
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BFS Protect: Available to individuals with level guaranteed or age-costed guaranteed premiums, and a range of term and deferred period lengths.
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BFS Breathing Space: This product is geared towards self-employed people and gig economy workers. There is no underwriting at the application stage, which makes the policy more flexible for those with irregular or complex income.
Read on to find out more about these policies or speak to one of our advisers to find out how they compare to the equivalent products from other protection insurance providers.
Key features of British Friendly’s protection insurance
The main features of British Friendly two main income protection plans are as follows:
BFS Protect
This product is available to employed and self-employed people, offering a range of income protection options to tailor your cover to your individual needs and circumstances.
It pays out a weekly or monthly lump sum to the policyholder, or directly to their mortgage lender, if that is their preference, and changes can be made to the policy during the term.
The key features you need to know about are:
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Amount of cover available: Up to £100,000’s worth with a maximum benefit of £57,000 a year. Monthly payments can be set at between £216 and £4,750 Increasing cover that rises in line with the retail price index (RPI) is available.
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How long it covers for: Short term cover of 1, 2 or 5 years is available as well as longer term policies that last until your retirement.
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Deferred period: A choice of 4, 8, 13, 26 and 52 weeks.
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Optional add-ons: Fracture cover and children’s critical illness cover can be added to policies at an additional cost (see the section called ‘optional extras’ for more).
BFS Breathing Space
Breathing Space policies offer ‘own occupation’ cover but are tailored to self-employed people whose income may fluctuate. With no underwriting at the claim stage, these plans make it easier for those with complex income (that they can evidence) to get a payout.
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Amount of cover available: Pays out a lump sum of £541 to £1,250 each month. Weekly payments are also available within the same monthly cap.
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How long it covers for: This is a short policy, available for 1-2 years.
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Deferred period: A choice of 4, 8, 13, 26 and 52 weeks.
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Optional add-ons: Fracture cover and children’s critical illness cover can be added to policies at an additional cost (see the section called ‘optional extras’ for more).
Optional Extras
British Friendly offers the following extras to income protection customers for an added fee:
1. Fracture cover: Covers for 18 specific fractures and pays out up to £6,000 for each policy year in the event of the policyholder suffering one of them. It costs an extra £4 per month and can be removed from your policy at any time.
2. Children’s critical illness cover: Policyholders can add children’s critical illness cover of £1,000 to £25,000. A total of 78 critical illnesses are covered, with protection lasting until the child’s 18th birthday or 23rd if they’re in full-time education.
Policy exclusions
British Friendly’s income protection plans will not pay out if you are:
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Over 59: Policies must begin before your 60th birthday.
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In the deferred period: The exception to this would be if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness that is covered by the terms of the policy.
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Unemployed: This includes redundancy, being a student, a house person or retired.
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Working in any capacity: This includes any role, paid or unpaid.
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Claiming for an excluded illness, activity or occupation: Not all illnesses, activities and occupations are covered by British Friendly’s income protection plans. Speak to one of our insurance advisers for a full list of exclusions.
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Making a fraudulent application or claim: This can include failing to disclose an existing medical condition you had at the time of application, and need to claim for.
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You haven’t kept up with your premiums: Or are on a premium holiday.
It’s also worth noting that income protection insurance policies, in general, won’t pay out for self-inflicted injuries or wounds that are the result of criminal activity.
Does British Friendly have good reviews for income protection?
British Friendly holds an average rating of 3.5/5 on consumer review service TrustPilot. This is based on feedback from 268 customers for all of its products and services.
On Google Reviews, they hold an overall score of 3.⅕, based on reviews from 126 users.
Elsewhere, users on Money to the Masses have rated British Friendly’s income protection products at 1.72/5, but this is only based on feedback from nine consumers.
However, the Defaqto rating system, an industry-standard assessment for financial services products, has awarded British Friendly’s income protection products 5/5 ratings.
How to get an income protection quote from British Friendly
As British Friendly are an intermediary-only insurance provider, the only way to get an income protection quote from them is through an insurance broker, like Teito!
Not only can we help you access their products, our advisers will compare British Friendly’s deals with equivalent products from other providers to ensure you get the right cover.
Get started here to book a free, no-obligation consultation with an income protection insurance adviser who specialises in British Friendly’s product line.
FAQs
You can call British Friendly’s claims line on 0800 975 6565 to make an income protection claim on an existing policy or send an email to claims@britishfriendly.com.
You will need to provide the following information to them:
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Your policy number
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Details of your illness or injury
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Date of first absence from work due to your illness or injury and how long you’ve been off work for
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How long you expect to be off work for (if known)
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Preferred time of day for them to contact you - morning or afternoon
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If you’re contacting them on behalf of a member, please explain your relationship and provide your contact details.
Further information is available on the firm’s official website.