7 Families
‘7 Families’ is a charity led campaign to provide a tax-free income for one year to seven people who have lost their income because of a serious or long-term illness or disability. The charity Disability Rights UK worked with seven families where the main breadwinner had been forced out of work by an accident or illness and had not received any related insurance pay out.
The campaign had three aims
To raise public awareness of the financial impact of long term illness or disability
To help seven real families who were facing financial meltdown
To demonstrate the value of independent living support, rehabilitation and counselling, through trying to help get people back to work.
Colin Williams, who was at the time Managing Director of Workplace and Intermediary Business at Friends Life, commented as follows:
"It's extremely important that we raise the profile of income protection so more people understand it and can see its value. Insuring your income can mean if you do find yourself unable to work through illness or injury you will have a means to pay your bills. I hope that by working alongside the Income Protection Task Force on this project we can help make a strong case for why many more people should consider income protection when they are planning for the future."
Funding Companies:
Ageas Protect, Aviva, British Friendly, Canada Life, Cardif Pinnacle, Ellipse Exeter Friendly, Fineos, Friends Life, Hannover Re UK Life, Legal & General, LV=, Royal London Pacific Life Re, PruProtect (VitalityLife), RGA, Scor, Scottish Widows, Unum, Zurich.
List of companies and organisations supporting the campaign:
ABI, Adviser Home, BankHouse Communications, Best Doctors, Best Insurance, CBT Services, CI Expert, Cover magazine, Countrywide, Direct Life & Pensions Drewberry Insurance, Health Claims Bureau, Highclere Financial Services, Innovate HMG, LifeQuote, LifeSearch, LightBlue UK, London & Country, Money Advice Service, MoneySupermarket, Mortgage Introducer, Mortgage Support Network, Munich Re, Neurokinex, Panacea Adviser, Pink Home Loans, Plan Money, Protection Review, Protect Me, PTFS Punter Southall Health and Protection Holdings, Red Arc, Retirement Review, Royal Bank of Scotland, Roxburgh Financial Management, SJP, SPF Private Clients, Swiss Re, The Independent (personal support from the personal finance editor Simon Read), The Mail on Sunday (personal support from the personal finance editor Jeff Prestridge), Turning Point.
Members of the Action Group (who manage the project):
Carr Consulting & Communications, HTF Media, IPTF, Le Beau Visage, LegaCare, Master Adviser, Relative.