It has a good tradition: every year the analysis house Morgen & Morgen publishes a major disability rating, as happened this year in May. 566 tariffs and tariff combinations from 63 different providers were considered in 2021, 406 tariffs may feel like a class leader (Versicherungsbote reported). However, since such ratings often only reach the industry (or they help insurers to obtain effective test seals with good tariffs), the company from Hofheim am Taunus also cooperates with high-circulation magazines. Both sides benefit: the rating experts attract more attention, while the magazines benefit from the expertise and offer their own test seals for sale.
Once a year: The “small rating” for managers and students
A current BU rating has now been published on behalf of Wirtschaftswoche. This rating also has a long tradition: BU tariffs are tested for a student and a manager. Only tariffs that received top marks in the large M&M rating are considered for the evaluation.
The following specifications were made for the sample customers:
- A 45-year-old manager (married and with two children) earns 250,000 euros gross per year and would like to have a monthly BU pension of 5,000 euros guaranteed. He has personnel responsibility for 100 people, his job profile is described as 50 percent office and 50 percent travel. The man is a non-smoker. He also owns his own home.
- A 22-year-old student (economics) earns 12,000 euros gross per year (through parents, jobs and student loans) and would like to be guaranteed a BU pension of 1,000 euros per month in the event of benefits. The student is single, lives in a shared apartment, is a non-smoker. The job profile is described as “100 percent office work”.
Due to the pre-selection by the large M&M rating, well-known criteria are fundamental: BU competence of the insurer (for example, when reviewing claims and applications), the quality of the application questions for the BU applications, premium stability and the price-performance ratio. The tariffs now receive points again for the areas of performance and price. In total, these lead to a final grade.
Tariffs: once with, once without the disability clause (AU)
The tariffs for both sample customers are also tested in two performance variants: one with and one without a work incapacity clause. The incapacity for work clause protects the policyholder for the first six months of sick leave, as the clause pays a pension immediately – even if the required 50 percent degree of incapacity for work has not yet been proven. Because the amounts are paid for the incapacity for work instead of for the incapacity to work, they will not be reclaimed if ultimately no incapacity for work occurs (insurance messenger reported). The clause consequently secures an additional risk for the policyholder and represents an additional benefit of the tariffs.
Note the net / gross margin
New contracts in BU insurance are often advertised with low net premiums: This is how customers should be attracted with low premiums. But this favorable contribution is by no means guaranteed to the customer. If the surpluses develop unfavorably, as in the current low-interest environment, or if the insurer has calculated poorly, the premium can rise to the legally possible gross premium. The “spread” between net and gross premiums thus indicates a financial risk that should be taken seriously.
For this reason, experts repeatedly recommend taking into account both net and gross premiums when concluding a BU contract: There are occasional differences of more than 100 percent (Versicherungsbote reported). The experts from Morgen & Morgen took this into account by awarding points for the price. In addition, all tariffs in the ranking are shown with both net and gross premiums.
– .
