We appreciate that the spread of coronavirus will be causing everyone some anxiety and particularly for those with loved ones who have care needs.

Care providers and medical professionals are doing everything they can to limit the impact of coronavirus and protect people who are vulnerable, and this will be putting a significant strain on their resources.

To minimise the call on care providers' time, while still making sure customers can benefit from the reassurance that care fees will be covered for as long as is needed, we've taken a number of steps to temporarily modify some processes for our Care Funding Plans.

With immediate effect:

• We've temporarily increased our Money Back Guarantee (MBG) during the coronavirus pandemic to return 100% of the premium, less any income already paid, for any customer dying within 12 months of purchasing the plan where Covid-19* is recorded on the death certificate as a contributory cause of death. This will be applied automatically to all new care plans purchased since 14 May 2020 until further notice. This feature will be in addition to the existing MBG which will continue to provide a tapered return of premium for other deaths, for the first 6 months from the plan commencement date. This is a temporary feature to reassure customers that they will receive value from their care plan, even if they were to die early due to the current pandemic, and can be withdrawn at any time.
  
  
• We've simplified our quote guarantee for Care Plan quotations to give you more time for you to have conversations with your clients and confirm whether they wish to proceed. From 30 April 2020, we will guarantee all Care Plan quotes for a flat 30 day period, removing the requirement for quotes to be accepted within 14 days.
  
  
• From 22 February 2021, we've teamed up with Medicals Direct Group (MDG) to obtain medical evidence for us. Their nurses will conduct telephone interviews to gather medical information for all care providers, meaning less impact on GP surgeries. The new Care Fees Plan Questionnaire is available here.
  
  
• We'll collect information from care providers using a tele-interview, rather than asking for a written report. Feedback has indicated that care providers prefer this way of providing medical evidence and it avoids written report being sent by post.

We understand that some offices may be closed or operating with reduced staff and that many clients will be self-isolating. So to reduce the need to send paper copies of documents by post we'll:

• Accept scanned copies or photographs of application forms and Powers of Attorneys by email, provided we receive confirmation that they are copies of the original. Please send all documents to ltc@wearejust.co.uk
  
  
• Issue all policy documents and cancellation notices by email where possible. Where we do not hold an email address, we'll contact you directly to request this.

We remain fully open to support you. The majority of our colleagues are now working from home, they have the most up-to-date technology so they can continue to operate our core systems remotely and provide you with help.

However, we'll be able to help you and your clients more efficiently if you could:

• Contact us by phone or email, and submit any new business applications electronically.
  
  
• When applying for a Care Funding Plan, please arrange for funds to be transferred electronically where possible to avoid sending cheques through the post.
  
  
• Please confirm the email addresses of clients to allow policy documentation to be sent direct to them.

We'll keep these arrangements under review and update you as things change.

*also includes Coronavirus or SARs-Cov-2 as a contributory cause of death.