Stonebridge International

Stonebridge International is a UK accident insurance provider. It sells plans that pay out after an accident, rather than after an illness: a lump sum on accidental death, a payment for a stay in hospital following an accident, or a payment for the loss of limbs, sight or hearing in an accident¹. It also sells under the names Guardian Direct and Coverty Direct², and its website is www.stonebridge-insurance.com².

Its policies reach customers under two other names as well. Guardian Direct and Coverty Direct are listed as current trading names of the same firm, so a policy document carrying either name is a Stonebridge policy². The company is registered in England with company number 03321734 and was incorporated on 20 February 1997³.

This page covers what the plans are for, who they tend to suit, how they are sold, how claims and complaints work, and what protection applies if the firm fails. It does not quote prices: accident cover is priced individually, and the figures that apply to you come from the firm's own quote and policy documents.

What Stonebridge International is: an accident insurance provider

Stonebridge describes itself as a financial services company specialising in Accident Insurance Plans¹. That places it in a specific corner of the protection market. It is not a life insurer, a health insurer or an income protection provider, and it states plainly that its personal accident cover is not a life, healthcare or income protection policy and does not cover injury or death caused by illness or disease⁴.

The distinction matters more than it sounds. Personal accident insurance pays out if you suffer a serious injury, die as a result of an accident, or become totally and permanently disabled, and it pays a fixed amount of money for specific injuries depending on the level of cover you hold⁵. That is a different trigger from life cover, which pays only when you die, and from income protection, which responds to being unable to work through illness as well as accident⁶.

Accident cover of this kind sits alongside other protection products rather than replacing them. If you are working out what you already have and what a gap looks like, the protection insurance guide sets out how life, income and illness cover fit together, and the insurance guide covers the wider market.

Stonebridge's own product range is built around three families of plan: Accident Death Plans, Accident Cash Plans and Personal Accident Plans¹. The firm also states that it may be possible to change your cover and extend protection to members of your family, so a policy need not be limited to one person¹.

Accident insurance plans: what the cover is for

Accident plans respond to events, not to diagnoses. Stonebridge states that its products pay in the event of accidental death, a stay in hospital following an accident, or the loss of limbs, sight or hearing in an accident¹. The Financial Ombudsman Service describes the same shape of cover from the consumer side: personal accident insurance pays out if you suffer a serious injury, die as a result of an accident, or become totally and permanently disabled, with policies paying a fixed amount for specific injuries depending on the level of cover⁵.

That structure is why the payout is predictable and the premium is comparatively modest. You are not insuring your income or your mortgage; you are insuring against a defined list of accident outcomes, each with a set sum attached. Independent guidance describes personal accident policies as paying lump sums for accidental death and loss of limbs, but also for broken bones, dislocations, burns and a range of other causes that might result in hospitalisation or your inability to work⁷.

Two limits are worth knowing before you rely on a plan of this kind.

• Illness is outside the cover. Stonebridge states that coronavirus is not covered, because the virus is an illness and not the result of an accident¹. The same logic applies across the product: a heart attack that kills you is not covered by an accident policy, though a non-life-threatening heart attack that causes an accident resulting in death can be, where a doctor is clear the accident caused the death⁷.
• The cover is defined by the policy wording, not by the name of the plan. Which injuries qualify, and what each pays, comes from the schedule in your documents.

Guardian Direct and Coverty Direct: the names Stonebridge sells under

Guardian Direct and Coverty Direct are the names Stonebridge sells under, listed as current trading names on the FCA Register². In practice this means a policy bought under either name is a Stonebridge policy, issued by the same firm, and the cover, the claims line and the complaints route are the same whichever name appears on the paperwork.

The Register entry also records former names, Stonebridge International Ltd. and Stonebridge International Insurance Ltd, which is useful if you are holding an older document and trying to match it to a current firm². The company number has stayed the same throughout: 03321734, incorporated on 20 February 1997³.

If you are checking whether a policy is genuine, the Register is the place to do it. Searching the firm reference number 203188 brings up the authorised status, the trading names and the website address in one entry². A document that names Guardian Direct or Coverty Direct but cannot be matched to that entry is worth querying with the firm before you pay anything further.

Who Stonebridge accident cover is aimed at

Accident cover tends to suit people who want a defined sum for a defined event, without the underwriting that comes with life or income protection. Life insurance is most often underwritten based on your personal circumstances, with premiums affected by age, health and lifestyle⁷. Accident plans work differently: the payout depends on the accident and the injury, not on a medical assessment of your long-term risk.

That makes the cover relevant in a few common situations:

• Where a lump sum would cover immediate costs. A hospital stay, time off work, or adaptations after a serious injury all create costs that arrive quickly.
• Where life cover is not available or not wanted. Someone who has been declined for life insurance, or who has decided against it, may still be able to hold accident cover.
• Where the household has more than one person in it. Stonebridge states that it may be possible to change your cover and extend protection to members of your family¹.

It is a poor fit where the main risk you are protecting against is illness, or where you need cover that replaces income over a long period. Stonebridge's own wording is clear that the plans are not life, healthcare or income protection policies⁴. If income is the exposure, the protection insurance guide explains what covers it.

How accident plans are sold and bought

Personal accident insurance is not usually sold on an advised basis⁵. That single line from the Financial Ombudsman Service explains most of what a buyer needs to know about the process: nobody is obliged to assess whether the plan is right for you, and the decision rests on your own reading of the cover.

That does not mean the sale is unregulated. The Ombudsman has published a case study about a consumer, Lisa, who complained about the sale of a personal accident policy she believed was life insurance. The insurer produced the original sales checklist it had used, called a Personal Accident Plan⁸. Sales paperwork of that kind is what a complaint is tested against, which is a reason to keep everything you are sent.

If you want someone to assess your needs and recommend a policy, that is what an insurance broker does: brokers help you decide what type of insurance and level of cover you need and recommend a suitable policy at a price you can afford⁹. Personal accident insurance isn't usually sold on an advised basis¹⁰, so a broker sale is the exception rather than the norm.

Where a policy is arranged through an employer as a group accident scheme, the complaints route changes. If you have a complaint about the sale of a group accident policy provided by your employer, you need to ask your employer to complain to the Ombudsman about the sale of the policy⁵. The individual cannot bring that complaint directly.

How premiums and payouts work on accident cover

Premiums on accident cover are paid annually or monthly, and the policy can cover either just you or your whole family⁷. The amount you pay reflects the level of cover chosen and the injuries the plan will pay for, not a medical assessment of your health in the way life insurance is priced⁷.

Payouts work on a schedule. Policies pay a fixed amount of money for specific injuries, depending on the level of cover⁵. So a plan does not pay a single sum for "an accident"; it pays the amount the schedule attaches to the injury you suffered. Independent guidance describes the range of triggers as covering accidental death and loss of limbs, but also broken bones, dislocations, burns and a range of other causes that might result in hospitalisation or your inability to work⁷.

Two features of the payout are worth understanding:

• Timing after the event. Accidental death cover often pays even if you die up to two years after the accident⁷. That is a longer window than the name of the product might suggest.
• No surrender value. Stonebridge states that its policies do not hold a surrender value¹. There is no pot of money building up inside the policy, so cancelling does not release a lump sum.

Stonebridge does not publish a single price list for its plans, because the premium depends on the cover selected. The figures that apply to you come from the quote and the policy schedule the firm issues.

Making a claim with Stonebridge

Stonebridge sets out a four step claims process: call the claims line, discuss the claim and confirm cover, return the claim form if one is requested, or download and return the claim form with your documents¹⁰. The claims line number published by the firm is 0808 178 3232¹⁰.

Once a claim has been validated, Stonebridge states that policy benefits are paid straight into your bank account, or by cheque if you request one¹⁰. The firm also states that calls to its claims team are recorded for training and quality assurance purposes¹⁰.

A few practical points follow from that process:

1. Call first. The process starts with the claims line rather than with a written submission, so the firm can confirm cover before you gather evidence.
2. Keep the paperwork. The claim form and the documents you send are what the decision is based on.
3. Expect the schedule to decide the amount. The payout follows the injury listed in your policy, not a general assessment of what the accident cost you.

If a claim is turned down, the reason will normally be that the event or the injury falls outside the schedule, or that the accident itself is not covered. That is the point at which the complaints route below becomes relevant.

Complaints and where to get help

Complain to Stonebridge first. The firm's contact details, including its registered office at 14th Floor, 33 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PW, appear in its published answers and in your policy documents¹. Putting the complaint in writing gives you a dated record and a clear account of what you are asking for.

If the firm does not resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, the next step is the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free for consumers. The Ombudsman can look at both halves of a dispute: the handling of a claim, and the way a policy was sold. Its published case study about Lisa concerns a complaint about the sale of a personal accident policy the consumer believed was life insurance, and it shows the sort of evidence, such as the sales checklist, that decides the outcome⁸.

The Ombudsman's guidance on personal accident insurance sets out the routes in more detail, including the different position where a group policy was arranged by an employer⁵. Where the dispute is about the sale of a group accident policy provided by your employer, the employer has to bring the complaint about the sale, not the individual policyholder⁵.

Free and impartial help is available if you want to understand your options before complaining. MoneyHelper provides guidance on insurance and on using a broker⁹. Citizens Advice can help with consumer problems including cancelling a service you have arranged¹¹.

How Stonebridge policyholders are protected

Stonebridge is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority¹. It appears on the Bank of England's list of insurers incorporated in the UK authorised to carry out contracts of insurance¹², and on the FCA Register with firm reference number 203188 and a status effective date of 1 December 2001².

That authorisation is what brings the firm inside the protection arrangements that apply to UK insurers. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is governed by the Policyholder Protection Rules¹³, and it covers insurance claims where an insurer authorised to sell in the UK fails: protection extends to 90% of outstanding claims if your insurer goes bust¹⁴. The same scheme protects consumers who use a regulated broker⁹.

Two limits are worth stating plainly.

• Protection covers the insurer failing, not the policy being unsuitable. If the cover does not do what you expected, that is a complaint about the sale, and it goes to the firm and then to the Ombudsman, not to the compensation scheme.
• The scheme pays on claims, not on premiums as a savings product. Accident cover has no surrender value, so there is no investment element to protect¹.

If you are comparing this cover with other protection products, the protection insurance guide sets out how life, income and illness cover work and where each one stops. The insurers directory lists providers in the market, and the consumer protection guide explains the schemes that stand behind UK financial products.