Insure
We insure our phones, our homes, our holidays and even our central heating but sometimes we forget to insure ourselves…..
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- What is life assurance?
- Why should I buy life assurance?
- What are the different types of life insurance?
- How much does life assurance cost?
- How much life insurance do I need?
- Is life insurance good value?
- Won’t the state provide?
- How about my employer?
- What is critical illness cover?
- What is income protection insurance?
- Can I get cover in case I get made redundant?
- What cover should I consider as a business owner?
- It won’t happen to me, will it?
- When do I need to review my life assurance cover?
- What is involved in applying for life cover?
- What is involved in a medical?
- Tips for completing an application
- What information do I need to provide about my medical condition?
- What leisure activities are deemed to involve risk?
- What else may need a further questionnaire?
- Been declined or rated due to medical history, occupation or past time?
- Why should a policy be written in trust?
- What should I know about private medical insurance?
- Can you help with home insurance?
- How much contents insurance cover do I need?
- How do I calculate my buildings insurance sum insured sum?
- Common questions
What is life assurance?
Life assurance, also known as life insurance, pays a lump sum to your family if you die or become terminally ill.
Why should I buy life assurance?
We all want to maintain the financial security that we have worked so hard for. That’s why it’s so important to plan for eventualities we hope might never happen. Life assurance could help you and your family by:
- Paying for day to day expenses and child care
- Maintaining your standard of living
- Paying off your mortgage and other debts
- Enabling you to afford to stay in your home rather than downsize
- Paying for funeral expenses
What are the different types of life insurance?
- Level term. Pays a set lump sum amount if you were to die during a set period
- Decreasing term/Mortgage protection. Pays a lump sum equivalent to your mortgage if you were to die during the mortgage term
- Increasing term. Pays a lump sum which increases in value each year in line with indexation such as inflation.
- Family income benefit. Pays a regular monthly income for a set period
- Whole of life. Covers you until you die.
How much does life assurance cost?
The cost is based on your:
- Age
- Gender
- Smoker status
- Medical history
How much Life Insurance do I need?
As a working couple, enough to pay off your mortgage and any debts.
As a family, in addition you should replace the annual income that has been lost for as many years as the children are still dependant on you.
Is life insurance good value?
How much do you pay for magazines, papers, coffees, Sky TV, boiler or mobile phone insurance or small treats? This is money we don’t miss.
Would you miss out on one of these to pay for the peace of mind for your family?
A very small price to pay if you ever need to claim.
Won’t the state provide?
They will provide something, but not very much:
- £2,000 bereavement lump sum
- £30.31 to £100.70 p.w. Bereavement allowance for those aged over 45 and under the State retirement Age and not bringing up children. Paid for up to 52 weeks.
- £100.70 p.w. Widowed Parent’s Allowance. Stops if you remarry, cohabit as a couple and when children stop qualifying for Child Benefit
How about my employer?
Some employers will provide a Death in Service Benefit, usually two to four times salary.
As you may change employers, give up work or become self-employed this should be seen as an additional support to go alongside separate life cover.
What is critical illness cover?
Critical illness cover pays out if you suffer a specified serious illness such as some forms of cancer, heart attack or stroke. The number of conditions and definitions vary between insurers but all usually cover the minimum as defined by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
ABI core list of critical illnesses
-
Alzheimer’s disease before age 60 - Aorta Graft surgery
- Benign brain tumour
- Blindness
- Cancer
- Coma
- Coronary artery bypass grafts
- Deafness
- Heart attack
- Heart valve replacement or repair
- HIV infection
- Kidney failure
- Loss of hands or feet
- Loss of speech
- Major organ transplant
- Motor neurone disease before age 60
- Multiple sclerosis
- Paralysis of limbs
- Parkinson’s disease before age 60
- Stroke
- Terminal illness
- Third degree burns
- Traumatic head injury
What is income protection insurance?
If you’re unable to work due to accident, sickness or disability then this will pay you a monthly income to pay for bills and living expenses until you are fit enough to return to work.
It can kick in after one day of illness, one week, one month, three months or longer and can be paid up until age 65.
Can I get cover in case I get made redundant?
Redundancy insurance usually pays out a sum equivalent to your mortgage payment plus 33% extra to cover related bills such as home insurance.
There is a one month waiting period and it is paid for up to one or sometimes two years.
What cover should I consider as a business owner?
This depends on your business structure. For example, limited company directors will want to make sure that they don’t lose control of the business if one director dies. A lump sum is paid to buy out the spouse of the deceased director.
A business may wish to insure a Key Person, who would cost money to replace their skills and experience. Bigger firms may wish to provide benefits to their staff such as a Death in Service benefit.
It won’t happen to me, will it?
According to Munich Re (2007) before age 65:
- Death - Male: 1 in 12, Female: 1 in 16
- Critical illness – Male:1 in 4, Female: 1 in 5
- Off work sick for more than 26 weeks – Male: 1 in 6, Female: 1 in 5
Stroke
- Every five minutes someone has a stroke in the UK
- The third biggest killer
- Around 1,000 under age 30 have a stroke each year
Please see the list above for illnesses covered by a critical illness policy.
Celebrities with critical illnesses
- Jade Goody - Cancer
- Kylie Minogue - Breast cancer
- Michael J Fox - Parkinsons
- Bob Marley - Melanoma
- Steve Jobs - Pancreatic cancer
- Lance Armstrong - Testicular cancer
- Farrah Fawcett - Anal cancer
- Patrick Swayze - Pancreatic cancer
- Sheryl Crow - Breast cancer
- Cybill Sheppard - Skin cancer
- Sharon Osborne - Colon cancer
- Olivia Newton - John Breast cancer
- Anastacia - Breast cancer
- Linda McCartney - Breast cancer
- Charlton Heston - Alzheimers
- Muhammad Ali - Parkinsons
- Magic Johnson - HIV AIDS
Died young
- Stephen Gately - 33
- James Dean - 24
- Christopher Reeve - 52
- Aaliyah - 22
- Buddy Holly - 22
- Hank Williams - 29
- Natasha Richardson - 45
- Bruce Lee - 32
- Jean Harlow - 26
- Steve Irwin - 44
- Princess Diana - 36
When do I need to review my life assurance cover?
-
You buy your first home with a partner - You get married or enter into a civil partnership
- You start a family
- You have more children
- You change job or become self-employed
- Your income increases
- You move home and increase your mortgage
- You borrow more for home improvements
- You have loan and credit card debt
What is involved in applying for life cover?
- A series of questions will be asked about your health history, lifestyle and family history. We can go through this with you over the phone or you can complete and post questionnaire. This should take from 5 to 15 minutes.
- We then submit the application online to the insurer.
- An instant decision may be given or it may be referred to an underwriter.
- If standard terms are offered then your policy is ready to start
- If more information is required then this could be by way of a GP report, a medical examination or an additional questionnaire.
- Once all the information has been received the decision will be either (i) Accept on standard terms, (ii) Accept on non-standard terms, (iii) Deferred or (iv) Declined
What’s involved in a medical?
- This can be done in your own home and will be conducted by a nurse
- She will check your height, weight, blood pressure, urine and pulse
- Questions will be asked about your medical and family medical history and lifestyle habits
- Sometimes a cotinine test (saliva to detect nicotine) or blood test (for HIV) will be required
Tips for completing an application
- Answer the questions on the application, not the question you think is being asked
- Give as much information as possible. Even if it is a bit vague it is better than nothing at all
- Find out about your family history. Insurers will need to know if your parents, brothers or sisters have suffered from a list of conditions before their 65th birthday.
- Record the exact details of any medication you are taking or have taken
- Have the contact details of your GP to hand and the previous one if you have been with the current GP for less than six months
- Don’t forget to tell the insurer about any health changes from when the application is completed to when the policy starts
What information do I need to provide about my medical condition?
- When did you first notice the symptoms?
- Can you describe your condition as chronic or slight?
- When did you suffer your first episode?
- How often do you suffer from it?
- What medication do you take?
- What treatment have you had?
- Are any further tests or treatments planned? If so when?
- Have you ever been hospitalized or had complications? When?
- Have you had time off work? When?
What leisure activities are deemed to involve risk?
- Aviation
- Caving and potholing
- Climbing
- Hang gliding
- Motor sport
- Parachuting
- Sports diving
- Yachting
These will involve an additional questionnaire
What else may need a further questionnaire?
- If you are in the Armed Forces
- If you are applying for a large sum assured (usually £1 million) a Financial Questionnaire is required
Declined or rated due to medical history, occupation or past time
Different insurance companies have different approaches with the way they underwrite (or assess) your application. This means that you may not be declined, as heavily rated or not rated at all with a different insurer. We have the expertise to source the best insurance product for your individual circumstances.
Why should a policy be written in trust?
Writing a policy in trust means that:
- The proceeds of a claim is paid out quicker to your beneficiaries as they don’t have to wait for probate to be granted.
- The money that is paid out is not in your estate for inheritance tax purposes. This means that your beneficiaries may not have to pay tax on the proceeds.
- The proceeds go exactly to who you’d like them to go to.
What should I know about private medical insurance?
Medical advances mean that doctors can treat more conditions. The costs of these procedures and drugs aren’t cheap. With more than 221,454 people waiting longer than six weeks for NHS treatment in November 2009 taking Private Medical Insurance will mean quick access to private treatment, giving you valuable peace of mind.
Please get in touch to find out your options.
Can you help with home insurance?
Yes. As with life insurance, the benefits offered by insurers vary. We deal with the leading insurers that have been selected for their range of benefits, competitiveness of premium and claims handling service.
For an instant quote please click here
How much contents insurance cover do I need?
You need enough to cover the replacement of all your belongings inside and outside your home. You should go through each room and do an inventory of all these possessions to make sure you’re not under-insured.
How do I calculate my buildings insurance sum insured sum?
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has produced this guide: http://abi.bcis.co.uk/
If you are buying a house and have had a survey then a ‘reinstatement’ or ‘rebuild’ figure will be documented on the report.
Common questions
What help is provided to assist with a speedy recovery?
The NHS hasn’t got the resources to give patients the extra treatment they need to help them through a serious illness. Some insurers however, provide an additional free service to do just this.
- A personal nurse adviser
- Counselling
- Physiotherapy
- Complementary therapies
- Reiki
Some insurers also provide legal, career and medical help lines from the day your plans starts.
Why may a claim may be declined?
There are two reasons why a claim may be declined:
-
You think you are covered for something that in fact you are not covered for.
For example, you do not meet the exact definition of the critical illness that the insurer covers. Innovations in critical illness cover have led to one insurer paying out a percentage of the claim sum based on the severity of your condition. The money is paid when you need it with the balance still available if your condition becomes more severe. -
Non-disclosure. You didn’t mention something on the initial application.
When completing an application my advice is to disclose everything, even if you don’t think it is relevant. Leave it to the insurer to decide on the relevancy. You will also have the opportunity to check your answers when the insurer sends you a copy of the application to check, sign and return. Take your time doing this to make sure you’re happy with your understanding of your answers. If in doubt, check with tour adviser.
What else should I consider?
- Indexation of benefits to make sure your cover keeps pace with inflation
- Guaranteed Insurability Options enable you to increase your cover in certain situations without giving further medical evidence
- Two sole life policies instead of a joint life policy can double your life cover for virtually the same cost
- Waiver of premium pays your premiums if you are sick and are unable to work
- If you take an interest in your health (by taking regular exercise and reading health articles) there is one insurer rewards you with reduced premiums in future years and discounted Champneys breaks amongst other benefits.
If you’d like a quick quote then click here. If you’d like a chat about how best to set your cover up please then please call or e-mail.
Do I have to pay tax on a life assurance payout?
In most circumstances the answer is no. It is important to take advice about when this may apply.
We offer products from a range of insurers for term assurance, critical illness, income protection and private medical insurance.
We can only offer products from a limited number of insurers for Payment Protection, buildings and contents. Ask us for a list of insurers we offer insurance from.
We won’t share your details with anyone.
The advice and / or guidance contained within this site is subject to the UK regulatory regime and is therefore targeted at consumers based in the UK.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT.
For mortgages, you can choose how we are paid: pay a fee of 1% of the loan amount and we rebate the commission, or pay a fee of £299 and we receive the commission.
We can only offer products from a limited number of insurers for Payment protection and Buildings & contents insurance.
