Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

You may want Life Insurance to provide some financial protection for the family or to cover the payment of a Mortgage.

There is no law that says you must have Life Insurance, but many people do consider it a vital aspect of financial protection. It provides financial peace of mind if the worst were to happen. Many people simply want it to help provide a tax-free lump sum for their family or relatives if they were to die.

Another frequent use is to repay a Mortgage if the mortgage holder were to die. Taking out life insurance ensures that you can be certain that your mortgage will be completely paid off if you die during the policy’s term. Usually it will be a condition of the mortgage lender that you take out Life Insurance to cover a mortgage.

A joint policy will be slightly cheaper than two separate ones, but remember your joint cover will end if a claim is made. With two single policies, one isn't affected by a claim on the other. Moreover, single cover could prove more practical if you ever part company with the person you’ve got joint cover with.

Under current rules no tax will be deducted from any payments that are made as a result of claims from critical illness cover. Depending on individual circumstances, some life insurance claims may be subject to inheritance tax. You can normally avoid this by putting your plan under trust. If you would like to place your protection policy/s in Trust, please speak to our helpdesk by calling 0800 013 1176.

If you have chosen guaranteed premiums for your policy then no, your premiums will not increase during the plan. They are guaranteed, and will remain fixed throughout the lifetime of the contract.

If, however, you have chosen Reviewable premiums, then it is possible that your premiums could increase or decrease over the lifetime of the plan. Most insurance companies will review the premiums after an initial period of between 1 and 5 years, and usually again after the same period thereafter. You are under no obligation to continue with the plan, however, if you do cancel the plan you will obviously lose the potential benefits in the event of a claim arising

Many companies offer smoker and non-smoker premium rates. Rates for non-smokers are usually discounted.

The quotes that we produce presume that you are in good health for your age, that your family does not have a history of diseases that can be inherited, that you do not partake in dangerous pursuits or hobbies, and that you do not pursue an occupation that represents a risk to your health.

If you do fall in to one of the categories above then the insurance company will look in to your application a little more closely. They will start by asking some further questions surrounding the perceived increased risk, and will then make a judgement.

After taking everything into consideration they then have three options:

1. Offer you the insurance plan at the premiums that you were originally quoted (this is what happens in most cases where further information is required)
2. Add a rating. This means that the insurance company will increase the premiums for your plan because of the increased risks.
3. Decline you the life insurance, or in the case of Critical Illness Cover, they can exclude certain Illness’ from being covered.

Terminal Illness cover is automatically included free of charge on the majority of our policies. This means that your life insurance policy would pay out the sum assured if you were diagnosed with a terminal illness with less than twelve months to live (certain restrictions apply. See Key Features for exact details).

Terminal Illness Cover should not be confused with Critical Illness Cover. Critical Illness cover is a far more extensive cover than Terminal Illness Cover.

You need to take action now! Phone our Help Desk straight away on 0800 0131176. We can complete an application form over the phone and submit it on-line. This ensures that your Application will be with the Life Insurance Company the same day!

In our experience, the insurance companies accept about 1 in 3 applications as soon as they receive them. We can then place you on risk within minutes.

If your Application is not accepted immediately then there are other ways of arranging temporary cover for the purposes of completion. Please call our help desk to discuss.