Some of the reasons why you may need life cover are:
- Providing a replacement income for the surviving partner;
- Paying of an outstanding mortgage or loan
- Paying for school fees or any other education costs
- Paying for a funeral, or other costs and IHT liabilities
- Paying the costs of an aged parent or bringing up dependent children
- Providing financial support to an adult child, e.g. during their early working years
This in simple terms means that the insurer will pay your premiums if you cannot work due to injury or illness and this will give you one less worry at a challenging time of your life.
However, there are conditions which will be listed in your policy document and if you meet these conditions you will be eligible to use this option should you need it.
Depending on how long the Waiver of Premium period is, you must pay your premiums for that time and after that time your monthly premiums will be waived.
Many insurers will continue to waive premiums until you are fit to return to work, your policy ends in this time or if you do not fulfil the insurers definition of incapacity. With most policies you need to add this option at the start of your policy.
These both types of insurances are paid by the business. A Key Person’s Insurance benefits the business and A Relevant Life Plan is for the employee and their family’s benefit. Key Person is geared towards mitigating losses for a business.
Relevant Life protects against the death of an employee from relatives’ perspective by providing a tax-free cash lump sum to their family when they do pass away.
If you buy a term life policy it will pay the amount you have set within the duration you set.
For example, you might decide to set up a policy to pay £500,000 to your 75th birthday, so you would only pay monthly premiums to your 75th birthday and it would not cover you beyond this date.
When an insurance company processes a death claim they will require proof of death. This is provided by means of an original (official) Death Certificate - i.e. an official copy, made by a registrar, of the official entry in the Register of Deaths Photocopied certificates are not accepted - as these may be easily forged – and no other documents should be allowed as proof of death e.g. a grant of representation.
Solicitors are not generally allowed to photocopy death certificates for endorsement and use as evidence of death.
There is no legal limit on how many policies you can have, the levels of cover you apply for may be restricted depending on your financial circumstances. You can take any number of covers as long as you can afford the premiums. Multiple policies can offer an extra level of protection that a single plan may not able to provide you.
Yes, it may still be valid but there is a set criteria for this. E.g. the person still has a UK bank account or retained residential status in the UK.
If you currently have cover and have moved abroad, you must call your insurer and inform them of this. If for example you have moved or are moving to country where there is risk of war, you may need to look for a new policy as you may no longer be covered.
Many people decide to take out their life insurance when they are younger but then they may decide to relocate to another country, it is always advisable to contact your insurer to let them know so that you know that you are covered.
As with everything in your life, it is important to review your policies on a regular basis.
It is a policy which guarantees that the insurer will pay out a lump sum whenever you die rather than by a specified time frame like a term policy.
The primary advantage of a whole of life policy is that as long as you keep up with the monthly premium payments, it does not expire or decrease in value and is guaranteed to pay out on your death.
In the event of a valid claim, income protection insurance pays a regular weekly or monthly income to those who are unable to work due to sickness or injury or those who have to switch to a lower-paid job due to sickness or injury. The main aim is to replace lost earnings, subject to a maximum limit.
The whole point of taking out a protection policy is to protect yourself and your family, why would you want to pay premiums for a policy which may never payout?
Insurers take any non-disclosure of requested information very seriously and have the right to investigate further if they feel that one of their applicants have not told the truth on their application. Some insurers can look at any point request medical information from your GP, and if the dates or condition(s) have not been disclosed, they can cancel the application so you would have paid your premiums for nothing.
It is very important, to make a full disclosure with regards to your health and lifestyle to ensure that in the event of a claim, the policy will pay out the benefit (sum assured).
