FAQ's

Policy type

Level term assurance
The amount of life cover will remain the same throughout the life of the policy. Generally suitable for people with Interest Only mortgages (where the amount of mortgage loan will not decrease over the term of the mortgage) and for family protection.

Decreasing term assurance
The amount of life cover will reduce inline with the outstanding debt on a repayment mortgage. Generally suitable for those people who have a repayment mortgage where the mortgage loan is repaid gradually over the course of the mortgage term. The premium will remain the same throughout the term.

Family Income Benefit
This is similar to Level Term but instead pays out an annual amount until the end of the policy rather than a lump sum.

Benefit Type

Death benefit only – this policy will only payout upon death (usually including Terminal Illness cover*)
Critical Illness only – this policy will only payout upon diagnosis of a specified Critical Illness
Death or Earlier Critical Illness – this policy would payout on the earlier of death or diagnosis of a specified Critical Illness. Once a successful claim is made the policy will cease.

* Terminal Illness cover is standard on life policies and simply means that if the life assured is diagnosed with a terminal illness (one which you are expected to die from within 12 months) then the policy will pay out immediately.

Premium Frequency

Choose whether you would like to pay for your policy monthly or annually.

Term

Choose how long you wish the policy to cover you for, in whole years. i.e. if you have a 25 year mortgage you would enter 25 years.

Increasing benefit

Policy will be reviewed annually and the amount of cover AND the premium will be increased in line with inflation. Indexation of benefit should be considered to ensure future benefit levels are not eroded by inflation, and is generally most useful for policies that are designed to provide for dependants upon death. If you require cover for specified amount that will not alter over time (e.g. a mortgage of £100,000) then you would not use this option. It is also not available on decreasing term policies.

Waiver of Premium

This is an additional insurance for the premium itself and usually means that the policy will be paid for by the insurance company if you are off sick and unable to work for a period of more than 6 months.

Guaranteed & Reviewable

This only applies to the critical illness element of a policy and Guaranteed policies have premiums which remain the same throughout the policy term. Reviewable policies have premiums which can alter at the review dates within the policy term (usually every 5 years). If you want to be certain that your premiums do not increase, chose Guaranteed.

Smoker status

If you have used cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or nicotine replacements in the last 12 months – including occasional use then the answer is Yes.

Fee Refund Policy

If your policy is declined* you can either apply to another company or ask us for a full refund of your fee. If your premium is increased due to health / lifestyle* reasons or deferred then you again can apply to another company or ask us to refund one half of your fee. If your premium has not increased but you decide not to take up the policy we do not offer a refund.

* Life Assurance companies use similar underwriting criteria. Therefore if you are declined by one then you will probably be treated in a similar way by the others. If you do decide to apply to another company we recommend speaking to the underwriters at that company to ask how they will treat your situation before applying. For more information regarding this please visit our underwriting information page or contact us.