Walking
the tightrope? Consider a safety-net now..
before you are seriously in the Red !!!!
We
respectively suggest you check out our
safety-net guide to the various protection products, which might be
available to you.
Policy types
and optional extras described here include:
Term Assurance, Waiver of Premium Benefit, Family
Income Benefit, Critical Illness Cover, Mortgage Payment
Protection Insurance showing need for ASU Cover (Accident / Illness Cover
and or Redundancy Insurance Cover) plus possibly PHI (Permanent Health
Insurance), finally Trusts and Wills.
At
end of guide please press the moneybox for our general enquiry form.
We
want your business and our response will be rapid.
Information
shown below are generic in that they are not
actually product specific, there may and will be differences between
product providers and information given here should be taken as a guide
only as much more detail will be part of any plan you finally select.
Term
Assurance
Insurance which pays a
predefined sum of money to your nominated dependent on your death.
·
Level Term Assurance
provides a sum of money (known as the ' sum assured') on death within a
pre-specified length of time. Cover is limited to the sum assured as the
contract is not linked to the providers potential profits. The contract
expires at the end of the term and there is no element of investment. This
is one of the cheapest forms of life protection.
·
Convertible Term Assurance operates as Level Term Assurance but also has a
built in option to convert without further evidence of health, to an
Endowment or a Whole of Life Policy during the term of the policy.
·
Decreasing term assurance often described as a
mortgage protection plan.
Often used to repay capital re-payment loans should the insured die before
the end of the loan period. The sum assured decreases during the term of
the policy to reflect a decreasing mortgage. This can be calculated on a
fixed scale or tied to interest rates on loans within specified amounts.
·
Increasing Term Assurance has
the sum assured increasing each year. With this type of plan normally the
premiums would also increase.
·
Increasable and Renewable Term Assurance allows the sum assured to be increased by certain
levels, at given intervals without further evidence of health. At
completion the plan may offer the facility to renew with a similar plan at
the relevant standard cost calculated on your age, irrespective of any
deterioration to your health in the interim.
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Family Income Benefit can
be taken as an option or a standalone contract. Instead of a lump sum, a
regular income for the remainder of the term of the plan is provided on
death. These plans are a good way of ensuring that income is provided
until for example your youngest child reaches 18.
Waiver of Premium Benefit should you fall ill resulting in your being unable to work for
typically three to six months, your cover will remain in force but
premiums will be waived by the provider, your valuable cover will
therefore be maintained.
Critical Illness Cover (fuller detail further on)
WHO IS COVERED?
·
Single Life
an individual is covered by the policy
·
Joint Life First Death two
people are named on the policy, on death of either named person, the
remaining policyholder receives the sum assured. The policy then
automatically expires and no life cover remains for the surviving
policyholder.
·
Joint Life Second Death
pays the sum
assured on death of both named parties. This type of policy is often used
to provide for the payment of Inheritance Tax.
Critical Illness
Insurance
 Baseline
Cover
A plan which would provide you
with a lump sum whilst you are still alive (subject to availability and
underwriting) on diagnosis of a debilitating condition which may include
the following critical illnesses and disabilities:
Heart Attack, Cancer, Stroke, Heart surgery, Valve
& Aorta Surgery, Angioplasty, Kidney Failure, Major Organ Transplant,
Benign Brain Tumour, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV via Blood Transfusion, Emergency Services
& Medical Profession HIV/AIDS + diagnosis of bacterial meningitis.
Permanent Disabilities that might also be covered are: Loss of Hearing,
Loss of Sight, Loss of Speech, Third Degree Burns, Loss of Limbs,
Paralysis/Paraplegia, Coma, Motor Neurone Disease, Parkinson's Disease,
Alzheimer's Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Loss of independent existence, Occupational Disability.
Can be
taken as an integral part of a term assurance plan, or as a standalone
policy.
FACTS
Every day
more than 400 people will suffer their first heart attack (1)
1 in 3
people will contract cancer at some time in their lives. (2)
120,000
people will suffer a stroke each year. (3)
Source:
(1) British Heart Foundation - Health Insurance Magazine, March 1998, (2)
Cancer Research Campaign - Cover Magazine, Oct 1997, (3) Chest Heart
Stroke Association - Health Insurance Magazine, March 1998
Mortgage
Payment Protection Insurance 
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Some years
ago now, benefits payable by the then Social Services, would generally pay
your monthly mortgage payments if you became redundant, this would
commence not long after redundancy commenced. However since October 1995
the situation, is that if you have either recently taken out a new
mortgage or re-mortgaged or do so in the future, you will not receive any
help with your repayments, for the first 10 months of any unemployment or
disability.
If your
partner works for more than 16 hours a week, or you and/or your partner
have more than £8,000 in savings, you will not receive any help with your
repayments. The payment of state benefit only applies to mortgage
interest. It does not cover your capital repayments, or any other related
costs such as the premiums you pay on a life insurance policy or savings
plan linked to your mortgage. Any state benefit assistance you receive
with your repayments is also limited to the first £100,000 of any amount
you borrow.
The above
points are based on our understanding of the current state benefit system.
For specific information about your entitlement to claim state benefit,
you should contact your local Benefits Agency, however as a guide and in
relation to sickness or illness,
we have a calculator,
which will show you clearly exactly how much normal illness benefits you
are eligible for from the DSS, it’s certainly worth asking for a quote
and we will not charge you.
Based on the
fact that you could lose your home if you do not keep mortgage or loan
payments up on it, the Council of Mortgage Lenders are now encouraging all
mortgage borrowers to consider the main advantages of taking out this type
of cover which is shown immediately below.
Accident, Sickness & Unemployment Insurance
benefits normally running for 12 or 24 months from time of
initial claim.
Similar to PHI, (below) not
permanent but is renewable annually. Note that exclusions following previous claims
might be added at renewal. The plan is designed to ensure that some of
your financial commitments, your mortgage for example might still be able
to be paid in the event of your un-foreseen loss of income at least for a
period normally of 12 months, for as you
know, should you not be able to keep up your mortgage payments you may
well lose your home.
The unemployment element of
this plan can be insured separately from the accident/sickness element,
which enables easy top up, of cover that might hopefully already be
provided elsewhere. i.e. accident/sickness cover from employer.
Cost of this cover can normally be provided very
cheaply but it is no good waiting until a problem occurs, if you have not
got this cover do not delay another minute.
At approx £4.00 per month for each £100.00 of cover less if you
just want Accident and Sickness or Redundancy on its own this is really
Insurance you cannot afford to be without. In our opinion if you
cant afford the cover you really should not take on the mortgage.
If
you have a mortgage or other loan commitments this really is a very competitive
way of covering your loan, if you want to check whether your existing
cover is competitive or get cover for the first time please ensure you
complete our simple on line application by pressing the money box at the
bottom of this information sheet.
Permanent
Health Insurance More expensive than the immediate but less permanent cover
shown above .
Will cover up to a
certain percentage of your loss of earnings should accident or sickness
strike at ant time until a predetermined age. This type of cover is a
non-cancelable type of contract (that is by the product provider.)
Permanent means just
what it says. Following initial underwriting and acceptance for cover
being made by the P.H.I. Company, you have an income in the event of short
or long-term illness/disability, which prevents you from working. i.e. in
the case of a back problem the company can on non permanent type
contracts, exclude further benefit for that particular problem at renewal.
Normally with this type
of cover you would take a reasonable excess period so for instance
benefits not being paid until you have been incapacitated for several
months although this type of contract is available with some companies
from just a 4 week excess. Generally you have a choice of 4,8,13,26,52 or
104 weeks.
This type of policy does not
cover unemployment.
Trusts
When a person dies, their
estate goes to probate. Even
when a will exists, it can take as much as two years in certain
circumstances before the life companies are allowed to release monies to
the right person even if that person is the widow or widower. Often the
main beneficiary of a life assurance plan without the right trust form
having been completed will be the taxman. This service is often charged
for but we will with your agreement write all new life policies, arranged
through us, in trust at no cost to you.
Wills
Have you
made a Legal Will yet?
Wills made simple and straightforward, you can either visit our office
or we will visit you in the comfort of your own home. Simple wills can
also be taken over the phone but only for residents of England. Our fees
are competitive and is basically dependent on whether we have to travel to
you and if so how far. Generally prices start at just £65.00.
 Press money pot
for our general enquiry form, please complete and without obligation on
your part we will contact you swiftly.
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