Clerical Medical - Flexible Mortgage Plan This endowment plan achieved full marks for comprehensiven...
Clerical Medical - Flexible Mortgage Plan
This endowment plan achieved full marks for comprehensiveness, ABI compliance, own occupation PTD and flexibility. The plan allows four premium payment options, the choice of standard or enhanced cover, a twin plan option, a career break option and standard or enhanced surrender values. It also allows the policyholder to cash in the plan to repay the mortgage early, or to increase the amount of cover, the term or the amount of the premium.
Colonial - Serious Illness Plan
The Colonial Serious Illness Plan is a term assurance with critical illness available as an accelerated death benefit or as a standalone contract. The accelerated critical illness plan was the first to offer buy-back of life cover post CI claim. This allows the policyholder to take out further life cover without the need for medical evidence and at no extra cost following a claim for a serious illness.
Royal & SunAlliance - Progressive Protection
This term-based plan has a unique pricing structure where price increases on an annual basis, so the plan is competitive, especially for younger lives. It also offers premium discounts for those that can demonstrate that they are in good health and offers high non-medical underwriting limits - up to £500,000 for those aged under 45.
Scottish Amicable European - Flexible Critical Illness Plan
This whole of life contract was let down only by the fact that it does not offer an own occupation definition for PTD. Options that can be built into the Flexible Critical Illness Plan include life cover, loss of independence benefit (in the event of disability) and secured long term care. With the LTC option, cover is available regardless of whether a CI claim is made or not, subject to two years passing after the CI claim is made.
Scottish Life - Profitbuilder House Purchase
This endowment plan allows policyholders to choose core or comprehensive cover. The plan scored well in terms of flexibility offering a twin plan option, step-up option and career break option plus Hardship Protection, which pays out an enhanced surrender value in the event of financial hardship. It also includes Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance benefit available on unemployment only or accident, sickness and unemployment bases and pays benefit up to 12 months.
Scottish Mutual - Homeowner Plus
This is a flexible mortgage endowment plan offering comprehensive CI cover. The plan offers investment funds with guarantees, allowing growth to be locked in on a quarterly basis and a maturity protection option that allows policyholders to switch into more secure funds as the plan reaches maturity. It also includes mortgage interest protection if waiver is selected and allows premium reductions and breaks.
Scottish Provident - Self Assurance Term
Widely regarded as the most flexible term product on the market, Self Assurance allows policyholders to select any combination of benefits from a range that includes accelerated or standalone CI, death benefit, income protection, healthcare cash and unemployment cover. The plan allows any variety of split sum assured so the planholder could have separate death and standalone CI in the same plan or accelerated CI with extra death or CI cover, making for a cost-effective alternative to life cover buy-back. Each CI benefit taken out can be for a different term, different sum assured, with different benefit payment options and can have a different criteria for PTD eligibility. The judges felt the plan was let down only by the definitions of the conditions which, although many offer enhanced cover, do not comply with the ABI Statement of Best Practice, making comparisons with other CI plans problematic.
Skandia Life - Lifetime
This non-qualifying whole of life plan offers cover against 27 illnesses and can be used for personal protection, keyperson or business assurance. It offers a fuller definition than the model wording for cancer by not excluding lymphomas in the presence of HIV and has fewer exclusions other than for PTD. The judges agreed that Skandia is a proactive insurer when it comes to product enhancements and innovations and were particularly impressed that all improvements to the plan are passed on retrospectively to all existing policyholders.
SMA Pegasus - Personal Assurance and Personal Term Plans
Pegasus' personal critical illness plans were deemed comprehensive, flexible and highly innovative by the judging panel, but failed to achieve the flexibility COVERmark since they do not allow policyholders to take the CI benefit as an income, rather than a lump sum. They passed all the other flexibility criteria, including guaranteed insurability and indexation options. The plans have enhanced definitions for many conditions and limited exclusions, including no exclusion for alcohol-related CI.They are the only plans on the market to offer CI buy-back post initial CI claim and a long term care conversion option on retirement.
Standard Life - Homeplan
A mortgage endowment allowing critical illness to be added as a level or reducing benefit. The plan can be divided into up to 20 policies to maximise flexibility and the sum assured can be increased or decreased depending on the client's circumstances. The plan also includes guaranteed insurability, premium holiday and a waiver of premium options.
Zurich Life - Critical Illness Insurance
Zurich's term-based plan offers CI as a standalone contract, as a rider to a life policy or as a combined CI and life policy paying out on both events. It can be used for personal, business or mortgage protection. Unique to the product is Serious Accident Cover (on Comprehensive Plus plans only) where the lump sum is paid should the policyholder require hospitalisation for 30-plus days or if physical injuries mean they cannot return to work within six months. Zurich offers fast track underwriting whereby terms in most cases are offered within 48 hours.
