AXA

Provider: AXA

Product: AXA protection account - personal

The AXA protection account is a menu providing:

• Life cover

• Critical illness (CI) cover

• Life or earlier CI cover

• Income protection (IP) cover

• Mortgage income protection cover

• Payment protection cover

• Accident and sickness cover

• Unemployment cover

• Household cover - buildings

• Household cover - contents

Minimum acceptable age attained at commencement: The minimum age attained at entry is 18.

Maximum acceptable age at commencement: Age 64, for both life or earlier CI and CI cover.

Maximum expiry age: 70

Maximum term in years: Guaranteed payments - 25 years, reviewable payments - 40 years.

Maximum sum assured: The maximum cover for standalone CI cover or life or earlier CI cover depends on the payment basis:

• £500,000 for guaranteed payments

• £1m for reviewable payments

With an overall maximum of £1m. The lower limits apply to the person covered being 60 years old or over.

Plan can include level life assurance benefit: The AXA protection account allows life cover to be included on a level, decreasing or five yearly reviewable basis.

CI cover as a % of life cover: Where selected, the amount of cover for life cover, CI cover and TPD cover will be the same. Additional CI may also be included.

Waiver of premium available: Payment protection cover is available. This is a separate cover that may be added to an AXA protection account as an extra cost option. Cover can be provided for one or two lives. The maximum age at expiry is 70 years. Deferment period options available are four, eight, 13, 26, 52, and 104 weeks.

Minimum deferred periods by occupation class are:

Class 1, 2a and 2b (except house person) - Four weeks

Classes 3a and 3b - 13 weeks

Class 4 - 26 weeks

House person - 26 weeks

Does the plan offer an own occupation definition of disability: Yes, to age 65.

Does the plan offer an ADL or FATs definition of disability: AXA uses two FATs. The Activities of Daily Work (ADW) apply to those aged 65. From the 65th birthday, any claim will be assessed using ADLs.

Waiver benefit covers both lives: Cover can be provided for one or two lives.

Does the plan offer IP as a rider benefit: The maximum cover will be determined as one twelfth of 65% of pre-incapacity earnings up to £30,000, plus one twelfth of 40% of pre-incapacity earnings over £30,000, subject to this being no greater than £11,000 per month or £132,000 per year. The maximum cover for a house person, someone not in full-time employment or a student, is £1,250 per month or £15,000 per year. The above formula will not apply.

Unemployment cover option: Accident sickness and unemployment (ASU) cover may be added to the AXA protection account. The minimum monthly benefit is £150 per month and the maximum is the lower of:

• £2,000 and

• 60% of gross monthly salary

Hospital cash cover: Yes. Accident hospitalisation cover is available with CI cover and life or earlier CI cover

Option to buy-back life cover after a claim available: Yes, on life or earlier CI cover only. 12 months after a claim is paid as a result of a critical illness (excluding terminal illness) or TPD, new life cover can be taken out on the person covered who made the claim, without any underwriting.

Joint life with two times cover basis available: The individual cover available within the AXA protection account is offered on a joint life first event basis. Effecting two single life cover makes it possible for cover to be payable on both lives.

Automatic sum assured indexation available: Where increasing cover is selected, the amount of cover will increase on each anniversary of the start date of the AXA protection account, in line with the change in RPI subject to a maximum of 10% in any year. Payments will increase at 1.4 times the rate of increase in cover.

Guaranteed insurability option (GIO) available: For increases, the new cover will be set up according to the current terms and conditions and payments based on the then current age and outstanding term. For extensions, the alteration will be done on existing terms and conditions and payments based on an actuarial fair value method. GIOs are only available to lives under age 51 at inception of the plan. The age of the older person covered is used for joint cover. The options must be exercised within three months of the event.

Guaranteed insurability on marriage: On the marriage of a person covered, the cover can be increased. On joint cover, the option is available if marriage takes place between the persons covered or between one person covered and a third party. On joint cover, if the persons covered marry each other the cover limits apply jointly to both of them, not to each of them. AXA reserves the right to see the marriage certificate. The option can be exercised once to a limit of the lower of 50% of the current cover and £150,000.

Guaranteed insurability on childbirth or adoption: On the birth of a child, or legal adoption of a child by the person/ persons covered, the cover can be increased. Where there are two persons covered, and the birth or adoption is to both of them, the maximums apply to both of them. AXA reserves the right to see the birth certificate or adoption certificate. The option can be exercised up to three times to a limit of the lower of 50% of the current cover and £150,000.

Guaranteed insurability on moving house / increase in mortgage/loan: Yes. An increase may be made if the person covered increases his/her mortgage on the main UK residence for any reason. The length of the cover may be extended to match the term of any new mortgage, subject to a maximum of age 65 exactly. The length of cover can be extended even if the amount of the cover is not being increased.

Guaranteed insurability on promotion or salary increase: The increase may be made if the covered person's earnings increases by more than 10% (single event). Cover can be increased by the lower of the current cover multiplied by the per cent increase in salary, 50% of the cover amount and £150,000.

Other GIOs offered: Divorce/separation option is available on joint cover if both persons were covered on standard rates/terms and the original reason was to cover a mortgage.

Accidental death benefit option: Accident hospitalisation cover available with CI or life or earlier CI cover, if the person covered is hospitalised with severe physical injuries for a minimum of 28 consecutive days following a serious accident. Accident hospitalisation cover is paid in addition to any other benefit and does not affect the cover amount. It applies to all lives covered that take out CI cover (no age restrictions), but not the children of the person covered. The amount of a claim is restricted to the lower of £50,000 and 20% of the life or earlier CI or CI cover. There is an overall maximum claim amount across all AXA protection accounts held of £50,000.

Guaranteed rates available: Yes

Reviewable rate option available: Yes. Cover which operates on a reviewable payment basis will have payments guaranteed for the first five years. AXA has the right to review the payment terms at the fifth anniversary of the cover start date. After this date, the payment terms can be reviewed at any time, and the payment may increase, decrease or remain unchanged. If the payment resulting from the review is within 10% of the existing payment, then the payment will not change as a result of the review. The new payment, if it changes, will then be guaranteed for a further five years following the review. If a review results in an increase to the payment and the Account owner does not wish to pay an increased payment, then they may alternatively reduce the amount of the cover.

Number of core critical conditions as defined by ABI/IFAA: Cancer, heart attack, kidney failure, major organ transplant, multiple sclerosis, stroke.

Number of ABI/IFAA additional conditions covered: Aorta graft surgery, benign brain tumour, blindness, coma, deafness, heart valve replacement or repair, loss of limb, loss of speech, motor neurone disease, paralysis/paraplegia, Parkinson's disease, terminal illness, third degree burns.

Number of other conditions covered: Aids through assault, blood transfusion and occupation, Alzheimer's, aplastic anaemia, bacterial meningitis, cardiomyopathy, children's benefit, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, liver failure, loss of independence, pre-senile dementia, rheumatoid arthritis, progressive supranuclear palsy.

Major surgery cover: AXA will pay a claim for major surgery cover if the person covered is registered on an approved NHS waiting list for one of the following and they opt to go privately:

• Coronary artery by-pass surgery

• Aorta graft surgery

• Heart valve replacement or repair

These must be in accordance with the definitions detailed under the CI definitions.

What will AXA pay: This is an advance payment of part of a CI claim and is paid as a lump sum direct to the hospital. If a payment is made it will reduce the amount of benefit that may be payable in the event of a critical illness being diagnosed. If AXA pays out the full level of CI cover under major surgery, the cover will cease. The amount AXA will pay will be the lower of:

• The current amount of cover under CI cover.

• The amount shown on the fixed price quotation from the hospital concerned and including costs for the medical procedures, hospital accommodation, medication and any aftercare needed.

Basis for inclusion of TPD: TPD is an extra cost option with CI or life or earlier CI cover.

No. of TPD definitions available: Own occupation or an ADW definition of incapacity will be applied. The definition will depend on the occupation at the time of the application. Class 1, 2A, 2B and 3A occupations where the person covered has not attained age 65 are eligible for an own occupation definition.