Provider: Scottish Equitable Protect Product Description: Personal protection The policy gives a ...
Provider: Scottish Equitable Protect
Product Description: Personal protection
The policy gives a variety of benefits and options from which the life assured can choose those that meet their personal protection needs. If their needs change after the policy has been set up, they can make changes to the policy as and when needed.
The main and additional benefits available within the personal protection menu are summarised below.
Main benefits:
• Life protection – guaranteed or reviewable
• Critical illness (CI) protection – reviewable
• Life with CI protection – reviewable
• Family CI protection – reviewable
• Family income benefit (FIB) life with CI protection – reviewable
• Lifetime protection – current costed
• Gift inter vivos – guaranteed
• Income protection (IP) – guaranteed or reviewable
Additional Benefits:
• Waiver of premium (WOP)
• Renewal option – five or ten years
• Indexation option
• Legislation option
• Life buyback option
• Total and permanent disability (TPD) benefit
Benefits automatically included:
• Guaranteed insurability options (GIOs)
• Children's CI protection
• Immediate acceptance facility
• Income option
• Terminal illness benefit
Minimum acceptable age attained at commencement for insured: 18
Maximum age at commencement of insured (CI): Maximum age attained at policy commencement is 74
Maximum expiry age: 84
Maximum sum assured where CI is included: The maximum sum assured is £500,000 for CI cover.
Number of years before the first premium review: The premium the insured pays will stay the same for the first five years, at which point Scottish Equitable Protect will review it and will continue to review it every five years thereafter. If the insured chooses the indexation option, their premium will also increase annually in line with the increase in the Retail Price Index (RPI).
Automatic sum assured indexation available: Yes, with this option both the benefit and premium will increase each year in line with the increase in the RPI, subject to a maximum of 10%. Scottish Equitable Protect will calculate the increase in RPI over the 12 month period from the rate published three months before the benefit anniversary.
Joint life with 2x cover basis available: The policy can be set up to cover one or two people. On a joint life policy you can also have single life benefits. For example, the policyholder may want life protection on both lives but CI protection on one life only. On joint life policies that pay out on death, the policy can only be set up so that Scottish Equitable Protect pays the death benefit once. Therefore the death benefit must be set up so that it pays on the first death claim made or, alternatively, on the death of a selected life.
Waiver of premium available: After the deferred period the life assured will not have to pay premiums for as long as they are disabled and they meet the definition of disability.
When the life assured takes the benefit out they choose from the following definitions of disability:
• Own occupation
• Any suited occupation
• Activities of daily work
The deferred period options are: Four, eight, 13, 26, 52 weeks. The deferred period will start from the date of incapacity.
Option to vary plan after start date other than by insurability: The policyholder can make the necessary changes to their protection benefits as and when their needs change. In addition to the GIOs, they can make the following changes at any time:
• Increase the benefit amount
• Reduce the benefit amount
• Extend the benefit term
• Reduce the benefit term
• Add a main benefit
• Remove a main benefit
• Add an additional benefit
• Remove an additional benefit
• Add a life assured
• Remove a life assured
• Change the payment frequency
• Change the deferred period
• Change the definition of disability/ incapacity
Underwriting will be carried out where relevant. Scottish Equitable Protect therefore reserves the right to ask for any medical and financial evidence in connection with changes. As a result, Scottish Equitable Protect may offer a change on non-standard terms or may even decline the change.
GIOs available: These options are only available if the policyholder is accepted on standard terms. If the policyholder needs to increase the benefit amount because their circumstances have changed, they may do so, within limits, without needing to provide us with evidence of continued good health. The policyholder must use these options within six months of the event. These options are available until they reach age 55, or the first life to reach 55 on a joint life benefit. There must be at least one year before the end of the benefit term.
Guaranteed insurability on marriage: Yes, the life assured can increase the benefit amount by 50%, subject to a maximum of £150,000 for cash sum benefits and £10,000 per year for income benefits.
Guaranteed insurability on childbirth or adoption: Yes, the insured can increase the benefit amount by 50%, subject to a maximum of £150,000 for cash sum benefits and £10,000 per year for income benefits. They cannot extend the benefit term.
Guaranteed insurability on moving house / increase in mortgage/loan: Yes, the insured can increase their benefit amount by 50%, subject to a maximum of £150,000 for cash sum benefits and £10,000 per year for income benefits. They cannot extend the benefit term.
Guaranteed insurability on promotion or salary increase: Yes, you can increase your benefit amount by 50%, subject to a maximum of £150,000 for cash sum benefits and £10,000 a year for income benefits, if you move to another job or you are promoted and as a result your salary increases by at least 10%. You cannot extend the benefit term.
Total number of CI conditions covered: 32
• Cancer
• Coronary artery bypass
• Heart attack
• Kidney failure
• Major organ transplant
• Multiple sclerosis
• Stroke
• Aorta graft surgery
• Benign brain tumour
• Blindness
• Coma
• Deafness
• Heart valve replacement
• Loss of limb
• Loss of speech
• Motor neurone disease
• Paralyisis/paraplegia
• Parkinson's disease
• Third degree burns
• Aids assault
• Aids blood transfusion
• Aids occupation
• Alzheimer's disease
• Angioplasty
• Aplastic anemia
• Bacterial meningitis
• Cardiomyopathy
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
• Liver failure
• Open heart surgery
• Pre-senile dementia
• Progressive supranuclear palsy
Survival period for CI claims: The survival period is 14 days, starting from the date when the critical illness is diagnosed.
Children's benefit: Yes
Number of conditions covered for children's cover: 32 children's critical illnesses are covered.
Child maximum benefit: The lower of 50% of the sum assured and £20,000.
Minimum age for children's benefit: 30 days
Child maximum age: 18th birthday
Basis for inclusion of TPD: This option is available with life protection, CI protection, life with CI protection, business loan protection and tailored business loan protection. If selected this benefit will accelerate the payment of the main benefit if the insured is diagnosed with a total and permanent disability.
No. of TPD definitions available: Three
• Own occupation definition
• Any occupation definition
• Activities of daily living definition
No of exclusions applicable to CI: Five
