BUPA

Provider: BUPA

Product: Flexible Financial Protection Plan

Overview: BUPA Flexible Protection is an umbrella plan providing cover for:

• Standalone critical illness (CI) on a renewable, level or mortgage protection basis.

• Critical Illness with life cover on a renewable, level or mortgage protection basis.

• Life cover on a decreasing, renewable, level, family income or mortgage protection basis.

• Lifestyle and income protection (IP) on a renewable or level basis.

All plans can be arranged with guaranteed or renewable rates. Reviewable rates are available on all plans except life cover. Flexible Financial Protection allows variations after commencement (subject to agreement of BUPA) as follows:

• To vary benefits

• To vary term

• To add benefits

• To remove benefits

• To vary lives assured

• To vary premium frequency

Flexible Financial Protection can be arranged to include fracture cover and provides access to a helpline and Best Doctors service.

Minimum and maximum ages: Anyone aged between 18 and 59 attained at entry. With level and mortgage protection cover the cover cannot continue after 70th birthday. For renewable cover it cannot continue beyond the 70th birthday of the person covered.

Minimum term: The minimum policy term is five years.

Maximum term: The maximum term allowed under the level term cover and mortgage protection term cover versions is 40 years. The maximum term for the renewable contract is 10 years.

Minimum sum assured: No minimum.

Maximum sum assured: Applications for benefits in excess of £300,000 will be considered at the sole discretion of BUPA on the basis of financial evidence of income or assets. If the main occupation of the person covered is running a home or raising a family, the maximum is up to 2.5 times their spouse's income and assets.

Monthly policy fee: £3.30. There is only one plan fee even if multiple plans are taken out at the same time.

Is life cover included: Yes, life cover is automatically included.

Can the plan include decreasing life assurance benefit: Mortgage protection term cover allows the cover to reduce each year on the same basis as the capital due on a repayment mortgage reduces with an interest rate of 12%.

Can the plan provide life assurance benefit paid as income: The life cover can only be paid as a family income benefit where life cover is arranged on a stand alone basis.

CI cover as a % of life cover: Depending on the combination of different benefits, it is possible to arrange CI cover as:

• 100% accelerated death benefit

• standalone with no life cover

• standalone with separate life cover

• 100% accelerated with additional life cover

• 100% accelerated with additional critical CI

Decreasing CI benefit: Mortgage protection term cover - the level of cover reduces each year on the same basis as the capital due on a repayment mortgage reduces with an interest rate of 12%. The plan will pay the lesser of this amount or the remaining amount on any mortgage the scheme is used to protect.

Waiver of premium available: Yes, it is available as an option, as detailed below:

• Employed - If the member who this option relates to is in a paid occupation and was on the commencement date, BUPA will waive their subscriptions for the period the member is unable to do their normal paid occupation, as a result of illness or injury, provided the member is not doing any other paid occupation.

• Homemakers and unemployed - If the member the option relates to is not in a paid occupation or was not on the commencement date, BUPA will waive their subscriptions for the period the member is, as a result of illness or injury, unable to do at least three of the daily activities listed in the contract.

Does waiver benefit cover both lives: Waiver can cover any of those people covered under the plan.

Does the plan offer IP as a rider benefit: The plan can be arranged to include BUPA lifestyle and IP. For full details of the plan please see the Income Protection Table. BUPA will look at the duties of the insured's occupation, their ability to do them and whether adjustments can be made to help them be done. The insured will qualify for benefit if they are unable to perform the essential duties of their occupation. In any other case BUPA will consider the incapacity against relevant activities.

Reinstatement cover: This option allows the member to take out a new membership to provide limited cover for people covered after a successful claim. The new cover will provide cover for the following conditions:

• AIDS/HIV

• Aorta graft surgery

• Aplastic anaemia

• Bacterial meningitis

• Cancer

• Cardiomyopathy

• Heart attack

• Kidney failure

• Liver failure

• Major organ transplant

• Motor neurone disease

• Multiple sclerosis

• Parkinsons disease

• Progressive supranuclear palsy

• Stroke

• Third degree burns

This option can only be exercised 12 months after any claim (further restrictions apply for cancer) and has a maximum benefit equal to the benefit on the current scheme less any of the cover provided under any replacement option It will not include cover for any conditions which began before the new membership commenced.

Replacement cover: Replacement cover covers two people and a new scheme can be taken out after a claim is paid for one of those covered, or if they die. The new scheme must be on the other person covered only and to be for no more than the existing level of benefit. The term of the new scheme cannot exceed the term of your existing scheme. This option is only available where the initial scheme could continue for more than five years.

Is joint life first claim basis available: If joint cover is selected the plan will pay out only once. Replacement option is available for joint applications.

Is joint life with 2x cover basis available: Depending on the combination of different benefits, it is possible to arrange the plan on a joint life benefits with separate covers on each life.

Can the plan be used for keyperson protection: The plan can be used for business protection on either a keyperson or partnership/shareholder protection basis.

Is automatic sum assured indexation available: Sum assured can be indexed either by RPI, AEI, by 5% or by 3% subject to benefits taken.

Guaranteed insurability option: The cover can be increased at any time by 25% of the original amount or £50,000 per listed event subject to an overall maximum of 100 percent or £100,000 increase, without the need to provide further medical evidence if any of the persons covered:

• Gets married.

• Has a child, or adopts or becomes the legal guardian of one.

• Moves house and takes out a larger mortgage.

• Is promoted by their current employer or starts a new job with a different employer and their salary increases.

Are guaranteed rates available: Guaranteed rates are available for all benefit types.

Are reviewable rate options available: A reviewable rate option is available for all benefits except stand alone term assurance. Where reviewable rates are selected, reviews will take place on the fifth anniversary of commencement and at the end of every following five-year period.

Renewable subscriptions: If the renewable term option is chosen, cover will be subject to renewal every five or 10 years (depending which option is selected at outset) and subscriptions will increase at each renewal, based on age and subscription rates at the time. Other terms and conditions may also be changed at renewal. This option cannot continue beyond the 70th birthday of the person covered.

Is there free cover during underwriting: Yes, if connected with a mortgage.

Children's benefit: All children from three months up to age 18, including any that have been legally adopted or for whom the member is an appointed legal guardian, can be covered under the membership when joining, at no extra charge provided they are in good health.

This free cover can continue until they reach age 18, when they can apply for BUPA CI cover of their own. Covered up to a lump sum benefit of 25% of the initial cover up to a maximum of £20,000. Benefit is only payable once for each child after which the child's cover will cease. Claims for children do not affect a member's cover.

Does the product offer access to support helplines: BUPA Healthline is available 24 hours a day. This allows access to a qualified nurse that can advise the insured on a range of health-related issued including:

• oncology

• orthopaedics

• general surgery

• cardiology

• medicine

• paediatrics

• midwifery