What is Life Cover? Ensure the financial survival of your business, in the event of the death of a key employee or director.

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1 What is Life Cover? Life cover pays out a lump sum of money if the individual insured dies within a certain time period i.e. during the term of the policy. It is a lump sum and it can be used for a number of reasons. For example: To protect your loved ones financially if you die. Ensure the financial survival of your business, in the event of the death of a key employee or director. Repay your mortgage. Life policies are available on a Single Life basis, a Dual Life Basis or Joint Life basis. Details of all three are as follows; Single life cover This is taken out by one person and is payable on their death over the term of the policy. EXAMPLE Julie takes out life cover of 100,000 for 10 years. She dies in year 5 and 100,000 is paid to her estate. It is worth noting that one person can insure another; i.e. Julie s husband could own the policy and Julie could be the person insured. In this instance, if Julie died, the money would be paid directly to her husband. If Julie did not die within the term of the policy, the policy would cease. There would be no cash value attaching to the policy.

2 Joint life cover As it suggests joint life cover is taken out for two people and is payable on one death within the term of the policy. Most joint life policies are set up on a Joint Life First Death basis. This means that the policy will pay out after the death of either one of the people covered. When the claim is paid, the proceeds will be paid to the other policy holder. As there is only the potential for one payout, there can only be one sum insured, i.e. the two lives cannot be covered for different amounts. Once a claim is paid, the policy ceases. Likewise, if neither person dies during the term of the policy, the policy will cease. There is no cash value attaching to this type of protection policy. EXAMPLE Julie and Andy take out life cover of 100,000 on a joint life first death basis for 20 years. Julie dies in year 15 and 100,000 is paid to Andy. The policy then ceases. Dual life cover Similar to Joint Life, this is taken out by two people. The fundamental differences are that Example 1. Both lives can be insured for different amounts of cover and 2. There is the possibility of two payments. Julie & Andy have a dual life policy for 25 years. Andy is covered for 400,000 and Julie is covered for 200,000. After 15 years Andy dies and 400,000 is paid to Julie. The policy remains in force, and Julie remains covered for 200,000. If Julie were to die within the remaining term, her estate would receive 200,000. If Julie was still alive at the end of the term, the policy would cease.

3 What Type of Life Cover? There are four main types of cover; Level Term Cover For this type of cover, the customer will choose a set level of cover and a specific term of cover and this does not change over the course of the policy. When the term is finished the policy will cease. For example if you choose level term cover of 150,000 over 20 years - your cover will remain at the same level ( 150,000) throughout the chosen term and your premiums will also remain unchanged. If at any time you die over the 20 years then 150,000 is paid to your estate. If you do not die during the term of the policy, the policy ceases. There is no cash value attaching to the policy. Convertible Term Cover Convertible Term Life Insurance is similar to Level Term Life Insurance but with an added benefit. This type of cover gives you what is called a Conversion Option. This allows you to extend the cover beyond the term any time before the expiry of your existing policy (before age 65)* without medical underwriting. In effect, you are setting up a new life insurance policy without having to supply any medical information. It is slightly more expensive than Level Term Assurance as you are paying a higher premium for the option of extending your cover in the future regardless of your state of health. For example, Rose is aged 40 and decides to take out convertible term cover of 100k for 10 years. In Year 9 she decides that it would be prudent to keep this cover in place until she hits 60 i.e. a further ten years. She therefore submits an application to convert for a further 10 years and cover of 100k. The relevant life company provides the cover and whilst the premium will be higher as she is nearly ten years older she will not have to worry about her current health effecting the premium.

4 Mortgage Protection Insurance Mortgage protection insurance is designed to pay off your mortgage if you die. Your policy runs for the same length of time as your mortgage, and the premium you pay each month depends on the size of your mortgage as well as your age, gender and the state of your health. The premium is fixed for the term of the mortgage. For example, Rose and Rory have bought a house and have a 20 year 200,000 mortgage loan. Their lender requires them to take out mortgage protection for this amount over 20 years. In year 10 Rory dies and at that stage the mortgage loan is 100,000. The policy will also be worth circa that amount as its cover reduces in line with the loan. The insurance company will pay the current sum insured directly to the lender. (Most mortgage protection policies are assigned to the lender which means any payment will be paid to them in the first instance). If there is a balance in cover left over after the mortgage amount is cleared, this balance is paid to the estate/other policy owner. Whole of Life Cover A form of Life Cover with no specific term, i.e. you are covered until you die, as long as you pay the required premium. They are often used as a means of reducing inheritance tax liabilities. The main difference here is that the premiums are not guaranteed. So, the insurance provider reserves the right to review the premium on the policy at set intervals, usually every 5 years; but in the later stages, this can be as often as every year. For example, Rose is looking for cover of 150,000 for the rest of her life so her family will have a lump sum of 150,000 when she dies. She will take out a whole of life policy for this amount.

5 What Amount of Life Cover? In terms of the amount of cover required, this will depend on your own circumstances. People often want their policy to pay out a multiple of their salary or the value of their mortgage so that it is cleared if they die. You may also need to consider the financial security of your dependants and take into account the value of any loans that you have outstanding. You then need to decide what cover you want. You can access our life cover calculator on the site at - just complete the form and the calculator will help you decide how much cover you will require. It s important to note that the cover suggested by our calculator is a guideline based on your details. Affordability is hugely important too, so having some cover in place that you can afford, is better than cover that you cannot maintain the cost of and which may lapse. You can also have a look at our step by step guide to help you understand the level cover you may need and why. Here is a useful step by step guide that may help you in making your assessment of how much cover you need. 1. How much cash should be readily available? Firstly you ll need to work out just how much cash will be needed to deal with immediate requirements following your death. There will be funeral expenses to pay for and any debts you may have left, such as personal loans, store and credit cards. Ideally you should leave enough easily accessible money to cover expenses and bills for at least three months. Having worked out this sum, deduct any emergency savings that you may have saved to tide the family over this difficult time. 2. What sort of income will your family require? Assuming you have an income, you will have to calculate how much cover is required to replace that income in the event of your death.

6 What is your net or take home pay after all taxes, levies etc? Will there be additional expenses for your family to fund following your death, such as childcare? Add your take home pay to the additional expenses and this is the income required by your family. When you have done this, you need to find out whether your family will be qualified for any state or other benefits after your death. These extra benefits, along with any other income your family may receive, are deducted from the required income amount arrived at above. Any expenses, which are no longer payable once you have died, are then deducted. For example, it is likely that your mortgage will be paid off by an insurance policy on your death, and in this case the monthly repayments no longer apply and should be deducted. You must also take out any expenses, which no longer apply after you have died, such as the cost of travelling to work, monthly club subscriptions etc. The final amount is an approximate guide to how much your family will require each month, should you die. 3. How long do you think your family will require cover? Multiply the final amount calculated above by 12 (12 months in a year) to determine the annual figure. Assess the number of years your family will require cover and multiply it by the annual figure. The length of cover required is likely to be until your children are financially independent or the retirement of your partner. 4. The base amount is now calculated. Multiply the final annual amount by the number of years you will need the cover for; this is your base amount. 5. Think about any cover you have already arranged. Any existing life cover, which would be paid by your employer in the event of your death, or any other insurance policy, which is not covering anything specific, such as a mortgage, should now be deducted. You have now arrived at the amount of life cover required to protect your family on your death. Something that you need to take account is that you also have mortgage protection. If the amount of money you d need to pay out sounds completely impossible, there s no need to panic and decide to do nothing. You should not overstretch yourself, but simply insure yourself as closely as possible to the target figure. Some life cover is better than none at all.

7 7 Steps to Minimise The Cost of your Life Cover 1. Start Young typically the younger you are the cheaper your cover is. 2. Stay healthy.life companies charge unhealthy people more for their cover as the odds are that they will be paying out on them sooner. 3. If looking at Joint Cover look at doing Dual Life instead as that way you get two payouts rather than one for not a big difference in cost. 4. Doing the term of cover for longer could work out much cheaper in the long run if due to unforeseen circumstances you had to extend your cover in the future. 5. Always look at doing cover on a convertible basis a convertible term policy means that at the end of the policy term, you can extend it (for the same level of cover) for a further term without submitting medical details. 6. If your life cover is not required as security for a loan e.g. a mortgage look at taking out Pension Term Assurance which gives you valuable tax relief on your premiums thus reducing your costs. 7. Quit Smoking! Smokers are charged a much higher rate than non smokers. If you have been a non smoker for more than 12 months, you should review any existing cover that you have.