Don t let your lifestyle disappear.

Transcription

1 Don t let your lifestyle disappear. Pensions Protection Investments Income Protection Safeguard your lifestyle with the security of Income Protection by Friends First.

2 At Friends First, we are always looking forward to your future, seeking new and better ways to fulfil the diverse financial aspirations of all our clients. About Friends First At Friends First, we are always looking forward to your future, seeking new and better ways to fulfil the diverse financial aspirations of all our clients. Through our wide range of financial services products, Friends First is constantly working to provide a brighter future for our 250,000* Irish customers. As a leading expert in the market, Friends First consistently meets the individual requirements of our customers with innovative solutions in the areas of pensions, investments and protection. With total assets exceeding 4.7 billion*, Friends First employs over 350* people at its corporate headquarters in Dublin and regional offices in Cork and Galway. Friends First is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eureko, a pan-european insurance group with total assets of e95 billion.** About Eureko B.V. Eureko is a leading European financial services group whose core business is insurance. Eureko has built a portfolio of strong European businesses with excellent brands. From its base in the Netherlands, Eureko employs almost 20,000* people in 8 countries. Total assets exceed 95 billion*. Eureko aims to build an integrated, pan-european group and be recognized as the most trusted insurer in its markets. The Eureko Group has an S&P rating of A-, Outlook stable. * Source: Friends First, December 2011 ** Source: Eureko, December Income Protection

3 You live a lifestyle that you ve grown accustomed to. But what if the things you take for granted today suddenly disappeared? When illness, injury or disability leave you unable to work for three months or more, you need the financial security of a product that keeps you on top of the bills that matter: mortgage payments, car loans, food bills, rent and more. Safeguard the things you love with Income Protection by Friends First. Income Protection was the lifeline. James Doyle fell ill and had to have a lung transplant. He says: People just never feel it is going to happen to them and I was one of them. Income Protection was the lifeline. State Illness benefit won t cover much. Many people think the government will provide for them and their family. Unfortunately at just 188 per week for a single PAYE employee, and nothing if you are self employed, government support comes up a long way short! Where would you or your family even start to make sacrifices? 188 per week would barely cover most people s mortgage payments! What is Income Protection? Income Protection is a form of disability or sickness insurance that gives you more control of your financial security. You pay a monthly premium determined by your age, occupation, and health status, and Friends First covers you with a regular income for the duration of your illness, injury or disability until you return to work, or until your selected ceasing age. With Income Protection, you have a range of options and cover types to choose from, allowing you to create a plan to fit your lifestyle. As your needs change, your Income Protection policy can be adjusted to suit your new circumstances. Income Protection can cover any illness, any injury or any disability, so you have peace of mind knowing you have the right protection for the things you love. Income Protection 3

4 Personalise Your Income Protection Friends First have a number of plans available to suit your individual circumstances: Individual Income Protection Our Individual Income Protection plan is designed for those who are self-employed, or for an employee taking out a policy independently of their employer. Friends First Individual Income Protection offers a Guaranteed Premium option, which means that your premiums are guaranteed for the life of your plan, as long as your chosen benefits remain the same. WageProtector WageProtector is a cost effective alternative to full Income Protection, designed for those who cannot afford full Income Protection but would like to have some level of cover in place. With WageProtector s Transition Cover feature, you receive full cover for an initial period to help you get back on your feet after a disability. After 24 monthly payments Disability Cover ensures that if you are severely disabled, you continue to have an income until retirement. Mortgage Income Protection We designed our Mortgage Income Protection plan specifically to cover the regular mortgage and loan repayments you would face if you were out of work due to an illness or disability. With Mortgage Income Protection, we ve streamlined some of the features from our Income Protection plan and linked it to the term of your mortgage. Executive Income Protection If you are an employer, who is interested in putting a plan in place for key employees, we have a plan to suit you. Please see our Executive Income Protection Brochure for details. Tax Efficient Premiums You choose the level of benefit and the various options you want to include and we calculate your premium payment based on that information and of course your health. And because your premiums qualify for tax relief at up to 41%, you could save hundreds every year on premiums. Example - Non Smoker Jack, a 40 year old accountant, earns 85,000 per annum. He has chosen to protect 50% of his salary ( 42,000 p.a.) until his retirement at 65. He selects a six month waiting time and chooses to guarantee his premium and benefit. Benefit amount: 42,500 p.a. Gross premium: 97.32* per month Jack pays: per month (after tax relief) Choose the plan that fits you: Amount of salary to cover Deferred period (i.e. When your claim payments start) Type of premiums you want to pay (guaranteed or reviewable) Age at which your plan ends * He also chooses both premium and benefit indexation and claim escalation. 4 Income Protection

5 Add the benefits you want Because only certain benefits listed in this brochure apply to certain plans, please ask your Financial Advisor for more information or contact Friends First directly. Guaranteed Premiums Friends First offer Guaranteed Premiums, the easy option that ensures your premium does not change over the term of the plan, so long as your chosen benefits remain the same. This allows you to know in advance how much your premiums will be over the term of the plan. There will be no change to your premium even if you make a claim. OR Reviewable Premiums The Reviewable Premium option guarantees that your premiums will remain constant for the first five years of your plan. We will review your premium on the fifth anniversary of your plan, and every five years thereafter. At this stage, your premium may increase, decrease, or remain the same. This review will take into account our claims experience in the preceding years, economic changes, medical breakthroughs and the expected cost of providing cover in the future. Premium & Benefit Indexation You can choose to increase your benefit by 3% and your premium by 3.5% each year. Indexation helps to ensure that as your salary increases each year, so too does your benefit. Claim Escalation Choose Escalation and your income benefit increases by 3% each year, while your claim is in payment. OR You can choose either (or both) of these options to suit your own requirements, or you can choose to have your benefit and premium remain level throughout your plan. Tax Relief Premiums paid on any of our Income Protection suite of products qualify for tax relief at your marginal rate (to a maximum of 10% of total salary). In the event of a claim for benefit, you will receive this benefit net of income tax under the PAYE system. It is your responsibility to claim this tax relief from your local Revenue office. You will find more information on Reviewable Premiums in your policy conditions. Income Protection 5

6 Customise Your Plan Benefits State Illness Benefit Single Person: 9,776 Family of Four: 19, Self-employed: 0 * As of Dec Adjustable Benefit Choose how much of your income you want to protect up to 75% of the first 125,000 of your earnings (excluding BIK s) plus 33% of the balance, less the State Illness benefit. This is subject to an overall maximum of 175,000 p.a./ 3,365 per week. How much you choose to protect depends on your existing sick pay arrangements, and what level of cover you require to maintain your lifestyle. Deferred Period You decide what period of time you wish to wait until you begin to receive a replacement income from your plan (the deferred period). Select from three, six or twelve months (13, 26 or 52 weeks). For example: if your employer will pay you for a six month period, then you should choose your deferred period as 26 weeks. Policy Term (Ceasing age, or when your plan will end) This means you select the age at which your Income Protection plan ends. Opt for 55, 60, or 65 years of age. Your choice could coincide with retirement or other milestones! 6 Because certain benefits listed in this brochure apply only to certain plans, please contact your Financial Adviser for more information. Income Protection Automatic Benefits Guaranteed Increase Option Friends First offers you a Guaranteed Increase Option, allowing you to increase your income benefit by 20% of your original amount without having to provide new evidence of health. This offer will be made to you every three years, five times over the life of your policy, allowing you to increase your benefit by 100% of the original benefit amount. Hospital Cash Benefit A daily replacement income is paid if you are in hospital for more than seven days during your deferred period. Automatic Waiver of Premium You will not have to pay your premiums while you are receiving an income benefit. During this time, your plan continues, so that if you do return to work and at some stage in the future need to claim again your plan has continued unchanged. Rehabilitation Benefits For so many of our clients recovery means a chance to return to work or begin a new career. Friends First offer resources and assistance to help you get back into the workforce when you are ready. Relapse Benefit We will immediately restart paying your benefit if you have a relapse within six months of returning to work there will be no waiting period in this case. Partial Benefit If you return to work part or full-time either in your old job or a new career, and your new earnings are less than previously earned, you may be eligible to receive partial benefit. Occupation Change A Friends First Income Protection Plan will continue to cover you if you change jobs, regardless of what your new job entails. If you are made redundant, your plan will continue while you are looking for another job. This means that although you won t be eligible to claim, you won t need to reapply for cover when you are employed again.

7 Friends First: Working with you At Friends First, we are particularly proud of our unrivalled claims record. This outstanding record in service to our policyholders is a key benefit of our Income Protection products. Our Health Claims Team are there to help you through every step of your claim. We offer a range of additional services and resources to help our claimants retake control of their lives: Claims Visitors: Independent qualified nurses or professionals visit you and assist in the completion of paperwork, guide you through the claims procedure and discuss rehabilitation options when the time is right. Rehabilitation: We work closely with the Irish Centre for Occupational Rehabilitation to help you continue normal everyday activities, and ultimately assist your return to employment. Return to Work: We have an Occupational Health Specialist who supports you in getting back to work and focusing on your particular job and workplace to see if any adjustments can or should be made to assist you. Career Change: In conjunction with Talent Fusion, Friends First will support you in seeking a new career if you are unable to return to your original occupation CLAIMS STATISTICS Friends First paid 28.1m in claims in % of claims submitted were accepted Average length of a claim was 5.5 years Average payment in 2011 was 20,000 p.a. A Sample of Recent Claims: a 45-year-old Pilot, out of work since May 1999 with heart problems. Benefit paid to date: 563,000. a 50-year old Insurance Salesman, unable to work due to stress had his claim paid for 3 years, following which he took part in our Career Change Programme. Just six months later he returned to the workforce in a management position with a charity organisation. a 45-year old Carpenter, out of work from February 2005 to February 2006 with a fractured leg and ankle. Benefit paid: 22,000. a 29-year old Occupational Therapist, out of work since 2004 with a back and neck injury, returned to work part-time in January Fifty percent of the benefit continued to be paid until she returned full-time in April Total benefit paid: 91,700. To get the best protection for your lifestyle, talk to your Financial Adviser. Income Protection 7

8 Friends First Life Assurance Company Ltd Friends First House Cherrywood Business Park Loughlinstown Dublin 18 Friends First Life Assurance Company Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Terms and conditions apply. BR117, May 12