Self Assurance. Your simple guide to protection

Transcription

1 Self Assurance Your simple guide to protection

2 Your simple guide to protection Peace of mind for you and your family None of us really knows what the future has in store, but like millions of other people in the UK, protecting yourself against the financial impact of the unthinkable - such as dying, losing your job or being unable to work due to serious illness or injury has understandably become a high priority. Especially for those people with responsibilities, like being married or having a family. It is reassuring to know that a protection plan from Scottish Provident could provide a crucial payout to help those closest to you in the event of something unforeseen happening. These payouts are usually tax free and can be used in whichever way you see fit*. This could be either paying off the mortgage or funding a range of treatments following an illness or maybe helping to pay for a relaxing holiday after what may have been a challenging period for your family. There really are no restrictions as to how the money can be used. * Premiums payable, benefits received and tax treatment will depend on individual circumstances. The following pages detail our 5 step process to selecting a protection policy. Please take the time to read each step and if there is anything you are not sure about then you should speak to your financial adviser.

3 Your simple guide to protection: Step 1 Step 1 Choose your benefits Everyone has individual needs and should have access to plenty of choices through our tailor-made cover. That is why there are a number of benefits within the Self Assurance plan to choose from. You should discuss your requirements with your financial adviser so you can select the benefits suitable to you. Scottish Provident s Self Assurance menu style plans allow you to mix and match benefits to fit with your current needs and are flexible enough to adapt in the future as your circumstances change. Benefit Death benefit Death or earlier critical Critical What the benefit aims to do Pays out if you die or meet our definition of a terminal illness Pays out if you die or meet our definition of a terminal illness, critical illness or disability and you survive for 14 days Pays out if you meet our definition of a critical illness, terminal illness or a disability and you survive for 14 days Disability income benefit also known as income protection Unemployment benefit (Self Assurance mortgage plans only) Premium payment benefit also known as waiver of premium Replaces some of your earnings if you are unable to work or perform 2 out of 6 work tasks because of sickness, accident or disability Pays out a monthly income to replace some of your earnings if you are made redundant Takes care of your premiums if you lose your job or if you are unable to work or do a number of work or life tasks because of sickness, accident or disability

4 Your simple guide to protection: Step Step 1 (continued) Choose your benefits Once you decide which type of benefit and how much cover you require, you can then choose whether you want the benefit to change or remain the same throughout your selected term. Here are your options: Benefit Available on Available on which options Explanation which benefits? Self Assurance plans? Level The sum assured or selected Personal, mortgage benefit level of benefit would remain and business plans the same throughout the term of the plan Disability income benefit Unemployment benefit* *Mortgage plans only Increasing The sum assured or the Personal, mortgage benefit selected level of benefit will and business plans increase on an annual basis in order to keep up with inflation. The sum assured or benefit will Disability income benefit increase in line with the retail Unemployment benefit* *Mortgage plans only prices index on each anniversary or by a maximum of 10%, whichever is lower Decreasing Your benefit will reduce over Personal, mortgage benefit the term you have chosen to fit and business plans in with your mortgage or loan reducing as you repay part of the capital each month Please note: This is only a summary guide to give you an overview of the protection plan and should not be relied upon by itself. Please read the Self Assurance product guide and key features, as these give you the full plan details including benefits, the critical illnesses we cover (we do not cover all critical illnesses), definitions, terms and conditions and exclusions and limitations about your plan.

5 Your simple guide to protection: Steps 2 and Step 2 Choose how long your benefits last It is up to you how long you want to be covered for. Each benefit you choose can have a different term. If you know how long you want your benefit to last, you can choose a fixed term, for example if you are using the benefit to cover a mortgage. However, if you want more flexibility you can choose one of the renewable terms. Fixed term Provides cover until the end of the selected term. You can choose a term between 5 years and 40 years (whole years only), however cover cannot go beyond: Age 85 for death benefit, death or earlier critical illness benefit, critical and premium payment benefit Age 65 for disability income benefit and unemployment benefit. Renewable term Provides cover for the term you select (either 5 or 10 years) and is suitable if you do not want a long-term commitment in your financial planning. Your plan may be renewed at the end of the selected period without any further medical or financial assessments, but the premiums and definitions on the new plan may differ from the original plan. Please refer to the Benefit terms section in the Self Assurance product guide. Step 3 Choose your premium amount and type Each benefit you choose will have its own premium. The premium can be calculated using guaranteed rates or reviewable rates. Guaranteed rates This is available for all benefits except unemployment benefit. This means that the premiums for each benefit are fixed for the whole term of the benefit and will not change unless you request an amendment. Reviewable rates These rates are available for all benefits. This means that the premiums for each benefit are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure the level of cover can be maintained throughout the chosen benefit term. Whilst fixed or guaranteed premiums sometimes work out to be slightly more expensive than reviewable premiums initially, they do allow you to budget and plan for the future. Please refer to the What we mean by premium rates section in the Self Assurance product guide.

6 Your simple guide to protection: Step 4 Step 4 Choose how we pay your benefits Each benefit within your plan can be paid in a different way. The table below outlines the options available to you. For more information, please refer to the Benefit payments section in the Self Assurance product guide. What benefit is it Which plan is it Option How it works available on? available on? Lump sum This pays out the sum Personal, mortgage payment assured in one payment and business plans Regular income This allows the benefit Mortgage and to be paid as a regular personal plans income. It can be on a level or an increasing basis Disability income benefit Unemployment benefit* *Mortgage plans only Instalments This is spreading the Business plans only payment of the sum assured over 3-5 years in equal payments Your plan has no cash-in value during, or at the end of each benefit term. If you stop paying premiums, you will not get anything back, your plan will stop and you will no longer be covered for your benefits.

7 Your simple guide to protection: Step 5 Step 5 Applying for your plan Once you, with the help of your financial adviser have made the various choices and decided what cover you require, you will need to complete an application form. The application form This is when you tell us what benefits and on what terms you would like us to offer you the plan. It is also when you should complete a set of medical and financial questions to enable us to fully assess your application. The importance of completing the application form accurately is essential for us in processing your application. Please tell us everything about your medical history leave us to decide if it is relevant to your application or not. If you do not disclose everything we ask for, you may not be covered. When we receive a fully completed application form, we will begin our underwriting process. Online applications If your financial adviser has sent us your application online rather than on paper, we will post you a copy of the information they provided. It is very important that you check this information and make sure all your details are correct and that nothing has been left off. Any missing or incorrect information should be noted and sent back to us on the form we provide. Remember to let us decide if any information is relevant to your application. If you are happy that all the information is correct, please sign the declaration and return it to us as soon as you can. If you are not happy that the information is correct and you do not advise us of the changes you would like us to make, you may not be covered. Underwriting This is terminology used for assessing your application accurately with a view to offering you the cover you have applied for. It may be that we approach your GP for details of your recent appointments or even ask you some extra questions which are relevant to your cover. Most of the time we offer clients the cover they want, but sometimes we may have to limit it, charge slightly more, or decline or postpone the cover. After the underwriting assessment we will issue you with acceptance terms, which will explain the cover and premium we can offer you. Future steps Life does not always stay the same people get married (or divorced), move to a bigger house, have children or get that well deserved promotion at work. The good news is that your Scottish Provident protection plan can change with you. You can change your plan at any time: Add a benefit Increase the amount of cover Remove a benefit Reduce the amount of cover. This flexibility is just one of the reasons why Scottish Provident is a leading protection provider. Please note that if you make a change to your plan, your premium could go up or down depending on your individual circumstances. Please note that we may require medical evidence to make certain changes to your plan. For full terms and conditions, please see the Self Assurance product guide.

8 Why choose Scottish Provident? Scottish Provident was first established in 1837 and has grown to become one of the UK s leading providers of protection cover, offering a wealth of experience and expertise. Our parent, the Royal London Group, has been around since 1861 and is the UK's largest mutual life and pensions company. The Scottish Provident Self Assurance term product is one of the most popular, comprehensive and flexible in the market. It aims to provide protection against the financial effects of death, critical illness, disability or unemployment depending on the type of cover you choose. Here are just a few of the reasons why Scottish Provident could be the right choice for you: We provide our customers with a range of extra benefits - not all protection plans offer the same standard of cover. We deliver on our promise to customers when they need us - having paid out over 90 million in critical illness claims in 2011 (source: Scottish Provident, critical illness claims paid 1 January to 31 December 2011). Better than ABI standard definition on 10 of our 45 critical illness definitions, 6 of which are in our top 10 reasons for claim. Additional covered conditions at no extra cost providing cover for 2 early forms of cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ and low grade prostate cancer), accident hospitalisation cover and third degree burns (covering between 10% and 20% of the body s surface area or between 25% and 50% of the surface area of the face). The maximum payment is 15,000 or 20% of the sum assured. We are a popular choice - we currently look after over half a million protection plans, so rest assured you are in good hands (source: Scottish Provident, March 2012). Children s critical available at no extra cost. Critical illness cover again through our cover buyback option for certain illnesses even after a claim. (cover buyback must be chosen at the start of the plan, it cannot be added at a later date) Helplines available for extra support. Please note that unemployment benefit and the helplines are provided by separate companies from Scottish Provident. Please see the relevant literature for details. The only critical illness provider to be 5 Star rated by independent financial research company Defaqto in each of the last 8 years for the benefits within our Self Assurance plans. Speak to your financial adviser for more information about protection from Scottish Provident. Scottish Provident is a division of the Royal London Group which consists of The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Ltd and its subsidiaries. The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority No and is registered in England and Wales No The registered office is 55 Gracechurch Street, London, United Kingdom EC3V 0RL. SCPR5464 MAY12 LCC