Lifetime Protection Plan from Standard Life Protecting you and your family Remember when you thought you were invincible 1 of 33
2 of 33 When was the last time you felt invincible?
Contents The need for protection 5 Why should I choose a Lifetime Protection Plan? 9 What does it cover me for? 10 Cover for your mortgage 11 Cover for critical illness 14 Cover for your family 16 Inheritance Tax Protection 18 Convertible Protection 19 Additional features 21 We ll automatically give you 27 Age limits, length of plans and payment details 28 What to do next 30 Changing your mind 31 Notes 32 3 of 33
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The need for protection Have you stopped to think about what would happen to the people you love if you were to die or suffer a serious illness? What could you do to safeguard your home if you fell seriously ill? You may think you are unlikely to become seriously ill but just look at these facts: An estimated 1 in 4 males/1 in 6 females under the age of 30 will suffer a critical illness such as cancer, heart attack or stroke before age 65. Source: GE Frankona Re, estimate 2002 Every two minutes someone has a heart attack. Source: British Heart Foundation, 2002 One million people are treated in hospital for head injuries each year. 45% of victims with severe head injury will not return to work. Source: Brain and Spinal Injury Charity, 2001 5 of 33
HOW CAN STANDARD LIFE HELP? How could you cope financially if your child fell seriously ill and you had to care for them? And if you fell seriously ill or died, would your family have the money they need to survive? With this in mind, Standard Life has designed the Lifetime Protection Plan. It is a flexible plan which allows you to choose one of four possible benefit types to cover your personal needs. The four benefit types are: 1 Life Assurance cover a guaranteed amount or a regular income (or both) is paid out on the earlier of death or diagnosis of a terminal illness. 2 Critical Illness cover a guaranteed amount or a regular income (or both) is paid out on diagnosis of a critical illness. 3 Life Assurance cover plus Critical Illness cover a guaranteed amount or a regular income (or both) is paid out on the earlier of death or diagnosis of a terminal or critical illness. 4 Life Assurance cover plus Total Permanent Disability cover a guaranteed amount or a regular income (or both) is paid out on the earlier of death or diagnosis of a terminal illness or a total permanent disability. 6 of 33
WHAT IS TERMINAL ILLNESS? Terminal illness is defined as advanced or rapidly progressing incurable illness where, in the opinion of an attending consultant and our Chief Medical Officer, the life expectancy is no greater than 12 months. CAN I TAKE OUT A PLAN ON A SINGLE-LIFE OR JOINT-LIFE BASIS? Yes. Single-life basis means there is only one life covered by the plan. Joint-life basis means two lives are covered and we pay the benefits on the first claim made on either of the lives. In this guide we refer to options that end on certain dates or ages. For joint-life plans, these dates or ages will be based on the older of the two lives. 7 of 33
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Why should I choose a Lifetime Protection Plan? The plan is designed to cope with many of the events which could happen during your lifetime: setting up a home, getting married, having a baby, running your own business, getting divorced, suffering a serious illness or coping with the loss of a loved one. Your needs and those of your family will inevitably change (for example, your children will grow up and move on in life). Your job, your lifestyle and your commitments probably won t stay the same either. Standard Life has designed the Lifetime Protection Plan to provide flexible, cost-effective cover to give peace of mind throughout the plan term. The flexibility of the Lifetime Protection Plan means each plan is tailored to a specific protection need. For instance, one plan could be set up to cover your mortgage with a separate plan for a potential Inheritance Tax bill. The benefits of having separate plans for each protection need are: each plan can have a different end date, you can pick the right benefit type for each need (such as, reducing benefit for a mortgage), you only pay for the options that are relevant to each need. 9 of 33
What does it cover me for? The Lifetime Protection Plan can be used to provide: Cover for your mortgage Cover for critical illness Cover for your family Inheritance Tax protection Convertible protection the opportunity to convert to a new plan regardless of your state of health at the time Business assurance financial protection for business purposes This guide gives details of most of these types of cover. However, for business assurance, please speak to your financial adviser or local Standard Life office for more information. 10 of 33
Cover for your mortgage The protection of your home is one of the most basic and vital protection needs. If you were to fall critically ill or die, the last thing you want is for your family to become homeless. There are two ways of arranging cover, and the one you choose will depend on the type of mortgage you have. The amount you receive is intended to pay off your outstanding mortgage if you die or make a claim under one of the options included in the plan. MORTGAGE PROTECTION: FOR CAPITAL AND REPAYMENT MORTGAGES If you have a capital and repayment mortgage, the loan gradually decreases through the term of the mortgage. To reflect this, Mortgage Protection covers you for a decreasing amount of benefit. We pay a guaranteed amount so that, if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness before the end of your plan term, any remaining mortgage can be paid off. You choose a guaranteed amount at the start of your plan. The payments are competitive and are guaranteed not to increase throughout the term of your plan. The plan normally lasts until the date your mortgage is due to be completely repaid. The guaranteed amount reduces each year by a pre-set amount. It should cover your outstanding loan as long as interest rates on your mortgage do not exceed the rate we assume, which is currently 10% a year. 11 of 33
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LEVEL PROTECTION: FOR INTEREST-ONLY MORTGAGES Alternatively, if you have a mortgage where you pay only interest to your lender, you can choose Level Protection cover. This pays a guaranteed amount if you die, or are diagnosed with a terminal illness before the end of the chosen term. The guaranteed amount and the payments you make remain the same throughout the term of the plan. Normally, this type of plan would be arranged alongside a regular savings plan which does not provide life cover (for example, an Individual Savings Account). The guaranteed amount is used to repay the mortgage if you die or suffer a terminal illness during the term of the plan. The proceeds from the regular savings plan would be used to repay the mortgage if no claim has been made under the Level Protection plan. YOU RE COVERED BEFORE YOU MOVE IN Buying your home can take several months and there is usually a delay between the moment you are committed to buying and the completion date (the date when the house becomes legally yours and also when the plan usually starts). As long as we have accepted the terms of your plan, we will automatically include life assurance cover during this time at no extra charge. The cover will be for the amount of the loan and lasts up to six months from the exchange of contracts (in Scotland, the conclusion of missives) until the completion date. If you decide to include Critical Illness cover in your plan, we will include that cover (up to the amount of the life assurance cover) as well for no extra charge during this time. For details of Critical Illness cover, see overleaf. Your plan will start on the completion date. If you die or suffer a terminal illness just before completion, we will pay a guaranteed amount to repay the loan. This means your family will still be able to move into their new home. 13 of 33
Cover for critical illness Nobody likes to think about becoming critically ill. But it could happen to anyone and if you are not protected against it, you and your family could suffer serious financial hardship. You can arrange cover to pay out only on diagnosis of a critical illness. You can choose from three different types of Critical Illness cover depending on your needs: Level Benefit Decreasing Benefit Income Benefit Level Benefit pays a guaranteed amount, which you choose at the outset, on diagnosis of one of the critical illnesses covered before the end of your chosen term. The guaranteed amount of benefit remains the same throughout the term of the plan. You can choose to receive the money as a lump sum, or as a monthly income over 3, 5 or 10 years or as a combination of both. Income payments stop on death before the end of the payment period. Decreasing Benefit covers you for a decreasing amount of benefit (and is suitable for covering your mortgage). It pays out a known guaranteed amount on diagnosis of a critical illness before the end of your plan term. The guaranteed amount reduces each year by a pre-set amount. It should cover your outstanding loan as long as interest rates on your mortgage do not exceed the rate we assume, which is currently 10% a year. Income Benefit pays a regular income on diagnosis of a critical illness before the end of your chosen plan term. In the event of a claim, you can choose to convert the income to a lump sum if you prefer. You can also add Critical Illness cover to many plans offering life cover. More details are on page 21. 14 of 33
WHAT CRITICAL ILLNESSES ARE COVERED? The following table shows the current critical illnesses and conditions covered. You will find more information about the conditions covered and the circumstances when a claim will be paid, in our Definitions and Exclusions leaflet, coded GEN200. Alzheimer s Disease Aorta Graft Surgery Aplastic Anaemia Bacterial Meningitis Benign Brain Tumour Blindness Cancer Children s Benefit* Coma Coronary Artery By-pass Surgery Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Deafness Dementia before age 65 Heart Attack Heart Valve Replacement or Repair HIV Infection for Emergency and Healthcare Services HIV Infection from Physical Assault Kidney Failure Liver Failure Loss of Limbs Loss of Speech Major Organ Transplant Motor Neurone Disease Multiple Sclerosis Paralysis/Paraplegia Parkinson s Disease Stroke Third Degree Burns Total Permanent Disability HIV Infection from Blood Transfusion * Children of the life assured are also covered for a number of conditions (this does not apply to Convertible Protection plans) see our leaflet GEN200. 15 of 33
Cover for your family Depending on your specific needs, we offer three alternatives when you are thinking of covering your family: Level Family Income Renewable Protection Protection Protection LEVEL PROTECTION This is the most straightforward and simple type of protection. If you die during the term of the plan, we will pay a guaranteed amount which you choose when you start the plan. Alternatively, if you are diagnosed as having a terminal illness, we will pay the money then instead. FAMILY INCOME PROTECTION Family Income Protection pays a regular income to your dependants on the earlier of death or diagnosis of a terminal illness before the end of your chosen term. The income is paid until the end of the term and can be converted to a lump sum, if preferred. The plan lasts for any period you select between 3 and 35 years. The amount of life cover and the payments remain the same throughout the term of the plan. You can also take out Level Protection to protect your home; see page 13. 16 of 33
RENEWABLE PROTECTION If you are unsure about your long-term needs or you don t want to commit yourself to a long-term plan, you could consider Renewable Protection. This means that you can renew your cover in the future. Renewable Protection pays a guaranteed amount on the earlier of death or diagnosis of a terminal illness before the end of the plan term. The term is fixed at five years. The guaranteed amount of benefit remains the same throughout the term of the plan. If you survive to the end of the five-year term, you then have the option to take out further Renewable Protection for another five years without providing medical evidence. The payments for the new plan will be based on your age, smoker status and the rates we are using at the time of renewal. You have the option to increase your existing guaranteed amount by up to 25%. For example: Original Sum Assured = 100,000 New Sum Assured = up to 125,000 If you are aged between 55 and 60 when it is time to renew your plan, you can only take out five-year Level Protection, which will not include a renewal option. 17 of 33
Inheritance Tax Protection Cover for a potential Inheritance Tax liability If you have given or received a gift, it may be liable to Inheritance Tax if the person making the gift dies within seven years of the date of the gift. You should seek professional advice if you could be in this position. If you find that you are, you can arrange a Lifetime Protection Plan to cover the potential Inheritance Tax liability. The amount of the tax due reduces over time so that when seven years have passed from the date of the gift, no tax is due. The amount of cover under Inheritance Tax Protection reduces each year to reflect this. It has a fixed term of seven years, although you only make payments for six years. Alternatively, you can make a single payment by cheque. 18 of 33
Convertible Protection Your needs may change in the future, so we offer a plan that can provide cover now but which can be adapted later. Convertible Protection pays a guaranteed amount on the earlier of death or diagnosis of a terminal illness before the end of your chosen term. The guaranteed amount of benefit remains the same throughout the term of your plan and you have the option to convert all or part of the benefit under your plan into a new contract without further evidence of continued good health. You can currently convert the plan into one of the following: Variable Protection Versatile Investment Homeplan Plan Plan Full details of these contracts are available from your financial adviser or local Standard Life office. 19 of 33
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Additional features For an extra cost you can normally add the following features at the outset or during the lifetime of your plan (they cannot be added to Inheritance Tax Protection): If you suffer from a total permanent disability, your financial circumstances could be severely affected. Total Permanent Disability will pay out if you become totally and permanently disabled due to illness or injury and (depending on the definition shown in your plan documents) you are unable to carry out your own occupation, or you cannot perform at least three of the eight Activities of Daily Working (ADW). Full details of ADW can be found in our leaflet Definitions and Exclusions (GEN200). Once we pay a Total Permanent Disability claim, the plan stops. Finding out you have a critical illness comes as a shock. Receiving a benefit can help ease some of the worries. Critical Illness cover is paid if you are diagnosed as suffering from one of the defined critical illnesses covered. Once we pay a critical illness claim, the plan stops. (Critical illness is not the same as terminal illness.) If you become seriously ill or disabled and are unable to work, you may not be able to make your payments to your plan. Waiver of Premium pays them for you. It is available on single-life and joint-life plans. You can claim until the earlier of the benefit expiry date, which is the policy anniversary date before your 65th birthday, and the expiry date of your plan. If you do make a claim, we will start making your payments once you have been ill or disabled for six months. We will stop making payments when you are fit to return to work or on the expiry date. 21 of 33
22 of 33 The following features are available on some of the plans for an extra cost. They can only be selected when you take out your plan. All these options allow you to increase or extend your plan without having to provide up-to date medical evidence.
EXTENSION OPTION Extension Option allows you to extend the term of your plan every five years. This enables you to maintain cover if your protection needs continue for longer than originally expected (for example, if your children continue to be financially dependent because they go on to further or higher education). It also means that if your health deteriorates in the future, you will still be able to get cover for yourself. The latest date you can use this option is the earlier of the final five-yearly anniversary date of the plan before your 55th birthday and three years before the plan s expiry date. INCREASE OPTION Increase Option allows you to increase the benefit under your plan by up to 25% of the original guaranteed amount at every fifth anniversary of the plan. For example, you can increase your cover to keep it in line with increases in the cost of living. You can use this option any number of times so long as the total increase is no more than 100% of the original sum assured or a total maximum increase of 200,000. The option must be used on the earlier of the final five-yearly anniversary date before your 55th birthday and three years before the expiry date of the plan. You can extend cover until the earlier of: Life cover only the 35th anniversary date of your original contract, and your 85th birthday. Plans with Critical Illness/Total Permanent Disability the 25th anniversary date of your original contract, and your 65th birthday. 23 of 33
LIFESTYLE OPTION Lifestyle Option allows you to quickly and easily increase cover in the event of changes to your lifestyle. If you marry, you can increase the level of cover on your existing plan by up to 50% within six months of your first marriage (subject to a maximum increase of 100,000). On the birth or legal adoption of a child, you can increase the guaranteed amount on your existing plan by up to 25% for each child up to a maximum of 50% (subject to a maximum increase of 100,000). Alternatively, you can take out new Family Income Protection or Critical Illness Protection Income Benefit which pays a yearly income of 2.5% of the original benefit for each child up to a maximum of 5% (subject to an absolute maximum of 10,000 a year). Please note that you can only take out Family Income Protection if you have a death benefit plan. You can only take out Critical Illness Protection Income Benefit if you have a critical illness plan. If you added the Lifestyle Option to either Family Income Protection or Critical Illness Protection Income Benefit, you can extend the term of the plan, but you cannot take out a new plan. You must use the Lifestyle Option before the earlier of the final anniversary date of the plan before your 55th birthday and three years before the expiry date of the plan. 24 of 33
MORTGAGE FUTURE INSURABILITY OPTION AND TERM EXTENSION OPTION These options are only available if your plan is mortgage related, and you must use them before the earlier of the final anniversary date of the plan before your 55th birthday and the expiry date of your plan. They enable you to increase or extend (or both) your level of benefit in line with any increase or extension to the associated mortgage. This means that if you are moving house you don t have to worry about setting up a new plan or providing health evidence. The maximum increase in cover under the Future Insurability Option will be the lowest of: the increase in the loan, 100% of the original guaranteed amount 200,000. By using the Term Extension Option, you can extend the term of your plan to the earliest of: the new mortgage repayment date, the 35th anniversary of the policy (25th anniversary if you have Critical Illness or Total Permanent Disability cover) your 85th birthday (65th if you have Critical Illness or Total Permanent Disability cover). Your plan must run for at least three years after these options are used. RENEWAL OPTION This option is only available under Renewable Protection, where it comes as standard, or five-year Critical Illness Protection Level Benefit. At the end of the plan term, it gives you the opportunity to take out a new plan on a similar basis. The guaranteed amount on the new contract may be up to 25% more than the original guaranteed amount. 25 of 33
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We ll automatically give you......terminal Illness cover, which is included in all policies except Critical Illness Protection and Inheritance Tax Protection plans. The guaranteed amount is payable if you are diagnosed, after the plan has been taken out, as not likely to live for more than 12 months. The amount payable on diagnosis will equal the chosen death benefit. This benefit will end on the earlier of age 70 or 12 months before your plan ends. It will not be included in your plan if you are over age 69 when you take out the plan. Free Accidental Death Benefit, which applies to all policies that pay a guaranteed amount on death. As the name suggests, the guaranteed amount is payable if you die as a result of an accident. This cover begins when we receive your application and lasts until the earliest of: our acceptance; our refusal; and the date 30 days after we receive the application. Free Accidental Death Benefit provides a cash lump sum equal to the guaranteed amount you have applied for (subject to a maximum of 250,000). REMEMBER THIS BENEFIT IS FREE WE PROVIDE IT EVEN BEFORE YOU HAVE PAID US ANYTHING. Mortgage Assurance Option, which is included in Mortgage Protection and Critical Illness Protection Decreasing Benefit plans. It monitors mortgage interest rates and if they approach the rate we assume (currently 10%) we will contact you. You should then check that your guaranteed amount is still sufficient to pay off your mortgage, based on the interest rate you are paying. If it is not, you can ask us to change the rate at which your guaranteed amount reduces. The new rate will be the same as we use in new plans we are selling at that time. 27 of 33
Age limits, length of plans and payment details Minimum age to take a plan out Maximum age to take a plan out Maximum age when the plan ceases Minimum term of plan Maximum term of plan 17 next birthday in Scotland 19 next birthday in England, Wales & Northern Ireland 80 next birthday for policies providing a death benefit only 78 next birthday for Inheritance Tax Protection 60 next birthday for policies providing a death benefit and/or Critical Illness and Total Permanent Disability cover 55 next birthday for Renewable Protection/Convertible Protection 85 next birthday for policies providing a death benefit only 65 next birthday for policies providing a death benefit and/or Critical Illness and Total Permanent Disability cover 60 next birthday for Renewable Protection 3 years for single payments 5 years for regular payments & Critical Illness Protection plans 35 years for life cover only 25 years for plans with Critical Illness or Total Permanent Disability cover 34 years if you select the Future Insurability Option and Term Extension Option Fixed term of plan Minimum premiums Single-life or joint-life plans 5 years for Renewable Protection 7 years for Inheritance Tax Protection 7.50 monthly 75 yearly 200 single payment All options can be taken out on a single-life or joint-life basis, except Inheritance Tax Protection, which can only be taken out on a single-life basis. 28 of 33
HOW DO I MAKE PAYMENTS? For plans with terms longer than four years, you can make monthly or yearly payments by direct debit. Alternatively, you can make payments once a year by cheque. Plans with terms of four years or less must be paid as a single payment. If you take out Inheritance Tax Protection or a plan with a term of exactly five years, you can make a single payment if you prefer. All single payments must be made by cheque. HOW ARE THE BENEFITS PAID? Lifetime Protection offers you a choice of how you receive your benefits: as a lump sum, an income or a combination of both. On the application form, you select which method you prefer. 29 of 33
What to do next Speak to your financial adviser to find out more about the Standard Life Lifetime Protection Plan. They will be able to give you a personal quotation that will show examples of costs. Your financial adviser will also be able to answer any questions you may have and help you to decide: which protection option most suits your needs, whether you should include additional benefits, the amount of cover you need, how much you can afford, if there is anything else you need to know. So that you can have all the facts to make a balanced decision, please read the Key Features Document that your financial adviser will give you along with your personal quotation. It spells out in very clear terms the facts you need to know, including the effects of charges and what you might get back if you cancel your plan. 30 of 33
Changing your mind You have a legal right to cancel your contract if you change your mind. When we accept your application we will send you a Cancellation Notice. You will have 30 days from when you receive this to tell us if you want to cancel. We will then return any payments you have made. Taxation The benefits from your plan will normally be free from UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax. If you own the plan and it pays out on death, the proceeds will normally form part of your estate and may be subject to Inheritance Tax. We recommend that you take professional advice in all circumstances. 31 of 33
NOTES Any reference to legislation and taxation is based on our understanding of law and Inland Revenue practice in the UK at the date of publication. Legislation and taxation are liable to change in the future. For all plans except Critical Illness plans, our payment rates are guaranteed. That means we will not change your payments during the term of your plan once it has been set up unless you make changes to your plan. For Critical Illness plans, our payment rates are reviewable. This means we may increase or decrease your payments after five years, and then every five years thereafter. We cannot change your payments at any other time unless you make changes to your plan. 32 of 33
The Standard Life Assurance Company* is a mutual company registered in Scotland (no SZ4) Head Office Standard Life House 30 Lothian Road Edinburgh EH1 2DH Tel (0131) 225 2552 Standard Life may record and monitor telephone calls to help improve customer service. The Standard Life group includes Standard Life Pension Funds Limited* SLTM Limited* Standard Life Investments (Mutual Funds) Limited* *Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority www.standardlife.co.uk DSLPP10 104 2M 2004 Standard Life (images reproduced under licence) 33 of 33