Provider: Legal & General Product: Protection Choices - Personal Cover. Protection Choices is des...
Provider: Legal & General
Product: Protection Choices - Personal Cover. Protection Choices is designed to allow the planholder to change their protection during the term to cater for changes in their lifestyle.
The plan can include the following benefits:
• Term life cover (including terminal illness cover).
• Term critical illness cover.
• Whole of life cover (including terminal Illness cover).
• Whole of life critical illness cover.
• Income protection insurance.
• Unemployment cover (only available with income protection insurance).
• Waiver of payment benefit.
• Indexation (not available with standalone critical illness cover).
Does the plan allow life cover with accelerated critical illness cover: Yes
Is a standalone critical illness version available: Yes
Is income protection insurance available under the plan: Yes
Is accident sickness unemployment benefit offered as part of the plan: Yes - only available where income protection benefit is included.
Minimum acceptable age attained at commencement: 17
Minimum policy term: The minimum term is five years but the plan must end before 65th birthday and no earlier than 29th birthday.
Maximum term: Critical illness cover ' 25 years.
Minimum sum assured: None
Minimum acceptable monthly premium: The minimum starting premium is currently £10 per month or £100 per annum. There is no maximum premium.
Premiums paid by direct debit: Monthly or annually.
Premiums paid by cheque: Annually only.
Monthly policy fee: Policy charge is implicit within the premiums.
Life cover is offered as an option: Automatically included. When standalone critical illness is selected there is an automatic added death benefit which means the plan pays out on death if no critical illness has been paid. This means there is a zero survival period for this plan. The plan can provide life assurance benefit paid as income. Death benefit may be paid on a family income benefit basis.
Level critical illness benefit: Critical illness benefit may be arranged on a level basis.
Waiver of premium available: Provided the insured is under the age of 55 at outset and is accepted on standard terms, then they will qualify for waiver of payment benefit.
This will protect their premiums if they are totally incapacitated from following their normal occupation because of an illness or accident necessitating medical or surgical treatment after six months' incapacity and provided they are not following any other occupation Legal & General will waive premiums until they are fit to return to work, 60th birthday, or death, whichever is the earliest.
Waiver definition of disability: Totally incapacitated from following their normal occupation by reason of illness or accident necessitating medical or surgical treatment.
If the life assured is not in a gainful occupation, premiums do not have to be paid after a period of 26 weeks, if suffering from an illness or accident which directly stops you from performing three or more functional assessment tests.
Unemployment cover option: Unemployment benefit can be paid for 12 or 24 months. The unemployment cover is underwritten by Legal & General.
Increase term/sum assured after start date other than by insurability: Yes, Protection Choices allows the planholder the following flexibility at any time, subject to standard underwriting where relevant:
• Increase the sum assured (in addition to the guaranteed insurability options).
• Allowed at any time, up to age 49 attained and not exceeding £300k critical illness only limit.
• Reduce the sum assured.
• Extend the benefit term.
• The benefit term may be increased up to 10 years longer than the original term.
• Reduce benefit term.
• Add a new product.
• Remove a product benefit.
• Add an additional benefit rider.
• Remove an additional benefit rider.
• Add a life assured.
• Remove a life assured.
Joint life first claim basis available: Single life, joint life first claim, joint life same sex and key person and partnership plans are also available.
Plan can be used for partnership/shareholder protection: Yes
Split trust wording available: Yes
Guaranteed insurability option: Guaranteed insurability entitles the insured to increase their level of cover, without the need to provide further evidence of health on the occurrence of certain events:
• Marriage.
• The birth or adoption of a child.
• Changing a mortgage because of moving or improving their existing home.
The option should be exercised within 6 months of the event.
Replacement/renewal option: At outset the assured can choose the conversion option, which for an additional cost entitles to convert the plan into a whole of life, savings or endowment mortgage plan without the need of further medical evidence, and can only be converted into a policy with critical illness if the original policy had critical illness. To be eligible, must be under 55 years of age at outset and the term of the plan must be at least 10 years.
This option can be exercised at any time before 60th birthday.
The amount of the sum assured under the new policy must not exceed the sum assured under the original term assurance plan.
If the conversion option is chosen, the assured cannot also choose to index link the plan.
Guaranteed rates available: A life cover policy with critical illness attached has the option of guaranteed or reviewable rates.
A standalone critical illness policy can only have reviewable rates, however, there is also an added death benefit which means the plan pays out on death if no critical illness has been paid.
Non smoker rates offered: Yes ' a smoker is defined as someone who has taken nicotine products within the last 12 months.
Terminal illness: Terminal illness cover allows for the guaranteed sum assured (up to a maximum of £2m) to be advanced on diagnosis of a terminal illness up to 18 months before the end of the term of the plan where life expectancy is 12 months or less.
Any balance of the sum assured will be paid on death. No further premiums will be payable once a terminal illness claim has been accepted.
Terminal illness cover is automatically included at no extra cost.
Children's benefit: Children's critical illness cover is included at no extra cost. If a child is defined as suffering from a defined critical illness during the term of the plan, and survives for 28 days from the date of diagnosis, then a lump sum will be paid.
The amount of the lump sum will be up to £15,000 or 50% of the guaranteed sum assured, whichever is the lower. This is an additional benefit and does not effect the guaranteed sum assured under the plan.
To be covered the child must be aged over 26 weeks and under 18 years old. The 28 day survival period may extend beyond the 18th birthday. Only one claim can be made for each child covered and when two claims have been accepted the cover will cease.
Survival period for CIC claims (days): None
Web address: www.legalandgeneral.com/ifacentre
