Skandia

Provider: Skandia

Product: Skandia Protect

Minimum acceptable age attained at commencement: The minimum and maximum ages at outset are as follows:

Minimum age Maximum age

Life cover 2 (16 for whole life) 85

Critical illness 16 60

Maximum expiry age: Life cover 100 attained, critical illness cover 70 attained (applies to older life for joint life assurance).

Maximum sum assured: For critical illness cover with a fixed term:

•£1 million for terms of 10 years or less or rolling term policies

•£500,000 for terms of over 10 years

Life cover is offered as an option: Life cover is available as an option. Where critical illness and life cover are included the sum assured will become payable when the life assured suffers a critical illness or dies, whichever happens first.

Plan can include level benefit: The plan is available on a level basis.

Plan can include decreasing benefit: No

Plan can provide benefit paid as income:

Instalment Option – The client can choose whether the benefit is paid as a single lump sum or in instalments. Under the instalment option, 25% of the benefit is paid each year for the four years following a claim (without interest). If the plan is arranged for personal protection the instalment option can be chosen at any time.

For key employee cover, if the company wants the sum assured to be paid in instalments, it must decide at outset.

Critical illness cover as a % of life cover: By setting up a number of policies within one plan, it is possible to select differing amounts of critical illness cover. For combined critical illness and life policies, Skandia will pay the sum assured on the earlier of death/critical illness. For a critical illness claim, this means the life cover would end on such policies, unless the cover reinstatement option were included in the policy and was exercised.

Premium protection benefit: This optional benefit is available at an extra cost with life cover, critical illness and long term care cover. Premiums are paid if the life assured becomes sick or disabled and unable to work. The deferred period is six months.

Default waiver definition of disability: Premium protection benefit has two definitions and the one that applies will depend on the life assured's occupation. For lives assured with mainly office based professional or clerical occupations, Skandia will offer the "own occupation" version.

Own occupation definition – Skandia Life will pay premium protection benefit if the life assured is unable to perform his or her insured occupation. For lives assured in a manual occupation or a role in a non-clerical workplace, Skandia will usually offer the "activities of daily work" version.

Activities of daily work definition – Skandia will pay premium protection benefit if the life assured is unable to carry out three of the eight specified activities of daily work: bending, climbing, communicating, general, lifting, manual dexterity, reading and walking.

Does the plan offer the option to buy-back life cover after a claim: The policyholder can apply for after-claim cover following a claim using the cover reinstatement option which is available at an extra cost. This option is available for:

•critical illness cover only

•combined critical illness and life cover

•life cover with total permanent disability benefit

The option is available for lives assured below the age of 65 (60 for critical illness cover). For joint life first event policies the option can apply to either or both lives.

Does the plan offer the option to buy-back critical illness cover after a claim: The after-claim cover includes aorta graft surgery, bacterial meningitis, cancer, cardiomyopathy, children's benefit, heart attack, HIV/AIDS, kidney failure, major organ transplant

motor neurone disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, serious accident benefit, stroke and third degree burns.

A claim will be paid under the after-claim cover if the life assured suffers from one of the above, and if:

•It is different from the one originally claimed for; or

•It is a second incidence of the same condition.

Increase sum assured subject to underwriting: Yes

Joint life with two times' cover basis available: Yes. The policyholder can set up two single policies within one plan.

Automatic sum assured indexation available: Skandia Protect offers two inflation options to all policyholders. When the policyholder takes out the policy, he or she can choose to use the inflation option automatically or on request. The automatic inflation option works by routinely increasing the sum assured each year. Under the inflation option on request, Skandia will offer to increase the sum assured each year.

Sum assured indexation in line with RPI:

The policyholder can choose at outset whether to increase the sum assured by:

•The greater of 5% or the increase in RPI over the previous year.

•The greater of 10% or the increase in RPI over the previous year.

Guaranteed insurability on marriage: If the life assured marries, he/she may increase the sum assured within six months of the marriage. The sum assured can be increased by up to £50,000 per event. The maximum total increase allowed by exercising this option more than once is £100,000.

Guaranteed insurability on divorce: Where there are two lives assured under the policy who are married to each other and they divorce each other, each life assured can take out a new policy with the same level of benefits and levels of cover as on the joint life policy, on a single life basis. The maximum sum assured for each new policy is equal to the sum assured of the joint life policy.

Guaranteed insurability on childbirth or adoption: On the birth or legal adoption of a child by a life assured party, the sum assured can be increased by up to £50,000 per child, subject to a maximum total of £100,000. Where there are two lives assured on the same policy and the birth is to both of them or the legal adoption is to both of them, the £50,000 and £100,000 limits apply to both of them, not each of them. Where each parent has a separate Skandia Protect critical illness policy, the limits apply to each of them.

Guaranteed insurability on moving house / increase in mortgage/loan: Where the life assured has increased his or her mortgage from a usual lending source, the policyholder may request, within six months of that mortgage increase, an increase in the sum assured without underwriting.

The sum assured can be increased by up to the lower of:

•The increase in the mortgage

•£50,000 per event

The maximum total increase allowed by exercising this option more than once is £100,000.

Guaranteed insurability on promotion or salary increase: In the event of a salary increase the sum assured may be increased by the lower of:

•Five times the increase in earned income; and 25% of the current sum assured

•£100,000

Guaranteed insurability on an increase in Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability: If the policy has been set up as critical illness cover with life cover and to cover a prospective IHT liability, the following options are available:

•Increase in estate value

•Change to IHT legislation

There is no overall limit by which the sum assured can be increased under this option.

Guaranteed insurability on increase in business liabilities: If the policy has been taken out as part of a Business Assurance Arrangement or by a firm to cover a loan, the following options are available:

•Business Assurance Option

•Business Loan Option

•Business Insurance Increase

Other guaranteed insurability options offered: Retirement option. If the life assured is a member of an occupational pension scheme, and will lose associated life cover on retirement, he or she may either increase existing life cover, or add a further life cover policy into their Skandia Protect plan without underwriting. The option must be used within three months of retirement and the maximum increase is £100,000.

Guaranteed rates available: Premiums are guaranteed for the full term of the policy.

Number of core critical conditions as defined by ABI/IFAA: Seven

Number of ABI/IFAA additional conditions covered: 13

Number of other conditions covered: 14, including:

•Angioplasty – The undergoing of angioplasty on two or more coronary arteries to correct blockage of at least 50% in each of the affected arteries, on the undisputed advice of a Consultant. Balloon angioplasty, excimer laser, rotablation, stents and directional atherectomy are specifically included.

•Low grade prostate cancer benefit – Low grade prostate cancer means any malignant tumour of the prostate, characterised by uncontrolled growth and spread of malignant cells and invasion of tissue which is histologically classified as having a Gleason score of between two and six inclusive or having progressed to a TNM classification of T1N0M0.

If the life assured claims under this definition, Skandia Life will pay the lower of 20% of the sum assured or £10,000. The payment is in addition to the sum assured and does not affect the premiums or the Guaranteed Increase Options. The insurance will continue as before.

Other Benefits:

•Surgery benefit

•Serious accident benefit

Access to support helplines:

•Best Doctors

•Grace Consulting

Basis for inclusion of TPD: Total permanent disability (TPD) benefit can be chosen at outset or added to a policy at any time before age 65

No. of TPD definitions available: Two

Survival period for critical illness claims: 14 days