Why life cover matters
We help you consider the financial impact your family could face and the provision appropriate for your circumstances.
- Reduce the need for your family to sell assets after your death
- Provide for your dependants’ income needs
- Plan for your children’s education
Benefits to consider
Life cover itself pays a lump sum on death. Depending on the product and your needs, it can be combined with benefits that pay while you are alive:
- Life cover (death benefit): a lump sum to your beneficiaries or estate
- Critical illness benefit
- Disability benefit
- Impairment benefit
- Income protection benefit
- Funeral benefit
Who this suits
Life cover is for anyone whose death, illness or disability would leave a financial gap for someone else:
- Parents and guardians of children who depend on their income
- Couples with a home loan or other joint debt
- Single-income households
- Business partners who would need to buy out each other’s share
- Self-employed people without employer death and disability benefits
- Anyone with policies taken out years ago that have not been reviewed
Problems we help with
The situations that most often bring people to us, and that a review is designed to catch.
Cover based on a life you no longer lead
A policy sized for a first flat and no children rarely fits a family with a bond, two cars and school fees.
Income that stops when you cannot work
Life cover pays on death. An illness or injury that keeps you off work for a year is a different risk and needs its own benefit.
Beneficiaries out of date
Former partners still nominated, or new children not added, so the money does not reach the people you intended.
A business partner’s death with no funding
Without a buy-and-sell agreement backed by cover, a surviving partner can end up in business with the deceased’s family.
Premiums that escalate faster than expected
Age-rated premiums can become unaffordable in later years, exactly when cover matters most.
Several small policies and no plan
Overlapping benefits from different providers, each with its own exclusions and admin.
What happens during a review
A review is a conversation, not a commitment. Here is how it usually runs.
- 01
We map your commitments
Household income needs, debt, dependants, education plans and the benefits you already have through an employer.
- 02
We read your existing policies
Benefit amounts, premium patterns, exclusions, waiting periods and beneficiary nominations.
- 03
We put numbers to the gaps
A needs analysis for death, disability and severe illness, so you can see the difference between what you have and what your family would need.
- 04
You get a recommendation and a record of advice
Options across the providers we work with, with costs, and the reasons for what we propose.
- 05
We handle the application
Underwriting may need medical information, which you share directly with the insurer. We then review the cover with you as life changes.
Start with the commitments you want to protect
Consider household income needs, outstanding debt, dependants and existing employer or personal benefits. Discuss sensitive health information directly through the appropriate application process.
Before we speak
How much cover do I need?+
The appropriate amount depends on your obligations, existing provision and budget. An adviser can help you assess these together.
Should I cancel an existing policy?+
Speak to your adviser before making changes. Replacement cover may have different underwriting, exclusions, waiting periods and costs.
Plain-English guide
Terms you will see on schedules and quotes, explained without the jargon.
- Life cover
- A lump sum paid to your nominated beneficiaries or estate when you die.
- Beneficiary
- The person or people you nominate to receive a benefit. A nomination on a policy is separate from your will.
- Critical illness benefit
- A lump sum paid on diagnosis of a listed condition such as cancer, heart attack or stroke, to help with treatment and living costs.
- Disability benefit
- A lump sum paid if you become permanently unable to work.
- Income protection
- A monthly payment that replaces part of your income while you are unable to work through illness or injury.
- Impairment benefit
- A payment linked to the severity of a loss of function, whether or not you can still work.
- Underwriting
- The insurer’s assessment of your health, occupation and lifestyle before it agrees to cover you and at what premium.
- Waiting period
- A period after the policy starts, or after a claim event, before a benefit becomes payable.
- Premium pattern
- How your premium changes over time: level, age-rated or with fixed annual increases.
- Buy-and-sell agreement
- A contract between business partners to buy the deceased or disabled partner’s share, usually funded by life cover.