Home / Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who can apply for cover?
If you live in the UK , Channel Islands or the Isle of Man and are aged between 18 and 69, you can.
2. How much cover should I get?
It depends on your own situation. Some things to take into account are: how would your financial dependants meet their bills without your financial contribution? Ensure that any mortgage that you are responsible for paying for is repaid upon death, then add up how much additional cover would be required to support your family. Click here for our 'Cover Calculator'
Try a few quotes and see what you can get for your money. This is not advice or a recommendation. If you need advice then please call our customer services team free on 0800 980 9801 from 8am to 9pm Monday to Friday, and from 9am to 3pm on Saturdays.
3. How long should I get cover for?
Most people usually take out their insurance until some key date in the future. It could be when they intend to retire, when their mortgage is paid off, or when they feel their children may leave home and support themselves. Work back from that date to now, and that will help you decide the number of years you need to be insured for.
4. Can I start my application now?
Yes, you can start you application online anytime which will in many cases mean the plan is in force within 24 hours. If you need cover “right now” then call free on 0800 980 9801 and we will be pleased to help.
5. Can I cover my mortgage?
Yes, we have level and reducing (mortgage protection) plans that can be set up to repay interest only and repayment mortgage types on death. You can also opt to include critical illness insurance and waiver of premium too.
Furthermore in most cases we can add insurance to help pay your mortgage during periods of long term sickness (which statistically is much more likely across the population) and if necessary unemployment insurance is available also.
6. Can we buy joint life policy?
Yes, joint life policies are available, but “advisers” will typically recommend two single life policies as they usually cost hardly any extra and will provide “double cover”, (this means that if both lives die together both policies pay out, rather than just one joint policy).
Having this “double cover” can provide very valuable extra cover which can help support surviving family members for hardly any extra cost.
Policies that include critical illness benefit would almost certainly be better split into two separate plans as if life 1 is diagnosed with say cancer, life 2 will not want their cover to be lost, which would be the case on a joint life, first claim policy.
7. How do I pay my premiums?
Monthly by direct debit is usual.
8. How do I make a claim?
If you have a living benefit (critical illness, income protection, waiver of premium or unemployment cover), then you should check the policy booklet for details about how to claim. If you need help then please call us on 01243 817917.
If you need to make a death claim on behalf of another, then please call us on 01243 817917, our team is highly efficient and very helpful.
9. Who gets the money?
You, if the benefit is a living benefit, and either your Trustees if the policy is in Trust, who are then responsible for carrying out the provisions of the Trust, or your Estate if you have not placed the policy in Trust.
If the policy is a joint life policy, not in Trust, then the proceeds are payable to the surviving owner of the policy, (the other life assured).
10. Will the proceeds be taxed?
Both terminal illness and life claims are usually paid free of personal liability to income and capital gains tax but in some circumstances inheritance tax may be payable. You can normally help avoid this by putting your plan under a suitable trust. Click here to visit our 'Trusts' section
11. Can I cancel the policy at any time?
Yes, but of course the cover will stop also.
12. Will my payments change?
Not normally. Good practice is normally to arrange policies with “guaranteed” premiums which whilst they might change during underwriting are fixed for the policy term once the plan goes into force.
Sometimes however plans with critical illness included are arranged on a “reviewable” basis as they provide significantly more cover at outset for a lower premium which might better suit the circumstances. Reviewable plans are clearly marked and normally the premiums are not reviewed up or down for the first fives years.
13. Do I get any money back if I don't die before the end of the term?
The policy provides life insurance (and/or critical illness insurance, income protection insurance, unemployment cover), only and there's no cash-in value.
17 December 2007 10:57:07
People spurred towards life insurance or critical illness cover as a result of cancer fears may be interested in the latest research from the American Cancer Society (ACS).
New statistics from the organisation have highlighted that over 20,000 people will have died from the disease every day in 2007.
Estimates in the ACS report also projected that cancer will have killed over 7.6 million people by the time the new year rings in.
Higher infection rates are attributed with the dominance of lung, stomach and liver cancers in men as well as persistent occurrences of breast, cervix uteri and stomach cancers in women in developing countries.
"The burden of cancer is increasing in developing countries as deaths from infectious diseases and childhood mortality decline and more people live to older ages when cancer most frequently occurs," confirmed Ahmedin Jemal of the ACS.
He continued: "This cancer burden is also increasing as people in the developing countries adopt western lifestyles such as cigarette smoking, higher consumption of saturated fat and calorie-dense foods, and reduced physical activity."
Obese individuals have previously been found to be six times more likely than people with a healthy weight to develop throat cancer.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
10 April 2007 16:05:25
A test seeking the ESR1 gene is set to help fight breast cancer, a study shows.
The test will ascertain whether individual breast cancer sufferers may benefit from oestrogen-blocking drugs.
The Nature Genetics research found that women with extra copies of the gene, which carries DNA code for an oestrogen receptor, were more likely to benefit from oestrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen.
Over 80 per cent of Britain's annual 31,000 post-menopausal cases of breast cancer are caused by oestrogen.
The study analysed 2,000 cases of breast cancer samples and found extra copies of ESR1 gene in a fifth of cases.
Dr Emma Pennery of Breast Cancer Care said: "This research adds to our growing knowledge about the complexity of breast cancer, including the many variations of how breast cancer cells originate and what stimulates them to grow.
"Our increasing understanding means treatments can be increasingly tailored to the individual, helping to ensure people with oestrogen-receptor positive breast cancer benefit from improved outcomes", she added.
Tamoxifen was invented by ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) and is sold under the brand names Nolvadex, Istubal, and Valodex.
18 September 2007 16:24:47
Major UK life cover provider Legal & General has confirmed that it has been working to improve its communication methods with the recently-bereaved.
The life insurance leader has been working with the Samaritans to train its staff to combine business efficiency with compassion.
Stuart Johnson, Legal & General's senior operations manager for claims and underwriting, said that the expert advice had been invaluable.
"Our staff need training to know how to deal with people in this situation in a way that allows us to offer a friendly and professional service," he commented
"These customers have enough to cope with already and they just want us to deal with the claim in a timely and efficient manner."
According to the Samaritans, the training sessions were "fabulous", and participation from Legal & General staff was "excellent".
Legal & General made a £1,000 donation to the Samaritans after the training, to fund the support organisation's work.
