Home / - Life Insurance and Life Assurance
Life Insurance and Life Assurance policies originally offered quite different benefits, however in common usage today they have come to mean much the same thing.
Technically speaking ‘Assurance’ policies are policies where the payment of a promised sum is guaranteed, whether on death or at the end of a policy term. ‘Insurance’ policies however provide for payment of the sum insured only in certain circumstances.
Because the vast majority of Life policies arranged today are ‘Pure Protection Term Policies’ (they do not have any investment element and they stop providing life cover after the selected fixed number of years) then technically they are Insurance policies because the ’certain circumstances’ rule applies, although some people still describe them as Term Assurance.
The confusion lies in the fact that death is assured for all of us, but not always within the term of a policy set up to run for a fixed number years.
All policies offered through Direct Life are ‘Pure Protection Term Policies’ and therefore we call them Life Insurance policies and not Life Assurance policies, although some of the insurance companies, who’s products we offer, still describe them as Life Assurance on their documentation.
28 August 2007 12:51:08
UK life insurance
provider Unum has slated Defaqto's recent call that insurers take action to promote income protection cover.
The financial product research company produced a report entitled 'Income Protection Insurance 2007 - A time for action not words', which advised providers to show a concerted effort to increase sales of the much-maligned product.
Nick Telfer, the report's author, had argued that protection definitions be simplified, in order to better reflect the needs of the market.
However, Joanne Hindle, Unum corporate services director, has claimed that the Defaqto report ignores progress made by income protection providers.
She told Money Marketing: "There is a burgeoning protection gap and radical change in an industry that has already advanced so far, is to a large extent unnecessary and may simply confuse users and lead to further uncertainty.
"What we recommend is clear IFA and consumer education, so businesses and consumers can understand the benefits of IP and make an informed decision based on this information."
Ms Hindle added that providers had worked hard to boost income protection sales, by using telephone underwriting and allowing customers to submit their claims online.
22 October 2007 13:50:22
Paying a small amount for life insurance every month is well worth the actual amount it protects, according to one expert.
Norwich Union's Darren Dicks pointed out that there are only very few segments of the population to whom life cover "does not really apply".
"Put critical illness cover and income protection to one side because they apply to everyone," Mr Dicks commented.
"You could always be ill and not able to work but for full life cover, the big triggers for life assurance tend to be family events and mortgages. Essentially what you're doing is covering dependents for when you die," he continued.
According the insurer, a single person already covered for critical illness and income protection may be the only possible segment to which "the importance of life insurance does not apply".
The Association of British Insurers revealed in January that the UK insurance industry paid out over £160 million per day in pension and life insurance benefits during 2005, while figures showed that one in three Brits have no life cover at all.
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.
11 May 2007 15:19:35
A new life insurance scheme will be introduced for the armed forces, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Many British service personnel have struggled to acquire life insurance since the beginnings of the Iraq war, but it is hoped that the new scheme will provide comprehensive war and terror cover.
Adam Ingram, armed forces minister, said that the move was intended to help servicemen and their families as the British death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan increases.
"The service life insurance (SLI) scheme is designed to complement and reinforce our existing schemes. It gives our personnel the option to take out life insurance that is tailor-made to reflect the unique nature of what they do," he commented.
In previous years, families unable to secure life insurance for service personnel killed in battle had been forced to rely on governmental compensation.
The new scheme, developed with Sterling Life, will protect against chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare and the posting of a recruit, or the relative likelihood of the recruit being killed in combat, will not be taken into consideration when the life insurance is offered.
