Ageas Life Insurance Products Through YourLife, Low Start and Realf Life Plans

Ageas Protect (formerly Fortis) offers its life insurance products through three types of plans:

• YourLife Plan. This provides a menu of products. Aside from life cover (term assurance), it provides critical illness cover, family income benefit and income protection. The client can choose from the menu to include the type of cover he needs.
• Low Start Plan. This is basically the same as YourLife Plan, but with a lower startup cost. Premiums start low and increase over time.
• Real Life Cover. This is a packaged product composed of life cover, critical illness cover, income protection cover, recuperation cover, waiver of premium and child & partner carer’s cover.

The article will focus on the life insurance cover, but will also look into the optional covers you can include with life insurance.

Quick Facts

Plan Details

Sum Insured

The amount of cover can be:

• Level. The cover remains the same throughout the life of the policy.
• Increasing lump sum. Upon the Person Insured’s death, Ageas will pay the current Sum Insured. The sum insured increases by 5% every plan anniversary.
• Decreasing lump sum. Normally selected by people who want to cover a mortgage, the Sum Insured decreases in the same way that the mortgage loan amount also decreases. The Sum Insured decreases monthly.

Payment

The payments depend on the type of covers included in the plan.

Death of the Person Insured (For YourLife and LowStart Plans)

The Sum Insured is payable only once. After payment, the plan terminates.

For Real Life Cover, the benefits are divided into the Sum Assured (the death benefit) and the Living Fund (for the Living Cover). The Sum Insured pays upon the Person Insured’s death or terminal illness. Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection Cover, Recuperation Cover, Waiver of Premium and Child & Partner Carer’s Cover are all payable under the Living Cover.

Cash-In Value

There are no cash-in values for the plans.

Premiums

Premiums can be guaranteed or renewable, depending on the kind of plan selected.

• YourLife Plan or Real Life Cover.  The premiums remain the same, as long as the covers are unchanged.
• LowStart Plan. The premiums start out low and are increased every year, depending on the age and medical condition of the Person Insured.

Increasing the Length of the Plan

This is for plans that are designed to cover a mortgage. If the mortgage increases the length of the term, the Person Insured can also opt to extend the term of the plan. The new cover must be applied for within 13 weeks from the date the mortgage increases its term. The new cover should be of the same type as the original cover. The new cover cannot extend beyond the Person Insured’s 65^th birthday or the end of the term of the new mortgage, whatever is earlier.

Other details:

The option to extend the length of the plan is no longer available if:

• The Person Insured is older than 55 years old
• The plan is within its last 5 years
• The plan is paying a claim, paid a claim within the last two years or evaluating a claim

Additional Benefits/Options

Terminal Illness Benefit

This pays out the Sum Insured or the listed monthly income benefit if the Person Insured is diagnosed with a terminal illness. This is the type of illness that is incurable (no known cure available or the illness has progressed that it is no longer curable) and is reasonably expected to lead to the Person Insured’s death within 12 months.

Critical Illness Cover

This pays a specified amount (usually the same as the sum insured) in the event the Person Insured is diagnosed with a covered critical illness.

The Critical Illness Cover will pay if the Person Insured is diagnosed with:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Aorta graft surgery
• Aplastic anaemia
• Bacterial meningitis
• Benign brain tumour
• Blindness
• Cancer (except for certain kinds of cancer)
• Cardiomyopathy
• Coma
• Coronary artery bypass grafts
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
• Deafness
• Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast
• Encephalitis
• Heart attack
• Heart surgery
• Heart valve replacement or repair
• HIV infection (only when caught through covered circumstances and in accepted countries)
• Kidney Failure
• Liver failure
• Loss of hands or feet
• Loss of independence
• Loss of speech
• Lung disease
• Major organ transplant
• Motor neurone disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Multiple system atrophy
• Paralysis of limbs
• Parkinson’s disease
• Pre-senile dementia
• Primary pulmonary arterial hypertension
• Progressive supranuclear palsy
• Pulmonary artery replacement
• Stroke
• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Terminal illness
• Third degree burns (at least 20% of the body’s surface area or 50% loss of surface area of the face)
• Traumatic head injury
• Total permanent disablement

Other cover details:

• The Person Insured should survive for 10 days after the diagnosis.
• Additional partial payment for Ductal carcinoma in situ (the lower of 50% of the Sum Insured or £25,000). The payment will be deducted when the death claim is paid out.
• Children’s Critical Illness cover. This is automatic cover provided to the Person Insured’s children between 30 days to 18 years old, whether these children are natural children or adopted children.  The benefit will be the lower of £25,000 or 50% of the Sum Insured, for covered children’s critical illnesses. Payments of a child critical illness cover will not affect the main benefit. The payment of the benefit will be doubled (£50,000 or 100% of the sum insured if the treatment needed for the critical illness is not available in the UK but overseas.
• For Real Life Cover, Critical Illness will only provide payment upon diagnosis of cancer (except for less advanced cases), heart attack or stroke. The payment will be 12% of the sum assured, as long as there remains a balance in the living fund.

Total Disability

This benefit is only available for covers that include total disability. This will pay a monthly benefit that is the lower of:

• 50% of the Person Insured’s pre-tax monthly income immediately prior to the disability, minus any income they are receiving due to the disability (i.e. pensions from the employer, other insurance benefits, pensions aside from State Pensions)
• 1% of the current Sum Insured
• £1,667 monthly

The payments will also depend on whether the Person Insured was in paid work or not before he became disabled.

Other details:

• The definitions used for disability may vary:
  • Own occupation. This pertains to the inability to do the tasks material to the kind of job the Person Insured did before the disability.
  • Suited occupation. This pertains to the inability to do the tasks material to the kind of job the Person could do before the disability.
  • Daily activities. This pertains to the things the Person Insured needs to do in everyday life. This means the inability to do at three out of the following work tasks: walking, climbing, lifting, bending, getting in and out of a car, and writing.

  Disability can also cover mental failure, loss of sight and loss of ability to communicate.

• The benefit payments will stop at the earlier of:
  • The Person Insured’s death
  • The end of the plan
  • The Person Insured’s recovery such that he is no longer disabled
  • The total payments (plus any other payments for Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast) reaches the Sum Insured

Recuperation Cover

Available only for Real Life Cover, this pays for services that can help the Person Insured recover from illness, injury or disability. The services depend upon the Person Insured’s specific situation, but are subject to approval from Ageas Protect. This can range from counseling, therapy, expenses covering travel to and from work.

Other details:

• Payment is up to 3% of the sum insured.
• The payment will be taken from the Living Fund.
• The benefit is only payable if the Person Insured is living in the UK, Channel Islands of Isle of Man.

Child & Partner Carer’s Cover

If the Person Insured has to leave work to become a full-time carer because of a partner or a child’s incapacity, this cover will pay a lump sum out of the Living Fund.

Other details:

• The benefit is 12% of the Sum Insured, equivalent to 12 months of Income Protection benefit.
• This benefit is paid out of the Living Fund.
• Definition of incapacity for a child. The child must require full time supervision and care die to an illness or injury. This need is expected to continue for more than 12 months. The incapacity should be diagnosed by a consultant and approved by Ageas’ Consultant Medical Officer.
• Definition of incapacity for partner, parent or parent-in-law. This refers to an illness or injury that is expected to extend for over 12 months and:
  • Result in mental failure, or
  • Render the patient unable to do two out of five daily activities without help from a person or from adaptive devices. The daily activities include washing, dressing, feeding, getting between rooms, maintaining personal hygiene.
• The benefit is only payable if the Person Insured is living in the UK.

Unemployment and Extended Carer’s Cover

This optional cover is available for the Real Life plan. This pays out a benefit in the event that a person becomes unemployed or has to leave work to become a full-time carer because of a partner or a child’s incapacity.

Other details:

• The monthly benefit is equal to the lower of:
  • 1% of the Sum Insured
  • 50% of the Person Insured’s pre-tax monthly income, minus any income the Person Insured is receiving as a result of the unemployment (except for those received from State Pensions)
  • £2,500 a month
• The benefit will not be payable if:
  • The Person Insured resigns or intentionally leaves work
  • The Person Insured is fired due to his negligence, misconduct or being part of an industrial action
• The cover is only valid for those living in and working in the UK.
• The Person Insured has to be registered as unemployed or is a recipient of the State Carer’s Allowance.

Premium Protection/Waiver of Premium

This optional cover will pay for the premiums of the plan if the Person Insured is unable to do so because of incapacity.

Other details:

• The waiting period is 26 weeks. During the 26 weeks, the Person Insured is expected to pay the premiums. The Waiver of Premium benefit payments will start after the 26^th week.
• The waiver benefit payments will stop at the earliest of:
  • The Person Insured’s death
  • The end of the term
  • The Person stops being incapacitated
• The Person Insured must be in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for them to receive the benefit payments.
• While the claim is being processed, the Person Insured should continue paying the premiums. These will be refunded once the claim is approved.

Income Protection

This provides a monthly benefit to the Person Insured if he:

• Is incapacitated due to disability, illness or injury
• Needs to be a carer to his incapacitated child, providing full-time care
• Is diagnosed with a terminal illness in a way that meets the definition of terminal illness in the policy

Incapacity can be defined using the following:

• Own occupation. The Person Insured is unable to perform key tasks for his own kind of occupation.
• Suited occupation. The Person Insured is unable to perform key tasks for occupations suited to them based on his education, training and experience.
• Daily activities. The Person Insured is unable to do the things he needs to do in his everyday life.

The way “incapacity” is defined depends on whether he is in paid employment and the type of work he does. The maximum amount of payment will depend on how he meets the above definitions.

Other details:

• The maximum monthly benefit is no more than the lower of 1% of the Sum Insured or 50% of the Person Insured’s pre-tax monthly income, but not more than £12,500 a month.
• The benefit amount can increase or remain level.
• There is a waiting period before the benefit payments start.
• For Persons Insured that need to be a carer, the child must require constant care and supervision due to illness or injury. The child’s incapacity is reasonably expected to continue beyond 12 months.
• The Waiver of Premium is also available for this benefit.
• The income protection payments will continue until the earlier of:
  • The Person Insured’s death
  • The end of the cover
  • The Person Insured’s recovery such that he is no longer incapacitated
  • The Person Insured’s return to work

Separation Option

This is available for joint life covers. It enables the joint life cover to be separated into two single life covers. This is if the two Persons Insured separates from their partner.

Other conditions:

• Any one of the partners (Persons Insured) is currently taking out a new mortgage.
• The separation must be at both Person Insured’s consent.
• Ageas reserves the right to require further medical evidence for the new cover.

Guaranteed Insurability Option

The Person Insured can opt to increase his Sum Insured without having to present additional medical evidence of insurability. This is for specific life events. This includes:

• Marriage or civil partnership
• Birth of a child or adoption
• Increase of mortgage due to the purchase of a new home or for home renovations

The allowable increase is up to the lower of:

• £75,000
• 50% of the original Sum Insured
• The amount of increase in the mortgage

Other details:

• The option to increase the Sum Insured should be done within 13 weeks after the life event.
• The total cover of the Person Insured for all policies with Ageas Protect cannot be more than
• The option is available only until the Person Insured is 55 years old
• The option cannot be exercised when:
  • The policy is in its last five years
  • The policy is currently paying a benefit or have paid out a claim in the last two years
  • The Person Insured is in a position to make a claim under the cover
• The option can be exercised more than once, but the total increase should not be more than 150% of original cover.
• The new cover cannot go beyond:
  • The Person Insured’s 65^th birthday
  • The date the new mortgage terminates

Exclusions

The cover will not pay for claims where:

• The claimants failed to provide the proofs required by Ageas Protect
• The cause of the claim does not meet the definitions of the policy
• The Person Insured or the claimant information that would have affected how the policy is issued (i.e. ratings, special exclusions, etc.). This is information that is false, incomplete or inaccurate.
• The cause of the claim occurred after the cover was terminated
• The cause of the claim is something that is specifically excluded in the cover
• The child covered under the children’s critical illness fails to survive for at least 10 days after the date of the diagnosis of critical illness
• The children’s critical illness benefit has already reached the maximum allowable payment

How to Make a Claim

When making a claim, Ageas will usually require the following:

• Details of the Person Insured (name, birth certificate, death certificate, etc.)
• Details of the person making the claim (name, proof of the claimant’s relationship to the Person Insured)
• Details of the cause of the claim (i.e. medical records of the illness/disability or the original death certificate). Medical diagnoses must be confirmed by Ageas’ chief medical officer.
• Relevant dates
• The plan number/registration number
• Other relevant information (evidence of the mortgage and its details, evidence of income, etc.)

Other details:

• The claim payment will be paid to the person legally entitled to get the benefit payments.
• Ageas may also require medical evidence provided by a medical practitioner working in a hospital in an “eligible country”. Ageas will pay the reasonable cost for such medical evidence.
• Ageas may provide support during the processing of the claim, in the form of payments for services that help the Person Insured or their family. This includes counseling, out-of-pocket hospital expenses and so on. This is subject to a maximum limit and the approval of Ageas of the service.

Eligible countries include:

• The UK
• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Canada
• Channel Islands
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Gibraltar
• Greece
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Isle of Man
• Italy
• Japan
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• The Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• The USA

The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only and is not created to be a financial advice. Contact Ageas (http://www.ageasprotect.co.uk) directly for details about their offerings.
Updated on: 19.09.2012

To secure your family's future, fill in the form on the right and get your term life insurance quote now.