Overview of Tesco’s Life Over 50s and Mortgage Life Insurance Products

Tesco carries three life insurance products:

• Mortgage Life Insurance
• Over 50s Life Insurance
• New Parent Free Life

Why Go with Tesco?

Here are some reasons to go with Tesco:

• Convenience and enjoyable shopping experience. Tesco provides a wide variety of products. Aside from life insurance and other financial products, one can also buy fresh food and groceries, furniture and a host of other products. These can be bought online and on the go through the use of mobile apps.  Tesco enables you to buy your chosen life insurance product within minutes.
• Guaranteed acceptance. The New Parent Free Life Cover and the Over 50s Life Cover is offered on a guaranteed acceptance basis.
• Excellent value. Since Tesco also retails a wide range of products, one can enjoy promotional offers linked to the other products. There are offers that provide a free gift card upon purchase of an insurance product. (Tesco conditions apply).

Quick Facts

Plan Details

Payment of Benefit. The policy will pay out the death claim when the Person Insured dies within the plan term and as long as the policy remains in force.

Other Conditions:

• For the Over 50s cover:
  • Death by accident:
    • Death is within the 1^st year of the policy: 100% of the benefit amount
    • Death after the 1^st year: 200% of the benefit amount
  • Death due to natural causes, sickness or pre-existing conditions:
    • Death is within the 1^st year of the policy: Refund of premiums paid
    • Death after the 1^st year: 100% of the benefit amount

Number of policies. More than one policy issued by Tesco is allowed, as long as the total monthly premium does not exceed the maximum limit.

Joint life cover. This option is only available for the Mortgage Life Cover, if two persons are named in the mortgage.

Additional Benefits/Options

Critical Illness Cover. This is an optional benefit is available for Over 50s Life Cover and Mortgage Life Cover. This pays out the benefit amount for any one event:

• The Person Insured’s death
• His diagnosis of a terminal illness
• His diagnosis of a critical illness

Other details:

• The benefit for Critical Illness is only payable if the Person Insured survives for at least 14 days after the date of diagnosis, or the date of the life-changing event.
• Once the main benefit is paid, the main cover ceases and there will be no succeeding payments for the policy.
• The critical illnesses covered include:
  • Cancer (except cases that are less advanced)
  • Heart attack
  • Stroke
  • Alzheimer’s disease or pre-senile dementia (before the age of 65)
  • Aorta graft surgery
  • Aplastic anaemia
  • Bacterial meningitis
  • Benign brain tumour
  • Benign spinal cord tumour
  • Blindness
  • Cardiomyopathy
  • Coma
  • Coronary artery by-pass grafts
  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
  • Deafness
  • Encephalitis
  • Heart attack
  • Heart valve replacement or repair
  • HIV infection
  • Intensive care
  • Kidney failure
  • Liver failure
  • Loss of hand or foot
  • Loss of independent existence
  • Loss of speech
  • Major organ transplant
  • Motor neurone disease
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Multiple system atrophy
  • Paralysis of a limb
  • Parkinson disease before age 65
  • Pneumonectomy
  • Primary pulmonary hypertension
  • Progressive supranuclear palsy
  • Pulmonary artery surgery
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Severe lung disease
  • Stroke
  • Structural heart surgery
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus
  • Third degree burns
  • Total permanent disablement before age 65
  • Traumatic head injury
• Additional benefits. The following are paid as a benefit separate to the benefit payments for the main plan. The payments are a maximum of £20,000 or 20% of the critical illness benefit amount, whichever is lower:
  • Carcinoma in situ of the breast
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Low grade prostate cancer
  • Removal of an eyeball or Significant visual impairment
• Children’s benefit. The critical illness cover is also extended to the Person Insured’s children, whether natural, legally adopted or stepchildren. These are children between 30 days to 18 years old.  The cover will pay for diagnosis of the covered illnesses. The maximum benefit amount is 50% of the critical illness benefit or £25,000, whichever is lower.
• Exclusions. These exclusions apply to selected critical illnesses, including, blindness, coma, deafness, loss of hand or foot, loss of independent existence, loss of speech, paralysis of a limb, third degree burns, total permanent disablement before 65 or traumatic head injury. There will be no payment of critical illness benefits if the above critical illnesses arise due to:
  • Abuse of alcohol or drugs
  • Participation in criminal acts
  • Self-inflicted injury

Terminal Illness Benefit. This is automatically included in the Mortgage Life Cover, as well as listed in the list of covered illnesses for the Critical Illness Benefit. This pays out the sum insured when the Person Insured is diagnosed as terminally ill.

Other details:

• Once the Sum Insured is paid under terminal illness, the cover will stop and there will be no succeeding payments for the policy.
• “Terminal Illness” is defined as an illness that has no known cure or has advanced such that it can no longer be cured and the patient is not expected to live past 12 months from the date the illness is diagnosed.
• For the benefit to be payable, the diagnosis should be made within 18 months before the policy term expires.

Repayment Guarantee.  This is for decreasing life cover. This benefit guarantees that the outstanding loan amount at the time of the Person Insured’s death will be paid, as long as:

• The difference between the sum insured and the outstanding loan is caused an increase in the interest rate (as opposed to what was used in the Plan Schedule).
• The initial gross rate of interest charged on the loan at the start of the plan was lower than 10%.
• The policy continues to be in effect after the loan.
• The outstanding loan during the year the policy started is not more than the amount of life insurance.
• Loan payments remain updated.

Funeral Benefit Option. For those who get the Over 50s Life Cover, this optional benefit is given free of charge. This pays a portion of the fixed benefit amount to cover funeral costs, as provided by The Co-operative Funeralcare.

Other details:

• The Co-Operative Funeralcare should be the provider of choice for the funeral services, upon the Person Insured’s death.
• This is offered after the first year from the time the policy begins.

How to make a claim

When making a claim, the beneficiary will usually need to prepare:

• Proof of the accident or event that caused the death. This includes doctor’s reports and police reports.
• Proof that the person claiming has the legal ownership of the plan
• For Free New Parent Cover, birth certificate of the child and the Person Insured
• Proof that the claimant is the legal beneficiary (i.e. proof of their relationship such as a marriage certificate, birth certificate, etc.)
• Proof that the Person Insured is living in the UK
• The completed claims form
• Police reports/doctor’s reports, where applicable
• Other documents that Tesco may require to help them assess the claim

For Critical Illness or Terminal Illness Benefits, the claimant may also need to undergo medical examination by a doctor appointed by the company. The medical certificates provided should be made by medical practitioners that are living in and practicing in approved countries, including countries belonging to the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, New Zealand and Malta.

The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only and is not created to be a financial advice. Contact Tesco directly for details about their offerings.
Updated on: 10.06.2013

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