We never know what lies around the corner, so it pays to be covered. It's important to be aware of the many different life and health cover options available, as premiums, flexibility and levels of cover can vary greatly.
If something serious affects your health, you shouldn't have to worry about your finances. Knowing you and your family are protected will provide peace of mind, easing some of the stress and uncertainty when dealing with a serious illness or accident.
We will identify your needs, and deliver information in clear, simple terms, taking you through what can otherwise be a daunting, and frustrating process. We provide cover and advice for all eventualities, and we will help you make an informed decision, ensuring you find the most suitable policy, at the best price.
Mortgage Protection will pay off your homeloan if you die during the mortgage term. Mortgage protection is the cheapest form of life assurance and the premium will remain the same during the term of the policy.
Do I need Mortgage Protection?
If you have a mortgage on your principal private residence, you must have it covered with a life insurance policy. For other property investments, lenders may require some form of life cover, this will usually depend on how much you may be borrowing, your current financial status and your relationship with the lender.
Did you know?
How would you finance your lifestyle if you were unable to work for an extended period of time due to illness?
Income protection pays out a regular cash payment that replaces part of your lost income if you have a medium to long term illness or disability and cannot work.
As your income is probably your most valuable asset, it is important that this is protected just as you would protect any other of your assets. To qualify for Income Protection you must be in full time paid work or be self employed.
You should consider income protection if you:
Term Assurance is a policy taken out for a specific period of time and will provide a single cash payment to your dependants if you die during the term of the plan. Your family can use this lump sum to cover any expenses they might have - for example, funeral expenses or other debts. It can also be invested to provide a regular income.
What are the Benefits of Term Assurance?
Life Cover
A tax-free lump sum payable in the event of death within the policy term to help your family maintain the same standard of living that they enjoy today.
Terminal Illness Cover
This provides for the payment of the death benefit upon diagnosis of a terminal illness.
Peace of Mind
The knowledge that if you die, that your family will receive a lump sum to assist them financially for the difficult times ahead.
Guaranteed Premiums
You pay the same premium at the start of the policy as at the end. Premiums and benefits may however be indexed to keep in line with inflation – it is recommended that you take this option on longer term policies.
Did you know?
Whole of Life policies insure you for the duration of your life or for as long as you are willing to pay premiums. They are primarily used today in estate planning as a way of paying capital acquisitions tax.
Since Whole of Life policies provide cover for the full duration of your life, they are more expensive than term assurance policies. In most cases, the insurer will review the policies after a specified period of time, usually every 10 years.
Do I need Whole of Life cover?
People normally take out a Whole of Life policy for very specific reasons:
Critical Illness Cover is a policy which will pay out a lump sum to the policyholder if they are diagnosed with one of the specified illnesses that the policy covers. Having a critical illness policy itself will not cure you, but it will help financially and that can make a huge difference. You may be unable to work or you might have to pay for expensive medical treatment and the lump sum payable in these cases will help ease your worries.
You are 4 times more likely to suffer from a critical illness before age 65 than to die, yet the majority of people do not take out critical illness cover. Cost is often cited as a reason but it is possible to tailor the cover to suit both you and your budget.
Did you know?
We are agents for Aviva Health. Private Health Insurance provides important benefits for individuals and families.
It reduces dependency on the overstretched public health service and gives you the peace of mind that should you require hospital treatment, you will have quick access to it.
Benefits of Health Insurance
Approximately 50% of the population currently hold private health insurance and see benefits such as:
This will depend on many factors such as your lifestyle and general and personal circumstances, salary, number of dependants etc. Most life assurance sold in Ireland is to cover mortgages, leaving the vast majority of people under insured. You should review your life cover regularly to ensure that you have adequate protection. We will be happy to help you determine a suitable level of cover.
One of the quotes maybe for mortgage protection. The level of cover will decrease throughout as you repay your mortgage, which means lower premiums from the outset. Ordinary term assurance will maintain the same cover throughout the term of the policy, which means the premiums will be higher.
This depends on your age and the level of cover you require. Generally speaking the younger you are the less cover you require means no medical exam will be necessary.
If you take out a convertible/continuation option at the outset of the policy, it is possible to extend the policy for a further period, without any medical underwriting requirements.
Absolutely! Smoker rates can be twice the price of non smoker rates, given the risks involved with smoking. Even though you may be older, it is worth checking this out.
Compare the costs and benefits of both options. It may be cheaper to keep your original mortgage protection policy going, and buy another policy for the top-up amount. But do check what it would cost you to take out a policy for the whole debt. Because rates on mortgage protection policies can vary from time to time you may be able to get cheaper rates now than when you originally took out the policy. Or you may wish to cancel the original policy, and replace it with a policy for the full amount of the loan. Our life insurance quotation will give you the cheapest rates possible.
If your policy is a whole-of-life policy, your premiums can increase periodically. There are various types of whole-of-life policies, but the most common is a unit-linked whole-of-life policy. With this type of policy, the life assurance company invests your premium in a fund. They manage the fund so that it is expected to grow at a certain rate and to increase in value over time. The fund value is not guaranteed. It may grow by enough to pay for your life insurance throughout your life. Or, in some cases, it may fall short of what's needed to pay for your life insurance. In certain cases it is possible for premiums to double. You really need to determine if you need a Whole Of Life policy or if a term policy would be more suitable for you.
Single Life Cover is when you take out a policy on your life only and the claim is payable if you die or contract a listed illness on a critical illness policy. Joint Life Cover covers two lives but pays out only on one life, on the first death or the second, depending on the type of policy taken out. Many mortgage protection policies are taken out on a joint life basis and are paid on the first death. It iss essential to remember there is only one payout with a joint life policy. Dual Life policies also cover two lives but will pay a claim on both deaths so it's like having two single lives covered on the one policy. Under a dual life policy each life can be covered for different amounts so it's possible to keep premiums lower if cost is an issue.