Income Assured Enhanced

Members need to continue paying their premiums until their claim has been accepted and their deferred period has ended. After this, premiums won’t be collected whilst a claim is being paid.

Terminal Illness Benefit is included in the contract at no extra cost. If a Member is diagnosed with an incurable illness that, in the opinion of their Doctor, is likely to result in their death, they may be able to claim Terminal Illness Benefit. It’s paid as a single lump sum equivalent to six months benefit, and the Member will also continue to receive benefit in the normal way. Terminal Illness Benefit can only be claimed once.

Any claim for benefit will be based on Own Occupation Disability. This means that to qualify for benefit under this option, the Member must, as a result of illness or injury, be totally unable to perform their own occupation and must not be doing any other type of work whatsoever.

When a Member claims and their earnings mean that we can’t pay the full benefit amount, we’ll apply a Minimum Benefit Guarantee for a maximum of £1,500 a month. For a monthly benefit more than £1,500, we’ll guarantee to pay at least £1,500 a month and for a monthly benefit of £1,500 or less, we’ll guarantee to pay the chosen benefit amount.

If the indexation option is added, cover will be automatically reviewed annually against the Office of National Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The premium type is Guaranteed Annual Escalating, based on the Member’s age on joining which then rises annually*. Premium rates are guaranteed.

*Subject to age band increases, indexation and contract changes.

This valuable facility allows a Member to increase their cover by up to 10% of their current benefit (subject to usual conditions and not exceeding 60% of their income), without supplying medical information, when one of the following ‘lifestyle’ events occurs*:

• Marriage or entry into a civil partnership.
• Birth or legal adoption of a child to the Member or the Member’s partner.
• Increase of earnings.
• On taking out or increasing a mortgage on the Member’s primary residence.

*Evidence of the above events will be required.

Income Assured Enhanced offers a choice of deferred periods:

After 1, 4, 8, 13, 26 or 52 weeks

The amount of benefit that can be paid is based on units of cover. Each unit of cover equates to a weekly benefit of £10.50. The maximum that can be insured is 60% of gross taxable earnings, subject to the following upper and lower limits:

• A maximum taxable income of £68,250.
• A minimum taxable income of £4,550.

A Member can apply to take a break from paying premiums for up to 12 months, without the need for further underwriting when they decide to resume cover. They may apply to suspend premiums for up to 24 months in total during the life of the contract. Any application to exceed this period is subject to our approval.

For an additional premium, Day One Accident Protection can be added to protect against lost earnings as a result of an accident from Day One, even though benefit payments for illness would start from the chosen deferred period.

For a fixed additional premium, we offer an option which allows Members to participate in our bonuses and to build up a lump sum which, under current legislation, is payable tax-free at the end of the contract.