Level Term Protection

Level Term Assurance provides cover for a specific time frame, usually at a fixed monthly cost. The applicant will choose a set level and a specific term of cover. The cover will remain at the same level throughout the chosen term and your premiums will also remain unchanged.

Some policies allow cover to be index linked which means that cover will increase annually by usually 5%.  The insured is covered for a set amount over a fixed period of time.

This type of policy is crucial for clients who have young children to insure that their future is provided for in the event of death of one or both parents.  Premiums are not tax deductible but all benefits as a result are tax free. At the end of the term, the policy must cease and there are no further benefits. There is no surrender value with this type of product.

Specified serious illness cover is an additional component of term protection whereby on diagnosis of any of the specified serious illnesses the capital sum insured is made payable to the client.

Mortgage Protection

It is a legal requirement that all lending institutions get a Mortgage Protection policy to cover their clients’ home loans. Life cover will start at the same level as your mortgage and will decrease in line with mortgage repayments made. In the event that a joint mortgage application has been made, then a Mortgage Protection policy will pay out on the first death. As this cover decreases in line with the reducing loan balance, this cover is often the cheapest form of Life Assurance cover.

There is an additional option to avail of Serious Illness Cover in addition to Mortgage Protection. This will pay off the mortgage in the event of you being diagnosed with a prescribed serious illness.

Convertible Term Assurance

A Convertible Term Assurance policy is similar to a level term plan in that the cover is chosen for a specific term, there is usually a fixed monthly payment and some can be index linked to allow an annual increase in the level of cover.

The difference is that it allows further cover to be put in place without evidence of health, anytime up to the final day of the existing policy. This effectively gives the option of taking out another Life Assurance Policy with no reference to health at that time. This cover costs approximately 10% more than the level term policy but it is worth paying this small extra for this valuable option.