Serious Illness Cover – Zurich Life
Serious Illness cover from Zurich Life offers truly comprehensive and flexible cover. It pays out a tax-free cash lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of up to 70 specified serious illness including cancer, heart attack or stroke. In 2017, Zurich Life paid out over €19 million in serious illness claims. It is also the only policy that offers optional waiver of premium cover, as well as hospital cash and personal accident benefits.
Complimentary Additional Benefits
Free Childrens Cover
Children are covered for the same specified illnesses as the policyholder subject to a maximum of €25,000 for full payment illness and €7,500 for partial. This child cover applies from birth to 18 or 25 if in full-time education.
Guaranteed Insurability
This allows you to increase your Serious Illness benefits by the lesser of 50% of the original benefit at the start date of the policy and €100,000, without underwriting following any of the life events listed below:
• marriage or registered civil partnership;
• birth or adoption of a child;
• promotion or change in a job which has resulted in an increase in salary;
• new mortgage or increase in an existing mortgage
The total maximum increase across all options over the life of the policy is the lesser of €200,000 and the original cover level.
Waiting List Benefit
In the event that you are put on a waiting list for major organ transplantation, the entire benefit is paid as an advance of your Serious Illness sum insured. If you are put on a waiting list in respect of any of the four specified surgeries (Aorta Graft Surgery, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Heart Structural Repair or Heart Valve Replacement or Repair) the benefit will be paid as an advance of 50% of your Serious Illness sum insured, subject to a maximum of €30,000.
Reinstatement Clause
With this benefit, you have 90 days to reinstate your policy after your first missed premium payment. Furthermore, it can be reinstated even if a claim has arisen. However, it cannot be reinstated if Zurich Life has received a written request from you to cancel the policy.
Optional Added Benefits
Waiver of Premium Benefit - Payment Protection
Waiver of Premium – This is an optional additional benefit. If you are unable to work due to illness or disability, Zurich Life will pay your premiums after a period of 13 weeks has passed. To add this benefit to your quote please call us on: 01 845 0049.
Hospital Cash - Daily Payment
On proof that a life insured in respect of whom Hospital Cash benefit applies has been confined to a hospital in Ireland or the United Kingdom as an in-patient as a result of illness or bodily injury for a continuous period exceeding 72 hours, Zurich Life will pay the Hospital Cash benefit for that life insured.
The Hospital Cash benefit is the Hospital Cash sum insured multiplied by the number of days (complete periods of 24 hours) the life insured is hospitalized. The maximum number of days for which benefit shall be payable for a life insured is 365. Hospital Cash benefit ceases on the 65th birthday of a life insured.
Surgical Cash - Daily Payment
In the event that you require major surgery, you will receive a payment of 10% of the Serious Illness sum insured, up to a maximum of €25,000. If you require intermediate surgery, you will receive a payment of 5% of the Serious Illness sum insured, up to a maximum of €12,500. The intermediate and major surgeries covered are listed in your Policy Document.
Personal Accident - Weekly Payment
On proof that a life insured in respect of whom Personal Accident benefit applies has become temporarily disabled as a result of an accident that occurs in Ireland or the United Kingdom, Zurich Life will pay the Personal Accident benefit applicable to that life insured.
For the purposes of this benefit, temporarily disabled means completely unable to follow the occupation the life insured was following prior to disablement, directly as a result of an accident caused by external, violent and visible means. A disability which occurs within six months of the Start Date cannot be considered unless such disability is caused by a broken bone and results in a total inability of the Life Insured to carry out his occupation.
The benefit will not be paid if the life insured is in any other gainful occupation. The amount of the Personal Accident benefit is equal to the lesser of the Personal Accident benefit sum insured for that life and 50% of the life insured’s weekly earnings for each week of temporary disablement to a maximum of 52 weeks. Personal Accident benefit ceases on the earlier of the death, recovery and 60th birthday of a life insured.
Personal Accident benefit will not be paid for the first 14 days of temporary disability. Personal Accident benefit is payable in arrears. It is only payable up to the date a medical practitioner signs the claim form.
Permanent Total Disablement (Own Occupation) - Lump Sum
This is an optional additional benefit only available if Serious Illness cover is chosen and the pay-out equates to an advance payment of the serious illness cover amount.
It requires that a life insured be permanently, totally and irreversibly unable by reason of sickness or bodily injury to carry out the duties pertaining to his/her normal gainful occupation as stated on the application form. At least twelve months is normally required to establish that a life insured is suffering Permanent Total Disablement (Own Occupation).
Optional Added Features
Conversion Option
Where you choose to include a Conversion Option as part of your Serious Illness cover policy, you can later choose to extend your Serious Illness cover, without having to provide fresh medical information at the time. The maximum extended term is to age 75.
The maximum term of the extended protection on the new policy will be the lesser of 40 years and 75 minus the then age next birthday of the (older) life insured. An increased premium will be calculated for the extended protection on the new policy based on Zurich Life’s then current premium rates.
Inflation Protection
Where you choose to include Inflation Protection, as a feature of your life insurance policy, on every year’s policy anniversary, Zurich Life will automatically increase your life cover by 3% and the premium by 4.5%.