RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
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sinc e 1995 CELEBRATING
YEARS
The Financial Conduct Authority is a financial service
regulator. It requires us, Partnership, to give you this
important information to help you to decide whether our
Relevant Life Assurance policy is right for you. You should
read this document carefully so that you understand what
you are buying, and then keep it safe for future reference.
Relevant Life Assurance is a life insurance policy that is
designed to offer a tax efficient way for an employer to offer
life cover to an employee, with the benefit paid out to the
employee’s family or financial dependants.
We do not provide or offer financial, legal or tax advice.
You should seek your own financial, legal or tax advice from
a financial adviser or another suitably qualified professional.
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
CONTENTS
04 PLAN AIMS
04 YOUR COMMITMENT
04 RISKS
05 QUESTION AND ANSWERS
10 IMPORTANT INFORMATION
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
ITS AIMS
•
To provide an employer with individual level term life cover for an employee, that pays a cash lump sum if the employee dies during the term of the policy.•
Alternatively, the policy will pay out if the employee is diagnosed as suffering from a terminal illness more than 18 months before the policy expiry date, with a life expectancy of less than 12 months.•
The policy ends if we pay out the cash lump sum on death or terminal illness. This policy has no cash-in value at any time.•
To be used to help protect the lifestyle of the employee’s family and dependants and their everyday living expenses.•
To provide life cover for the period of time that you choose, subject to your employee’s age and health. At the end of the term the policy will end and you will get nothing back.YOUR COMMITMENT
•
To have a financial adviser appointed during the application process.•
To ensure you and your employee answer all the questions on your application fully, truthfully and accurately to the best of your knowledge. Failure to do so may invalidate any future claim you may make.•
To give us all the information about you and your employee we ask for when you apply for a policy.Please do not assume we will contact your employee’s doctor for any medical information.
•
To tell us if any of the employee’s medical or other information you give us changes in the time between when you signed the application and the start of your policy. Failure to do so may result in the cover you receive being inappropriate for your revised needs and may invalidate any future claim you may make.•
To pay regular monthly or yearly premiums over the policy’s term. If you stop paying your premium, your cover will end after 30 days from the date your last premium was due.•
You and your employee should regularly review your circumstances to ensure that your policy is still adequate for your needs. As your needs change, the level of cover required may also change.RISKS
•
If you do not pay your premiums, your policy and cover will end 30 days after the payment was due.•
If a policy is cancelled, you will not be able to reinstate it and your cover will cease.•
If you or your employee do not provide any information we ask for when making a claim, we will not pay out under the policy.•
We will not pay out if your employee’s terminal illness doesn’t meet our definition.•
We will not pay out if you reach the end of your policy term without making a valid claim.•
Terminal illness cover can’t be claimed after your employee’s death or within the 18 months immediately before the end of your policy.•
Inflation may erode the value of the life cover during the term of your policy.•
Tax treatment depends on your and your employee’s individual circumstances and the rules may change in the future.•
If you or your employee’s circumstances change you may have too little cover for your needs, or you may be paying too much for the cover that you already have.•
Failure to mention something could result in your policy being inappropriate for your protection needs and may invalidate any claim you may make later.RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN | 05
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What is a Relevant Life Assurance policy?
It is an insurance policy that is designed to provide an employer with a tax efficient way to arrange life cover for an employee, with the benefit paid out to the employee’s family or financial dependants on the employee’s death.
Alternatively, the policy will pay out if your employee is diagnosed as suffering from a terminal illness more than 18 months before the policy expiry date, with a life expectancy of less than 12 months.
The policy provides a set level of life cover for guaranteed regular premiums being paid.
The policy will end after we have paid out either the life cover cash lump sum or the terminal illness cash lump sum.
This type of policy is particularly aimed at:
•
A business that wishes to provide life cover for specific employees (for example high earners and directors), over and above the level of cover offered by the business’s group scheme;•
A business that has too few employees to be eligible for a group scheme.The policy must meet certain legislative requirements so that it can qualify for certain tax benefits.
This type of policy is usually viewed as an allowable business expense by HM Revenue & Customs.
As an allowable business expense this means that all premiums qualify for full income tax relief, national insurance relief and corporation tax relief.
The policy assumes that it will be placed in a discretionary trust at the start, with the employee’s family or dependants as beneficiaries and the cash lump sum being paid out to the trustees of the discretionary trust.
The policy is available for a term of your choice, subject to your employee’s age, health and any age restrictions of the policy. At the end of the term the policy will end and you will get nothing back.
What is a terminal illness?
A terminal illness is a definite diagnosis by a consultant that meets the following requirements:
•
The illness has no known cure, or has progressed to a point where it is unable to be cured;•
In the opinion of the consultant, the illness is expected to lead to death within 12 months; and•
Our chief medical officer agrees with the diagnosis.After we have paid a cash lump sum, in the event your employee suffers a terminal illness the policy will end.
How flexible is the policy?
The policy is not designed to be flexible. Unless the employee leaves your business, you can’t alter the policy once it has started, see section on ‘What if your employee leaves your employment’ for more information.
If a higher cash lump sum is required at a later date, you will need to apply for an additional policy with us, or another life insurance provider.
If the policy is no longer required you can stop paying the premiums and cancel the policy. Please note if you cancel the policy you will not be able to reinstate it, and you will not receive any refund of premiums or any cash lump sum payment.
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
Who can the policy cover?
A policy can cover only one employee. But you can set up multiple policies with us for each separate employee you wish to arrange life cover for.
The employee must be:
•
resident in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands;•
an employee of a business that is based in the UK, for example, directors subject to PAYE and salaried partners.An employee must be 21 or over and under 73 when the policy starts.
The minimum sum assured is £25,000.
How long can the policy last?
The shortest policy term is two years.
The longest policy term is 50 years. The policy must come to an end before your employee’s 75th birthday.
If we have not paid out the cash lump sum, the policy will finish at the end of the term.
When does the policy pay out?
We will pay out a cash lump sum if your employee:
•
dies during the policy term; or•
are diagnosed as suffering from a terminal illness more than 18 months before the policy expiry date and you are not likely to live more than 12 months.When will the policy not pay out?
We will not pay any benefit:
•
If you or your employee do not give us all the information we ask for when you apply for your policy.Please do not assume we will contact your employee’s doctor for any medical information.
•
If you or your employee do not tell us about any change in your employee’s personal health, family medical history, occupation, alcohol consumption and smoking habits between making your application and when your policy starts.•
If we have not issued you with acceptance terms and advised you the contract is concluded and we have not received your first premium or an acceptable method of collecting them.•
If you or your employee do not give us all the documents and evidence we request to support your claim.•
If the date of birth of your employee covered by the policy has been incorrectly stated and we would not have offered cover had we known the correct date of birth at the time of your application.We might not pay any benefit:
•
If you or your employee did not tell us about an illness or condition at the application stage, which is considered to have had an effect on the underwriting decision that we made at the start of your policy.We will not pay out the life insurance amount:
•
If a claim for terminal illness benefits has already been accepted under the policy.•
If you have not made all the premium payments that were due.We will not pay the terminal illness benefit:
•
If your employee is expected to live longer than 12 months or if your employee is diagnosed with a terminal illness within 18 months of the policy expiry date.RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN | 07 What will my premiums be?
Your illustration gives an indication of the premium you’ll need to pay for your chosen amount of life cover.
This amount may change following completion of the underwriting process. Assuming we can accept you on risk, we will issue a binding quotation which will show you the premium you will actually pay.
Your premiums are based on the amount of cover you choose, how long you want the cover to last and your employee’s personal circumstances, for example, your employee’s age, health, occupation and whether your employee smokes.
The minimum monthly premium we will accept is £5.00.
Your policy operates on a guaranteed payments basis, which means your payments will stay the same during the term of the policy. These are set at the outset of the policy and are in the Policy Schedule.
Your premiums can be paid monthly or annually by direct debit or annually by cheque.
What are the charges?
We make a charge for managing your policy. Our charges cover your employee’s life cover and terminal illness benefit. We include these charges in the premiums you pay to us.
Your financial adviser is entitled to be paid by us if you set up a policy with us. We make this payment to your financial adviser from the charges which we take from the premiums you pay to us.
The amount your financial adviser will receive depends on the size of your premium and the length of the policy term. Your financial adviser will give you details of the amount they will receive as a result of any policy you successfully apply for.
What if I stop paying?
Your policy and cover will end after 30 days from the date the last premium was due. You will not get back any premiums you’ve already paid.
What if your employee leaves your employment?
The employee has two options:
1. A new employer can continue with the policy (with the trust in place and with the same amount of life cover, premium and term) within 30 days of leaving; or
2. Within 30 days of leaving, the employee can start paying the premiums themselves and the policy will continue, with the same amount of cover, premium and term. But terminal illness cover will end.
What if your employee dies?
A cash lump sum becomes payable at the date of death of your employee. The policy will cease at this point and no further premiums will be due. Once the cash lump sum is paid, no further claim or cash lump sum is payable.
Please see ‘How to make a claim’ on page 9 for details on how to contact us and claim.
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
What about tax?
The cash lump sum paid on death or terminal illness is currently free from income and capital gains tax.
As the policy is in trust, death and terminal illness benefits should not form part of the employee’s estate for inheritance tax purposes. Lump sum benefits will be subject to the normal inheritance tax rules for discretionary trusts.
Your financial adviser can give you more details about your tax position.
This information is based on our understanding of current UK law and HM Revenue & Customs practice.
Future changes in law and tax practice or your employee’s personal circumstances could affect taxation.
How do I apply?
Application Process
You should speak to your financial adviser for help in completing an application. This application includes a detailed medical questionnaire for your employee which must be fully and accurately completed.
With your employee’s permission, we may contact your employee’s doctor for a ‘General Practitioner’s Report’ to check the information provided on your application form. We will not always request this report, so it is essential that your employee provides us with full details about their health so we can fully understand their condition and provide you with an accurate quotation. There may be certain instances when we will require your employee to undergo a medical examination, if, for example, our chief medical officer needs more information on a particular aspect of your employee’s application.
If at any time your answers, including the description of your employee’s health, are found to be inaccurate, we will either cancel or amend the terms of your policy, or we may invalidate any future claim. Please see the Policy Conditions for details.
Trust
The policy is designed to be placed in a discretionary trust at the start, with the employee’s family or dependants as beneficiaries.
The trust is a legal arrangement, set up by a trust deed, that creates a trust and allows a group of people (trustees) to receive and look after any cash lump sum (that we pay out in the event that the employee dies or suffers a terminal illness) before passing it on to the beneficiaries. The trustees are the legal owners of the policy.
The business is automatically appointed as a trustee and up to three additional trustees can be appointed, one of which may be the employee.
As part of setting up the trust, the employee can nominate who is to potentially benefit in the event they die or suffer a terminal illness, but it is not legal binding. This nomination is done by completing a trust nomination form. However, as the trustee are the legal owners of the policy they will take this nomination into account, but they will decide how much the beneficiaries receive and when.
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN | 09 Can I change my mind?
You can cancel your policy at any time.
When you first take out your policy we will send you a cancellation notice. If you cancel within 30 days of the day you receive the cancellation notice, we will give you your money back. If you cancel your policy at a later stage, you will not get any money back.
You should send your instruction to cancel your policy to:
Partnership Customer Services Ryan Direct Group
Quay Point Lakeside Boulevard Doncaster
DN4 5PL
How to contact us
For general enquiries, you can contact us by phone, email or by writing to us at:
Partnership Regent House 1-3 Queensway Redhill
Surrey RH1 1QT
Telephone: 0333 043 7040*
Email: [email protected] Website: www.partnership.co.uk How to make a claim
A claim can be made by contacting us for a claim form on 0333 043 7013* or in writing at the address below:
Partnership Customer Services Ryan Direct Group
Quay Point
Lakeside Boulevard Doncaster
DN4 5PL
Please contact us immediately in the event that a claim needs to be made.
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
OTHER INFORMATION
Complaints
If your complaint is in relation to the financial advice you received then you should contact your adviser in the first instance.
If your complaint is in relation to any aspect of our products or services please contact:
Complaints Team Partnership 1-3 Queensway Redhill
Surrey RH1 1QT
Telephone: 0800 652 8420
If you are not satisfied with the way your complaint is handled, you can contact:
Financial Ombudsman Service Exchange Tower
London E14 9SR
Telephone: 0800 023 4567 (for fixed line telephones) 0300 123 9123 (for mobile telephones)
Email: [email protected] Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Making a complaint does not affect your right to take legal action. Full written details of our complaints procedure can be found at: https://www.partnership.co.uk/home/contact-us/complaints-procedure/
Policy Conditions
This Key Features document only gives you a summary of the Relevant Life Assurance policy. You should also read the full Policy Conditions. You can ask your financial adviser for a copy, or contact us directly for a copy using our ‘How to contact us’ details. You can also obtain a copy from our website.
We will send you the Policy Conditions with your Policy Schedule and information about your right to cancel once we have set up your policy.
We can make changes to the Policy Conditions. Please refer to the Policy Conditions for details.
Law
The policy is governed by the law of England and Wales. Only a court in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland may consider any legal claim.
Communicating with you
Our Policy Conditions and all other policy documents are in English. We will always write and speak to you in English.
Our regulator
We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority. We are entered on the Financial Services register under number 436171. This is on the website www.fca.org.uk. You can phone the FCA free from a landline on 0800 111 6768.
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN
KEY FEATURES
RELEVANT LIFE PLAN | 11 Conflicts of Interest
There are occasions where Partnership or its appointed officers will have some form of interest in the business being transacted. If this happens, we will take all reasonable steps to manage that conflict of interest, in whatever manner is appropriate in the circumstances. This will be done in a way which ensures that all customers are treated fairly and in accordance with proper standards of business.
Client classification
The Financial Conduct Authority has defined three categories of customer. You have been classed as a ‘retail client’, which means that you will be provided with the highest level of protection provided by the Financial Conduct Authority rules and guidance.
Compensation
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers your policy. If Partnership becomes insolvent and we are unable to meet our obligations under this policy, the scheme may cover you for 100% of the total amount of your claim.
For further information, see www.fscs.org.uk or telephone 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100 or write to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme at:
Financial Services Compensation Scheme 10th Floor
Beaufort House 15 St Botolph Street London
EC3A 7QU
Regent House, 1-3 Queensway, Redhill, Surrey RH1 1QT
0333 043 7040*
[email protected] www.partnership.co.uk
*Telephone calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes. Local call rates apply.
If you require this document in an alternative format please contact us.
Partnership is a trading style of the Partnership group of Companies, which includes; Partnership Life Assurance Company Limited (registered in England and Wales No. 05465261), and Partnership Home Loans Limited (registered in England and Wales No. 05108846).
Partnership Life Assurance Company Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Partnership Home Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The registered office for both companies is 5th Floor, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY.