• Why Critical Illness Cover?
• Why Us?
• FAQ

• affects 1 in 4 women / 1 in 5 men before retirement
• 94.1% of the critical illness claims are paid
• protect yourself and your family if you get seriously ill

• get the cover that will pay when you need it
• save up to 35%, cover from £5 a month
• free, fast and without obligation quotes

A Close Look at the Specifics of LV='s Critical Illness Cover

LV= Liverpool Victoria ’s Critical Illness Benefit can be bought as a standalone cover or a combined life and critical illness cover (with either guaranteed or reviewable premiums). These products are available under the Flexible Protection Plan.

Quick Facts on LV= Critical Illness

What is the Critical Illness Cover by LV=?

The Critical Illness Cover is sold under LV=’s Flexible Protection Plan, where the client can choose the types of cover he wants and needs. Other product offerings under this plan include:

• Life Protection
• Critical Illness Protection
• Combined Life and Critical Illness Protection
• Income Protection and Budget Income Protection

Amount of Coverage

• There is no minimum or maximum amount of coverage.
• Child critical illness cover is 50% of the sum insured or £25,000, whichever is lower.
• Types of cover:
  • Level cover. The sum insured remains the same throughout the life of the policy.
  • Decreasing cover. The sum insured can decrease based on the rate of decrease of one’s mortgage. The decreases will be applied monthly or annually and based on the amount the mortgage will go down every year.
  • Inflation-linked cover. The amount of cover is designed to increase based on the rate of inflation. Premiums will also increase accordingly.

Who Is Covered

The life insured. Age must be between 18 to 59 when the cover starts.

The life insured’s children:

• Children, either by birth or legal adoption, as well as step children
• The children should be between 30 days to 18 years old at the time of diagnosis of the critical illness
• For the critical illness benefit to be payable, the covered person must survive for at least 14 days from the day of the diagnosis
• Payment of children’s critical illness protection claims will be up to 2 children.

What You Will Receive

The critical illness benefit will pay:

• The benefit amount, if you are diagnosed with a covered critical illness. That is, if the critical illness meets the definitions stated in the policy. The insured person should survive 14 days after the date of the diagnosis.
• The benefit amount, if you die before a critical illness claim is made and paid. You can opt to have a bigger coverage amount for life. The cover does not stop when the entire main benefit for critical illness is paid out. It will continue up to its term or until the person insured dies. At that time, the balance between the amount of insurance for the life cover and the amount of insurance for the critical illness cover (“main benefit”) will be paid out. This will be for combined life and critical illness policies.
• The specified percentage or maximum amount, whichever is lower, if the Insured Person is diagnosed with an illness under the additional partial payments.
• £25,000 or 50% of the sum insured, whichever is lower, if your child is diagnosed with a covered critical illness. If there are other policies under LV= that cover the same child, the most that LV= will pay will be £50,000 across all policies that cover the child for critical illness. Also, only two claims will be paid out for child critical illness cover. Any claims for children’s critical illness protection will not affect the “main” benefit amount (or, the amount to be paid in case of a diagnosis of a covered illness). However, if the “main” benefit has already been paid out, the cover stops and any succeeding claims for children’s critical illness will no longer be payable.

Length of the Cover

The length of the cover is from 5 to 40 years. The cover will end once the main benefit is paid in full. However, if the coverage amount for the life protection is greater than the coverage amount for the critical illness protection, then the cover will continue until the end of the term or until there is a claim for the remaining coverage amount for the life protection.

Critical Illnesses Covered by LV= Liverpool Victoria

The Critical Illness benefit will pay the benefit amount (or a portion) for the following critical illnesses:

For the claim to be payable, the diagnosis must be made by a physician who is practicing in the list of qualified countries. This includes Australia, Austra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Channel Islands, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or USA.

If the diagnosis is made in a country not belonging to this list, the person insured has to have the diagnosis confirmed by a doctor practicing in a country listed above.

Additional Partial Payments

These are for additional illnesses not on the list. A claim on illnesses under the additional partial payment will not affect the “main benefit”. This means that even though you have already claimed and received a benefit for the illnesses listed below, you can still claim for the full benefit amount for a covered critical illness.

If there is an illness that qualifies for both the main benefit and the partial payment, the policy will only pay the bigger amount. Also, claims for partial payment will only be paid once – after an illness under the partial payment section is paid, claims for other illnesses in this list will no longer be payable. However, the person insured can still make a claim under the main benefit.

Additional Options

Buyback life cover option or replacement option. Once a claim for critical illness is fully paid out, the cover stops. However, the person insured may have the opportunity to get a new Life Insurance policy a year after the payment of the main benefit (due to critical illness).  This is only for Combined Life & Critical Illness products. The amount of cover should be equal or lower than the coverage amount shown in the old policy. The end date of the new policy should also be the same as the end date of the existing policy.

Guaranteed Increase Options. The person insured has the option to increase the amount of cover for specific events. This can be done without the need for submitting a full application or providing additional medical evidence.  The person insured can opt to increase the amount of cover for:

• Marriage or Formation of civil partnership. The allowable increase is up to 50% of the existing coverage amount, subject to a maximum increase of £150,000. The age of the person insured should be no more than 54 at the time the option to increase is applied for.
• Divorce or dissolution of civil partnership. The allowable increase is up to 50% of the existing coverage amount, subject to a maximum increase of £150,000. The age of the person insured should be no more than 54 at the time the option to increase is applied for.
• Childbirth or legal adoption.  The allowable increase is up to 50% of the existing coverage amount, subject to a maximum increase of £150,000. The age of the person insured should be no more than 54 at the time the option to increase is applied for.
• Mortgage increase (due to an additional loan or a new mortgage). The allowable increase is up to 50% of the existing coverage amount or the equivalent increase in the mortgage amount, whichever is lower, subject to a maximum increase of £150,000. The age of the person insured should be no more than 54 at the time the option to increase is applied for.
• Mortgage extension (for extensions of the repayment term or taking out a new mortgage where the repayment date is more than a year after the policy coverage ends). The Person insured has the option to extend the policy cover by replacing it with a new policy, as long as the coverage amount remains the same or is less than the coverage amount of the existing policy. In addition, the new policy has to end before the insured person reaches 70 years of age.

When a joint life policy is split due to separation or divorce. For policies that cover two lives, each individual can replace the old cover with a new one. This is an available option if either individual has taken out a new mortgage or the original mortgage is transferred to the name of only one individual.

Waiver of Premium option. This will pay out the premiums in the event that the Insured Person is not able to pay it due to disablement caused by accident or illness. The disablement can be defined as:

• Own occupation. The insured person is not able to perform tasks for his own occupation.
• Work tasks. The insured person is not able to perform 3 or more tasks from the listed everyday activities.

What You Are NOT Covered For

The client will not receive any Critical Illness payouts for:

• Illnesses that were existing before the policy cover started
• Illnesses that are listed in the policy but don’t meet the definition for that illness
• Illnesses that are not listed in the policy
• If the insured person or child fails to survive within 14 days from the date of the diagnosis or operation
• Claims made after the policy ceases to be effective
• Fraudulent claims or for policies issued where the Person insured deliberately did not disclose relevant facts or misstated these facts
• For Children’s Critical Illness Cover, congenital conditions (conditions present at birth) or pre-existing conditions or conditions diagnosed before the child turns 30 days or after the child’s 18^th birthday.
• Self-inflicted injuries
• Injuries or illnesses caused by alcohol, solvent or drug abuse
• Injuries or illnesses arising from failure to follow a doctor’s reasonable advice
• Other exclusions listed in the policy

Making a Claim

To make a claim, call 0800 756 5869 to get in touch with the LV= Claims Department. Calls are received during office hours (Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).  A representative from the Claims Department will guide you through the claims process.

An authorized representative (usually the executor or the person named in the insured person’s will), a spouse or other loved one may make the claim. The claim should be made as soon as possible.

Documents that may be required includes:

• The original death certificate (for life claims)
• Birth certificate (for proof of age)
• Evidence that the person claiming is authorized to make the claim
• Other medical reports or tests (Medical reports may usually be requested from the insured person’s doctor)
• A medical report from an LV=-appointed doctor, confirming the diagnosis

The reasonable costs for tests and medical reports requested by the claims department will be shouldered by the company.

This article is for informational pruposes only and should not be considered a financial advice. Contact LV= directly for information about their products.

Last updated on: 25.07.2012

To protect yourself and your family, save up to 35%, please fill the critical illness cover + life insurance form on the right now.

Get Your Free Quote NowOnly life with critical illness