Life Insurance FAQs

Term Life insurance provides protection for a specific period of time. At VitalityLife the minimum term is 5 years and the maximum is 70 years.

Whole of Life insurance provides protection for the entire life of the individual insured so you can be reassured that no matter what happens in your life, you’ll be covered.

The minimum monthly premium for life insurance at VitalityLife is £8 and the minimum cover amount is £10,000. The level of cover you may get for £8 a month or the premium you may pay for £10,000 in cover depends on your specific circumstances. To calculate your premium insurers typically take into account your age, height and weight, your health and whether or not you smoke. There are also other considerations such as your occupation.

We may be able to offer you a guaranteed premium that will only change as a result of choices that you make. Without this option we would review your premiums regularly and potentially change them. If your premium needs to change as a result of a review, we will tell you at least one month before the date the change is due to take effect. We will also explain your options.

If the benefits for any of your covers are indexed, we will increase your premiums annually. The amount by which we will increase your premiums will depend on your age at the time your covers increase. For joint life plans this will be based on the age of the younger of the two people covered.

If you qualify and add Vitality Optimiser to your plan, and if you do healthy things, you could keep your protection premiums lower than our standard protection premiums:

• If you make no effort to look after your health, your protection premiums will go up by 2% each year.
• If you make a small effort, your protection premiums will only go up by 1% each year.
• With more effort, your protection premiums will stay the same each year, so you keep your upfront discount.
• With enough effort, your protection premiums could even go down by 1% each year.

This can help you take control of the price you pay for your cover. Find out more about Vitality Optimiser.

There are three different ways your cover can change in the future and you can select the way that is right for you.

• Level Life Cover - your cover amount stays the same over the life of your plan. It will only change if something happens such as you make a claim or change a cover
• Indexed Life Cover - your cover amount is designed to keep up with inflation. This protects against the rises in costs of living, making sure you always have the cover you need now and in the future. Your cover amount will rise each year at your plan anniversary, in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI). Your premium will increase each year at your plan anniversary by more than the change in RPI to reflect your increasing age
• Decreasing Life Cover - your cover will decrease over the life of your plan. This is designed specifically for you if you’re looking to cover the reducing amount you owe on a mortgage. The amount you're covered for goes down each year, but the premium stays the same

Alternatively, look at our Mortgage Plus Plan which is a protection solution specifically designed for our customers looking to protect their mortgage.

	Level	Indexed	Decreasing
Will my cover level stay the same?		It will increase in line with inflation	It will decrease with your mortgage
Is it available with Whole of Life Cover?
Can Serious Illness Cover be added to my policy?			Only if it has the same fixed term
Can Optional Serious Illness Cover for Children be added to my policy?

The length of the term required is an individual requirement, so we recommend talking to a VitalityLife Adviser about your specific circumstances. At VitalityLife we offer terms between 5 and 40 years. We also offer the option to take out life insurance for your entire life. This is called Whole of Life insurance.

To get access to exclusive discounts and rewards, you'll need to add Vitality Optimiser to your policy for an additional monthly fee.

	Life insurance	Life insurance with Vitality Optimiser
Minimum monthly eligible premium payable	£8 (when taking out VitalityLife Essentials Plan)	£20 (plus a £3.30 fee)
Upfront premium discount of up to 47% 5% to 25% for qualifying term policies 25% to 47% for qualifying whole of life policies
Control future premium changes through your Vitality Status – earn further discount of 1% or see your premium increase by up to 2%
Annual cashback at policy anniversary of up to £100
Opportunity to double cashback if you also hold a VitalityHealth policy
Health partner discounts and rewards such as 50% off a pair of running shoes at Sweatshop Cash back at Lloyds Pharmacy
Enhanced range of discounts and rewards such as: 50% off gym membership at Virgin Active (a joining fee will apply)1 A weekly cinema ticket for Cineworld or Vue2

¹The gym discount applies to flexible individual monthly memberships. Gym joining fees are up to £50 for all clubs other than Classic Collection clubs, where joining fees are up to £150. The gym offer does not apply to Chiswick Riverside Virgin Active club.

²The cinema offer applies at Vue and Cineworld with a maximum of one ticket per week per person covered on the plan. The cinema offer excludes 3D films.

Yes. If your circumstances change you can increase your cover or purchase additional policies at a later point in your life.

You can also choose to add indexation to your policy. With indexation your cover increases each year without the need to go back through our application process. This protects you against the rises in the cost of living, making sure you have cover that you need now and in the future. We also offer the flexibility to opt out of any future increases. There’s no initial cost to add indexation to your plan.

You can tailor your life insurance with additional covers and options that can be added and removed at any time. We offer a range of additional covers and options that can be added to any of our core covers, not just life insurance. Find out more about our full range of additional covers and options.

The proceeds from life insurance are not usually subject to income or capital gains tax. However, your family may be liable for inheritance tax (IHT) if HMRC considers the proceeds to be part of your estate. It is possible to avoid IHT by placing your life insurance policy in a trust. It’s important to discuss all your questions about IHT with a qualified financial adviser.

If you’re interested in buying life insurance from VitalityLife, you can call a VitalityLife Adviser on 03339204711. Lines are open 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 5pm Saturday and Sunday.

If you’re not quite ready, you can get a quick quote online. At this time we do not offer the option to apply for life insurance online. We are committed to providing quality advice to all customers and recommend calling one of our highly trained UK-based advisers.

Life insurance is the common term used to describe life insurance and life assurance generally.

With VitalityLife you can include Serious Illness Cover on your plan. Serious Illness Cover can be taken alone or together with Life Cover. The level of Serious Illness Cover required depends on your individual requirements, so we recommend talking to a VitalityLife Adviser about your specific circumstances.

It’s important to note that Serious Illness Cover is different to Critical Illness Cover.

• With Serious Illness Cover you’re up to twice as likely to get a payout than you are from a typical critical illness policy. This is because a serious illness policy with VitalityLife covers more illness and more cancers than any critical illness policy available in the UK¹.
• We also pay out differently. We give you a percentage of your cover amount depending on how severe your condition is. This means we’re able to pay out on a wider range of illnesses - not just the debilitating or life-threatening ones covered by typical critical illness policies.

¹Source: Hannover Re UK Life Branch August 2013

• Estimates are based on Hannover Re UK Life Branch’s interpretation of the general population incidence rates and their estimated view of future trends. Incidence rates for the entire population may be different to those lives that take out life insurance products.
• The typical critical illness product is a comprehensive one and covers most conditions seen in the market.
• VitalityLife estimates are based on the VitalityLife Plan with Comprehensive Serious Illness Cover.
• Estimates are based on the likelihood of making a claim before age 65.

There are many reasons to choose VitalityLife for your life insurance.

• Our Life Cover product is independently rated 5-star by Defaqto
• Added flexibility to add optional Serious Illness Cover. Our Comprehensive Serious Illness Cover protects against more illnesses and cancers than traditional critical illness policies in the UK¹.

We’re also the only insurance provider in the UK to offer a large range of healthy living rewards, such as rewards and discounts at major UK brands including Virgin Active, Cineworld, Vue Cinema, Sweatshop and more. Plus, if you qualify for Vitality Optimiser, you will get an upfront discount from 5% to 47% depending on your age and term selected.

¹Source: Hannover Re UK Life Branch August 2013

• Estimates are based on Hannover Re UK Life Branch’s interpretation of the general population incidence rates and their estimated view of future trends. Incidence rates for the entire population may be different to those lives that take out life insurance products.
• The typical critical illness product is a comprehensive one and covers most conditions seen in the market.
• VitalityLife estimates are based on the VitalityLife Plan with Comprehensive Serious Illness Cover.
• Estimates are based on the likelihood of making a claim before age 65.

The need for life insurance is dependent on your individual circumstances. Having life insurance is one way you can protect the things that mean the most to you – from your children’s education and your mortgage to your family business.

With life insurance from VitalityLife we don’t just help you when things go wrong. We help you make the most of every day too with healthy living rewards that help you to live life well.

To cancel a policy with another insurance provider you will need to notify them that you no longer require the policy. Remember, don’t do this until your VitalityLife policy is fully set up to ensure you are covered.

If no medical is required - your VitalityLife life insurance application could be completed on the same day. There are varying factors, such as the medical, that can mean your application may take a bit longer.

As we’re committed to providing quality advice to all our customers, your over-the-phone application with a VitalityLife Adviser may take up to an hour.

It’s best to talk to a VitalityLife Adviser at a time when you have at least one hour to spare. This way we can be sure to complete our quality advice process properly.

If a medical or further information is required, be sure to get your medical completed as soon as possible.

You can also request to receive all documentation from VitalityLife via email to help speed up the process.

You must disclose all medical conditions as part of your application. If you do not have any medical conditions you may be able to obtain life insurance without undergoing a medical. Your dedicated VitalityLife Adviser can provide more advice on your specific circumstance and the likelihood of a medical being required for your application.

The earlier you buy a policy the better as the monthly premium you will pay is based on your age and health (among other things).

At VitalityLife there other ways to save money on life insurance.

• Save by adding Vitality Optimiser – with Vitality Optimiser you could qualify for an upfront premium discount of between 5% and 25% for Term Life insurance and between 25% and 47% for Whole of Life insurance. Each year we review your involvement in staying healthy and getting active. Based on your level of involvement, your premium will either increase by 1%-2%, decrease by 1%, or stay the same. There are minimum qualifying criteria for Vitality Optimiser
• Save when you spend money with our partners – With Vitality Optimiser you also get the best discounts and rewards. All partners offer benefits to help you live a healthy and relaxed lifestyle such as keeping fit with 50% off Virgin Active monthly gym fees (no joining fee until March 31st),¹ relaxing at the cinema with one cinema ticket per week (per plan-holder) at either Vue or Cineworld² and much more

¹The gym discount applies to flexible individual monthly memberships. Gym joining fees are up to £50 for all clubs other than Classic Collection clubs, where joining fees are up to £150. The gym offer does not apply to Chiswick Riverside Virgin Active club.

₂The cinema offer applies at Vue and Cineworld with a maximum of one ticket per week per person covered on the plan. The cinema offer excludes 3D films and tickets for any film at Vue Leicester Square.

The amount of life insurance you need is based on your individual circumstances. To work out how much you may need, consider things such as:

• How much is outstanding on your mortgage?
• How much debt do you have?
• How much is required to pay for your children’s future education?
• How much income would be required for your loved ones to maintain their lifestyle?

There are many more decisions that can be made. Your dedicated VitalityLife Adviser can provide more advice on your specific circumstances and help calculate the cover amount you may require. Alternatively, get a quick calculation by using our handy Protection Calculator.

Your life insurance premium is calculated on a number of factors. These include but are not limited to your age, height and weight, your health, whether you are employed in a high-risk occupation, and whether you smoke.

If you do not pay your plan premium by the due date, we will suspend all the covers in your plan. However, you can ask us to reinstate your plan within 13 months of the date of the first unpaid plan premium as long as:

• You pay all of the outstanding plan premiums. If your plan premium would have increased in the time that you have not been paying it, you will need to pay the increased amounts
• You provide us with a new direct debit instruction so we can collect future plan premiums
• You and any other person covered by the plan completes a reinstatement application form. This is so that we can underwrite your request. We may offer you revised terms, or decline your request. We will not ask for evidence for any children covered by the plan. However, if your plan is reinstated, we will not pay any child’s claim for a condition that was pre-existing at the time of reinstatement

If you’ve missed a payment please call our Customer Service team on 03339204711 immediately.

Yes. Due to the link between smoking and a large number of health problems, a smoker is very likely to pay more for life insurance than a non-smoker. If you are a smoker, it is important to declare this accurately as we may conduct random checks.

We know that it can be difficult to quit smoking - that’s why we offer our customers a free stop smoking programme with Allen Carr. Find out more about the free stop smoking programme with Allen Carr.