Life Insurance and Serious Illness Cover

Our life insurance ensures the people that matter most to you are financially protected if you die or contract one of a wide range of serious illnesses.

The amount of life insurance cover you need depends on your financial circumstances. A good basis to use is your current salary or earnings. Your life insurance cover should be a multiple of this amount, based on the number of years your family or business will need your financial support. Your Financial Advisor can help you with these calculations. You can also try our life insurance calculator.

The length of your life insurance policy is up to you but the minimum term for our life insurance is 2 years and the maximum term is 40 years.

Most people are surprised at how cheap life insurance and serious illness cover can be. Your life insurance premium is determined by factors such as your age, sex, health, whether you are a smoker or non-smoker, the length of term and benefits you choose. You can see some examples of monthly life insurance premiums by clicking on the 'Sample Monthly premiums' link below. Your Financial Advisor can give you a personalised illustration, showing the life insurance premium for the benefits and term you require.

*For a Female aged 25 for Life Cover only, the sum insured is increased to €277,359 as €12.50 is the minimum premium on this product.

Note: Monthly premiums are based on both male and female non-smokers. The Life cover sum insured used in the example is €250,000. Age refers to age next birthday.

Insurance Levy: The Government has recently announced an insurance levy of 1% to be applied on a range of life assurance policies. Where this is applicable to your policy Zurich Life will alter your premium or benefits accordingly.

Our life insurance policy enables you to cover more than one person. You can cover yourself and your partner separately under the one life insurance policy (dual life insurance cover) or as a life insurance policy payable only on the first claim (joint life insurance cover).

If you are a company director, you can set up your life insurance policy to protect against the financial losses involved if you, a co-director or a key member of your staff were to die or suffer a serious illness. This is done by setting up your life insurance policy 'in trust'. Click here for more information about life insurance for business.

The cost of life insurance cover rises as you get older. Your health could also deteriorate as time goes by and deteriorating health can mean a higher life insurance premium, and in some cases, you may not be able to get life insurance at all. Therefore, it makes sense to get insured while you are in good health.

Accidental death benefit (application stage)

Our life cover automatically provides you with up to €150,000 accidental death benefit from the time we receive your completed application form.

Death benefit

If you die during the term of your policy, the sum insured will be paid to your spouse/dependant's estate.

Guaranteed insurability

If you experience a major life event before you turn 55 (e.g. marriage, birth of a child, promotion or change in job, new or increase in mortgage) and want increased cover you can do this without giving further medical evidence. This is up to a maximum of the lesser of €100,000 and 50% of your original cover. The maximum increase you can make over the policy term is the lesser of €200,000 and your original sum insured. Your premium will be adjusted accordingly. This option ends on your 55th birthday (if the cover is on a single life basis) or the 55th birthday of the older person insured (if the cover is on a joint life basis). Guaranteed insurability is subject to initial underwriting.

Terminal illness benefit

We will pay the full amount of life cover if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. This sum is paid at date of diagnosis, where the terminal illness is diagnosed at least twelve months before the end of the term you have chosen.

Long-term care conversion

Later in life, you may decide that the life cover you have built up exceeds the needs of your dependants. For example, your children might be financially independent and your spouse's income might be enough to cover their needs.

You have the option of converting your life cover to long-term care cover so that money is there to help fund the cost of future care. This option starts at age 60, is available up to age 65 or ten years before the end of the term, whichever is sooner.

Child life cover

We provide a payment of up to €4000 in the event of the death of your child. This amount can help pay for funeral expenses. The child must be your legal dependant and between 3 months and 18 years old (or 21 years if in full-time education) at the date of their death for this benefit.

Serious illness benefit

Serious Illness cover pays a lump sum if you are diagnosed as suffering from one of a number of specified serious illnesses or need to undergo specific surgery. A Serious Illness payment will only be made once. Further payments are not made on any subsequent events. The cost of Serious Illness cover is higher than the cost of Life cover because the chance of getting a serious illness is greater.

Guaranteed insurability

If you experience a major life event before you turn 55 (e.g. marriage, birth of a child, promotion or change in job, new or increase in mortgage) and want increased cover you can do this without giving further medical evidence. This is up to a maximum of the lesser of €100,000 and 50% of your original cover. The maximum increase you can make over the policy term is the lesser of €200,000 and your original sum insured. Your premium will be adjusted accordingly. This option ends on your 55th birthday (if the cover is on a single life basis) or the 55th birthday of the older person insured (if the cover is on a joint life basis). Guaranteed insurability is subject to initial underwriting.

Partial Payment Serious Illness Benefit

This benefit covers you for 50% of the serious illness sum assured (subject to a maximum of €15,000) on the occurrence of any one of 9 specified partial payment serious illnesses. A maximum of one claim per life can be made and a claim does not affect your serious illness sum assured.

The nine illnesses/events covered are:

Brain Abscess - drained via Craniotomy
Carcinoma in situ - Oesophagus
Carotid Artery Stenosis
Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformation
Ductal Carcinoma in situ - Breast
Loss of one Limb
Low Level Prostate Cancer, with Gleason Score between 2 and 6
Severe 3rd Degree Burns (covering at least 10% of the body's surface area)
Surgical Removal of one eye


Overseas surgery benefit

This benefit can provide you with the funds necessary to cover expenses if you suffer a specified serious illness necessitating surgery abroad. The policy would pay a once-off lump sum of €12,500 on proof that you require an immediate and necessary surgical procedure or operation as a result of one of the specified serious illness covered by the policy that cannot be performed in any hospital in Ireland.

Waiting list benefit

This benefit is paid if you are put on a hospital waiting list for specific major surgeries or a major organ transplantation. 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 Valve Replacement or Repair or Heart Structural Repair) the benefit will be paid as an advance of 50% of your Serious Illness sum insured, subject to a maximum of €30,000.

Child serious illness benefit

Your child will be covered for the same specified illnesses as you are for as long as the policy is in force and your child is aged between 1 and 18 years (1 and 21 years if in full-time education). The cover is 50% of the Serious Illness sum insured, up to a maximum of €25,000.

Child partial payment serious illness benefit

Your child will also be covered for the same partial payment serious illnesses as you are covered for, once serious illness cover is included on your policy, as long as the policy is in force and your child is aged between 1 and 18 years (1 and 21 years if in full-time education). The cover is 50% of the Serious Illness sum insured, up to a maximum of €7,500.

Child overseas surgery benefit

This benefit extends the Overseas Surgery benefit of €12,500 to your children. Every parent will want to travel with their children at such a crucial time. This benefit allows them to.

Hospital cash benefit

Hospital Cash benefit helps you cope with the effects of a hospital stay on your income. If you or a member of your family is admitted to an Irish hospital as an in-patient for more than three days (72 hours), we will pay the amount of Hospital Cash Benefit you have chosen multiplied by the number of days (24 hours) you are in hospital up to one year (365 days).

Personal accident benefit

This benefit covers you if you unable to continue at work because you have become temporarily disabled due to an accident. The benefit begins 14 days after the accident and the amount paid for each week you are unable to work in your current occupation is either half your weekly earnings or the amount of benefit you decide to set up (whichever is the lower amount). The benefit can be made for a maximum of 52 weeks but stops on your recovery, 60th birthday or death, whichever is earliest.

Waiver of premium benefit

This benefit gives you the added security of knowing that if you are unable to work because of injury or illness, we will pay your premiums after a period of 26 weeks has passed. While the benefit is payable, it means that you will not fall behind in maintaining your life cover and/or serious illness cover. Payments will stop on your recovery, at the end of the term, your 60th birthday or death, whichever is earliest.

Protection continuation option

Most term insurance policies finish when the specified term comes to an end. By adding the Protection Continuation option to your policy, you will give yourself the benefit of choice as you grow older.

This option allows you to extend the term of the protection benefit provided by your policy without providing further medical evidence of good health. The serious illness covered (and definitions applicable) will be those covered by our Serious Illness product at the time the protection benefit is extended. This can be a valuable option if your health deteriorates over the course of the policy.

The Protection Continuation option must be selected on the application form at the start date of the policy. It can be exercised at the end of the original term. If the policy has been assigned to a loan and the term of the loan has been lengthened, then you can exercise the option before the end of the policy term, You will have the option to convert your policy into a new policy of longer term without further medical evidence. The maximum period for which this continued protection can run will be the lesser of 40 years and age 85 (75 if Serious Illness is chosen) minus the age of the older life (at their next birthday) when the option is exercised.

Inflation protection option

It is worth remembering that over time, inflation will have an impact on the value of your cover.

If you add the Inflation Protection option to your policy, we will write to you every year giving you the option to increase your Life, Serious Illness and Permanent Total Disablement sums insured by specific amounts to protect against inflation (7.5% for your premium and 5% for your sums insured). This option is available up to the Life Insured's 65th birthday but stops if you refuse two consecutive offers of increase.

Permanent total disablement benefit - own occupation (available with Serious Illness cover only)

This benefit is payable if you or someone covered on your policy becomes permanently, totally and irreversibly unable to perform current working duties.

You do not necessarily have to be suffering a serious illness; a significant bodily injury may be enough for you to claim Permanent Total Disablement benefit. As a rough guide, a period of twelve months must normally pass in order to establish that a claim is payable. The benefit ceases on your 65th birthday.

This option is always paid as an acceleration of the Serious Illness sum insured.

Surgical cash benefit (available with Serious Illness cover only)

While basic Serious Illness cover will give you financial assistance if you suffer one of the specified serious illnesses under the policy, on many occasions, surgery may be necessary to prevent a serious illness. It is important not to underestimate the cost of undergoing surgery.

With surgical cash benefit a payment will be made if you need require either any of the major or intermediate surgery listed in your policy. Surgeries classed as major surgery include surgery to the lungs and hip replacements, while surgery to a kidney and hysterectomy are examples of intermediate surgeries.

Angioplasty for Coronary Artery Disease (Limited pay out to the lesser of 50% of serious illness sum assured and €100,000)
Aorta Graft Surgery
Aplastic Anaemia
Bacterial Meningitis
Balloon Valvuloplasty
Benign Spinal Cord Tumour
Benign Brain Tumour
Blindness
Cancer
Cardiomyopathy
Chronic Rheumatoid Arthritis
Coma
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
Deafness
Encephalitis
Heart Attack
Heart Structural Repair
Heart Valve Replacement or Repair
HIV Infection (caught in Ireland or the UK from a blood transfusion, a physical assault or at work in an eligible occupation)
Kidney Failure
Liver Failure
Loss of Hands or Feet
Loss of Independent Existence (based on 'activities of daily living')
Loss of Speech
Major Organ Transplant
Motor Neurone Disease
Multiple Sclerosis
Paralysis
Parkinson's Disease
Permanent Total Disablement based on 'activities of daily work' (Cover ceases at age 65)
Pre-senile Dementia (including Alzheimer's Disease)
Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
Progressive Supra-nuclear Palsy
Pulmonary Artery Surgery
Severe Lung Disease (including Emphysema)
Stroke
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
Terminal Illness to end of Policy Term
Third Degree Burns
Traumatic Head Injury