Whole Life Assurance - The Co-operative Insurance

Product guide to yourWhole Life AssuranceReminder of important facts

What is a Whole Life policy?A Whole Life policy will pay out a lump sum benefitwhen the life assured dies.Where your money is investedYour premiums are invested in the with-profits fund.The fund consists of a variety of investmentsincluding shares, property and bonds. The value ofthe investments behind your policy may go up ordown but we guarantee a minimum payout on death.The “Principles and Practices of FinancialManagement” (PPFM) document explains in detail themanagement of the “with-profits fund”. The PPFMand a customer-friendly version of it, sometimescalled a with-profits guide, are available either byaccessing co-operativeinvestments.co.uk or onrequest. In the event of conflict between this guideand the PPFM, the PPFM shall prevail.BonusesWe aim to add annual bonuses to your policy andmay also add a final bonus on death. This is yourshare of the profits from the investment returns.There is no guarantee that we will pay bonuses inany particular year.Guaranteed minimum payouton deathWhen the life assured dies we guarantee that we willpay at least the guaranteed sum assured plus anybonuses that we have already added to the policy.Personal details you providedThe medical and personal information you and/or thelife assured gave us when you applied for your policyforms the basis of your cover. If any of thisinformation is incorrect or missing then your policymay be invalidated, or your benefits reduced.If you believe this may be the case then you shouldcall our Customer Contact Centre immediatelyon 08457 46 46 46Claiming when the life assured diesPlease contact us if you wish to make a claimunder this policy. We will require a copy of thedeath certificate.Surrendering your policyYou can surrender your policy at any time.At the time of surrender we will pay a fair valuebased on the premiums you have paid, plus anyinvestment return we have achieved, less anyexpenses we have incurred. This value may be lowerthan the amount we guarantee to pay on death.There will be no surrender value if you stop yourpolicy before you have paid 12 months’ premiums.If you decide to surrender your policy, you shouldconsider whether you have sufficient life cover tomeet your needs.

Premium paying termWhen you took out your policy, you agreed to paypremiums to a specified date or age. Once this dateis passed, your premiums will stop but you remainon full cover.Stopping your premiumsIt is possible to stop paying the premiums into yourWhole Life policy, however this will reduce the valueof the policy and the amount of life cover you have.Optional income benefitYou may have purchased Income Benefit cover withyour Whole Life policy.This benefit provides an additional payout of aregular income to your estate, if you die. The incomewould be paid up to the end of the Income Benefitpolicy term and this would be a different term to thatof your Whole Life policy.The regular income can usually be converted to alump sum and we will let you know whether this ispossible, at the time of claim.Additional informationMany different types of Whole Life policies havebeen sold over the years. Please refer to your originalpolicy documents for other product(s) features thatmay be applicable to your policy.This guide is intended to be a concise reminder ofthe main features of the product(s) which you havepurchased. We supplied a contract for the product toyou when you made your purchase and you shouldrefer to this and any contract endorsement which wemay have sent you for full information. In the eventof conflict between this guide and any contract,the contract will prevail.If you need more information,contact our Customer Contact Centre08457 46 46 46Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday & bank holidays 8am to 5pm.Please note we are closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.The Income Benefit part of your policy doesnot have an investment element and so thereis no surrender value payable.Optional periodical paymentsThe Whole Life policy you chose may benefit fromadditional periodical payments throughout your policyterm. Please refer to the original documentation fordetails of these payments.We will contact you when these payments are due.

Savings & investmentsLife assuranceCar & home insuranceRetirement planningEthics as standardUp the wall – more than 40% of the heat in your home is lostthrough the walls and roof. Cavity wall insulation could reduceemissions and cut fuel bills by £70-£100 a year.Please call 08457 46 46 46 if you would like to receive this information inan alternative format such as large print, audio or Braille.The Co-operative Insurance is a brand name used by Co-operative Insurance Society Limited.Co-operative Insurance Society Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.Registered Office: Miller Street, Manchester M60 0AL. Registered in England number 3615R.Calls may be monitored or recorded for security and training purposes.MKT2621 WEB 12/2011