Life Cover Overview
Life Cover
Early payment of benefit
Depending on the sum insured and the complexities of an estate it can take some time before the proceeds of a life policy can be legally released. To assist with immediate expenses while that
process is completed, the Bereavement Support Benefit allows $25,000 of the Life Cover sum insured to be paid out immediately upon notification of death.
When the news is bad
Partners Life will pay the Life Cover sum insured early upon diagnosis of a terminal illness or following a non-survivable accident. While this is not something any of us want to think about,
having access to these funds at this time can help prevent financial stress from compounding the obvious emotional stress at such a difficult time.
We will also pay a Terminal Illness Advance Benefit (30% of the Life Cover sum insured to a maximum of $600,000), if you are diagnosed with one of the following covered conditions:
Motor Neurone Disease
Stage 3/4 Exocrine Pancreatic Cancer
Stage 4 Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
Stage 4 Distal Esophageal Cancer
Stage 4 Malignant Melanoma
Any terminal prognosis where you are likely to pass away within 24 months.
Bringing your loved one home
Should you pass away while travelling, working or living overseas, the Repatriation Benefit allows payment of 25% of the Life Cover sum insured up to $20,000 to reimburse the costs involved with
your remains returning to New Zealand or your home country.
Premium Review Periods
You have six premium review periods to choose from for your Life Cover:
Yearly Stepped – Your premiums are based on your current age and sum insured and are adjusted each year on your policy anniversary.
Level To Age 65, 70, 80 and 100 Guaranteed – Premiums are guaranteed to remain the same until you reach your selected age, at which time the premium structure automatically reverts to yearly renewable term. Premiums only change in line with any changes to your sum insured until your selected age.
5% Stepped, 10 Year Guaranteed – Premiums are guaranteed to only increase by the fixed 5% step on every anniversary during each 10 year period. Premiums otherwise only change in line with
any changes to your sum insured during each 10 year period.
Expert assistance
If you or your family would like assistance with managing the proceeds of a Life Cover claim, your Life Cover provides a Financial and Legal Advice Benefit which reimburses the costs of a financial
planner and/or lawyer up to a maximum of $2,500, payable in addition to your Life Cover sum insured.
Grief Counselling
There is also provision for grief counselling under the Counselling Benefit which reimburses any fees up to a maximum of $2,500. This is payable in addition to the Life Cover sum insured.
Funeral support for your childrenhould a dependent child under the age of 21 pass away while you are covered under this Life Cover, you will receive an automatic Funeral Support Benefit, which is payable in addition to your Life Cover. The amount payable for children from the age of 10 up to their 21st birthday is $15,000; or $2,000 (less any other amounts payable) for children before their 10th birthday.
Special events increases
Partners Life recognises there are a number of special events which can trigger a need to increase your Life Cover. The Special Events Increase Benefit allows your Life Cover sum insured to be increased (certain restrictions and limits apply) without further health assessment for the following special events:
Marriage or civil union
Divorce or legal separation
Becoming full-time carer for a dependent relative
Birth or adoption of a child
Taking out or increasing a mortgage
Purchasing a residential property, residential investment property, vacation home or bare residential land
A dependent child starting full-time tertiary study
An increase in annual salary
Death or Terminal Illness of a spouse, defacto partner or civil union partner
Every 5th policy anniversary.
Instead of just increasing your Life Cover when a special event happens you can take up to $100,000 of Accelerated Severe Trauma Cover subject to certain limits and conditions.
Option to increase cover in the future
In addition to the increase options under the Special Events Increase Benefit and automatic inflation adjustments, you can also purchase a Future Insurability Option which allows further
increases to your Life Cover sum insured each year without further assessment (up to certain limits).
Future proofing the value of your cover
To ensure your Life Cover can continue to deliver the same real value to you as when you first purchased it, your Life Cover sum insured will automatically increase by inflation adjustment each
year and so will your premiums, unless you have a level premium review period and you selected a no indexation option. These increases apply irrespective of any changes to your health after your
Life Cover starts.
You also have an option to set a minimum inflation rate of 5% so even when the inflation rate falls below this level your Life Cover sum insured will still increase by 5%.
You can choose to decline any increase in any given year without losing the automatic increase in following years, so you have the best of both worlds – automatic rights to increase with no obligation to do so.
No Indexation Option
If you have selected a level premium review period to age 65, 70, 80 or 100 you can also choose a no indexation option.
Turning claims promises into reality
Partners Life goes so much further than paying lip service to the way in which we will manage claims. Our intention to manage claims fairly and ethically, irrespective of what the law might allow
us to do as a life insurer, is a legally binding promise. We have included our commitment to our claims philosophy into our policy wordings – so we are contractually obliged to behave this way –
and we wouldn’t have it any other way
Rewarding partnership for life
Partners Life is passionate about sharing the value we create over time with you. Rather than solely focusing on incentivising new customers to join, we also want to reward clients who are loyal
to us. Your Partners Protection Plan includes an increasing Loyalty Premium Discount over time to your Life Cover premium. So you can take comfort that you will pay increasingly less for your Life
Cover than new clients to the company will. The discounts that apply start from the 2nd anniversary and increase each year by 1% until reaching 10%. Policies with a level premium review period
automatically include an averaged loyalty premium discount, therefore an additional discount does not apply.
Help when it’s really needed
A premium holiday is available to you to provide financial relief during difficult times without losing your valuable cover. In the tragic event that you lose a spouse or child, are made redundant
or bankrupt or are forced to leave work to care for a relative who has become dependent on you due to ill health, your Partners Protection Plan provides up to 6 months of free Life Cover, while
you rearrange your financial affairs. Alternatively your premiums and cover may be suspended for up to 12 months if you need temporary financial relief due to overseas travel, parental leave,
extended periods of leave without pay or even if you decide to embark on some additional full-time study. At the end of the suspension period you can restart your Life Cover without being reassessed.
Keeping your Partners Protection Plan up to date
Partners Life guarantees to automatically apply any future enhancements we make to Life Cover to your policy, provided there is no additional premium required for those enhancements.
Worldwide cover
Your Life Cover is valid wherever you may be in the world.