What are your underwriting limits?
Mon Jun 20 17:18:00 BST 2016Underwriting limits
Our financial and medical underwriting limits are among the highest in the market and our routine medical evidence limits are extremely competitive.
The limits below are a guide to the minimum medical and financial evidence that we’ll ask for. When we receive an application, or any medical or financial evidence, we’ll let you know if we need anything else. We may change these requirements and limits at any time.
Throughout this section, we use the following abbreviations. The notes apply to all the benefits.
GPR – General practitioner’s report
MIN – Mini-screening
NSE – Nurse screening examination
MER – Doctor medical examination
FBP - Full blood profile (fasting)
FLI – Fasting lipids
XCG – Exercise ECG
IPS – Income protection nurse screening
PSA – Prostate Specific Antigen (male lives only)
COT (NS) – Cotinine test for non-smokers
- If separate life protection and critical illness (CI)/total permanent disability (TPD) benefits are selected, we’ll need medical evidence based on the total CI/TPD amount.
- We’ll need HIV tests for all applications where the benefit amount is more than £1.5 million and the insured person is under age 60.
- For life protection cases over £10 million, please refer to our underwriters.
- For family income benefit, the benefit amount used for medical evidence requirements is calculated as follows: yearly benefit x term x 0.67.
Medical evidence required
Life protection
Age next birthday | Evidence required | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Application only | MIN COT (NS) | MIN COT (NS) GPR | GPR MER COT (NS) FLI | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP XCG | |
Up to 30 | £1 to £750,000 | £750,001 | £1,500,001 | £3,500,001 | £5,000,001 | £10,000,001 |
31 - 35 | £1 | £750,001 | £1,000,001 | £3,500,001 | £5,000,001 | £10,000,001 |
36 - 40 | £1 | £650,001 | £1,000,001 | £3,500,001 | £5,000,001 | £7,500,001 |
41 - 45 | £1 | £500,001 | £1,000,001 | £2,500,001 | n/a | £5,000,001 |
Age next birthday | Evidence required | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Application only | NSE | NSE COT (NS) GPR | GPR | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP XCG | |
46 - 50 | £1 | £425,001 | £600,001 | £2,000,001 | £4,000,001 |
51 - 55 | £1 | £300,001 | £400,001 | £1,500,001 | £3,000,001 |
Age next birthday | Evidence required | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Application only | GPR | NSE | GPR | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP XCG | |
56 - 60 | £1 | £200,001 | £250,001 | £1,000,001 | £2,000,001 |
61 - 65 | £1 | £100,001 | £200,001 | £500,001 | £1,500,001 |
Age next birthday | Evidence required | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Application only | GPR | NSE | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP PSA (males) | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP PSA (males) XCG | |
66 - 70 | £1 | £50,001 | £100,001 | £350,001 | £1,000,001 |
71 - 75 | £1 | £50,001 | £100,001 | £300,001 | £1,000,001 |
76 - 80 | £1 | £25,001 | £75,001 | £250,001 | £1,000,001 |
81 and above | n/a | £1 | n/a | £75,001 | £1,000,001 |
Critical illness (CI) protection/Total permanent disability (TPD)
Age next birthday | Evidence required | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Application only | MIN | MIN | GPR NSE COT (NS) FLI | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP XCG | |
Up to 30 | £1 | £475,001 | n/a | £750,001 | £1,500,001 | £3,000,001 and above |
31 - 35 | £1 | £450,001 | n/a | £750,001 | £1,250,001 | £3,000,001 and above |
36 - 40 | £1 | £425,001 | £600,001 | £750,001 | £1,000,001 | £3,000,001 and above |
41 - 45 | £1 | £350,001 | £450,001 | £550,001 | £750,001 | £2,000,001 and above |
Age next birthday | Evidence required | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Application only | NSE | GPR | GPR NSE COT (NS) FLI | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP XCG | |
46 - 50 | £1 | £275,001 | £350,001 | £500,001 to £750,000 | £750,001 | £2,000,001 |
Age next birthday | Evidence required | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Application only | GPR | GPR MER COT (NS) | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP XCG | |
51 - 55 | £1 | £150,001 | £300,001 | £500,001 | £750,001 |
Age next birthday | Evidence required | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Application only | GPR | GPR MER COT (NS) | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP PSA (males) | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP PSA (males) XCG | |
56 - 60 | £1 | £150,001 | £250,001 | £500,001 | £600,001 |
| 61 - 65 | £1 | £75,001 | n/a | £150,001 | £500,001 and above |
| 66 & above | n/a | £1 | £100,001 | £150,001 | £300,001 and above |
Income protection
All deferred periods
Amounts are shown as yearly benefits
Age next | Evidence required | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Application | IPS COT (NS) | GPR | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP HIV | |
Up to 40 | £1 | £36,012 | £42,012 | £60,012 |
41 to 45 | £1 | £30,012 | £36,012 | £60,012 |
Age next | Evidence required | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Application | GPR | GPR IPS COT (NS) | GPR MER COT (NS) | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP HIV | GPR MER COT (NS) FBP HIV XCG | |
46 to 50 | £1 | £24,012 | £30,012 | n/a | £54,012 | £60,012 | £75,000 and above |
51 to 55 | £1 | £18,012 | n/a | £36,012 | £54,012 | £60,012 | £75,000 and above |
56 to 60 | £1 | £12,012 | n/a | £18,012 | £54,012 | £60,012 | £75,000 and above |
Financial underwriting
This covers applications for key person protection, partnership and share purchase arrangements. If separate life protection and critical illness (CI) protection benefits are selected, and each has total permanent disability (TPD) attached, we’ll need medical evidence based on the total TPD amount.
Business protection
Life protection | CI/TPD protection | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
Up to £1,500,000 | Up to £850,000 | We don’t normally require a financial questionnaire |
£1,500,000 to £3,500,000 | £850,000 to £2,000,000 | |
Over £3,500,000 | Over £2,000,000 | Business protection financial questionnaire |
Executive income protection
Application only | Independent financial evidence required, such as |
|---|---|
Up to £60,000 a year | £60,001 and over a year |
Key person income protection
We need key person income protection questionnaires(Opens new window) for all cases.
Personal protection
If separate life protection and critical illness (CI) protection benefits are selected, and each has total permanent disability (TPD) attached, we’ll need medical evidence based on the total TPD amount.
Life protection | CI/TPD protection | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
Up to £1,500,000 | Up to £750,000 | We don’t normally require a financial questionnaire |
£1,500,001 to £3,000,000 | £750,001 to £1,000,000 | |
Over £3,000,000 | Over £1,000,000 | Financial questionnaire |
Over £3,500,000 | Over £1,500,000 | Financial questionnaire |
Term insurance - Inheritance tax (IHT) mitigation
Benefit amount | Evidence required |
|---|---|
Up to £2,000,000 | We don’t normally require a financial questionnaire |
£2,000,001 to £3,000,000 | |
Over £3,000,000 | Financial questionnaire |
Whole of Life - IHT mitigation
Term insurance - Gift inter vivos (GIV)
Benefit amount | Evidence required |
|---|---|
Up to £3,000,000 | We don’t normally require a financial questionnaire |
£3,000,001 to £10,000,000 | |
Over £10,000,000 | Copy of the inheritance tax planning exercise |
Personal income protection
Application only | Independent financial evidence required, such as payslips/P60/tax assessment/accounts (from) |
|---|---|
Up to £60,000 a year | £60,001 and over a year |