Policy Wording
DEFINITIONS & INTERPRETATION
As used in this policy, these words and terms shall have the following meanings:
Benefit amount: The amount which is payable under this policy to the group policyholder following a successful claim.
Date of deposit: The date the group policyholder records a deposit in the savings account of a member.
Deposit: An amount of savings lodged or placed with the group policyholder in a single transaction.
Grace period: The period of thirty-one (31) days from the date on which the premium is due.
Group policyholder: The credit union named in the policy schedule, which is contracting with us to provide insurance coverage for its members who meet the definition of lives insured.
Holiday: An event where the life insured leaves the standard territories with documented arrangements to return within thirty-one (31) calendar days.
Insured balance: The whole of a given member’s savings balance, excluding:
1. Savings balance credited to non-members of the group policyholder, non-natural persons, clubs, associations or other organisations;
2. Savings balance credited to a member after the member has attained the age limit shown in the policy schedule;
3. Savings balance in excess of the savings limit shown in the policy schedule;
4. Savings balance credited to a member where the member has taken out a loan in order to deposit the same loan proceeds into the member’s savings account;
5. Classes of savings that have been specifically excluded as shown elsewhere on the policy schedule.
If all or part of any savings balance is excluded under more than one of the above provisions, it is deducted only once from the member’s savings balance.
Life/lives insured: All members who are eligible for cover in accordance with the eligibility criteria set out in the sections titled “Who Qualifies as a Life Insured” and “Who is Insured”.
Member: A natural person who is a member of the group policyholder.
Operational death: Means the death of a member resulting from his/her service as a member of the United Kingdom’s Armed Forces (Armed Forces of the Crown), Reserves and Cadet Forces, such death being directly attributable to war, invasion, hostilities (whether war declared or not) civil war, rebellion, revolution, Operational accident, terrorism, riot or civil commotion. Death must be caused by enemy action/fire, friendly action/fire, operational accident, nuclear, chemical, radiological or chemical means.
Operational accident: Means any accident occurring during an event referred to in the definition of operational death or during training carried out in the area where the event occurs in order to improve or maintain the effectiveness of the United Kingdom’s Armed Forces (Armed Forces of the Crown), Reserves and Cadet Forces with respect to any such event.
Policy Schedule: The current schedule (as issued from time to time) stating details of the group policyholder, cover provided by this policy and any endorsements (if applicable).
Savings: Includes a share purchase, a certificate of deposit or any other form of savings purchased from or placed in the group policyholder.
Savings account: The accounting records of the group policyholder on which are recorded the deposits, withdrawals and savings balance of a member and if a member has savings in more than one account, each such account is a savings account.
Savings Balance: The total amount of savings standing as a credit in the savings account of a member at any one time. If a member has savings in more than one account, savings balance means the sum of their savings in all their accounts.
Standard territories: Western Europe (i.e. the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway), North America (i.e. United States of America and Canada), Australia and New Zealand.
We, us or our: Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited.
Withdrawal: An amount of savings withdrawn from the group policyholder in a single transaction.
You or your: The group policyholder.
1. WHAT BENEFITS ARE COVERED
1.1 Lump sum benefit: Lives insured are covered for a lump sum benefit amount based on the amount of their savings at their date of death.
The benefit amount is based on:
1. The insured balance on the date of the life insured’s death, and
2. The benefits that are determined by the percentage that is applicable to each deposit based on the life insured’s age at date of deposit in accordance with the table of benefits shown in the policy schedule.
Each life insured is covered for only one benefit amount, regardless of the number of savings accounts they hold.
2. WHAT IS NOT COVERED
2.1 Excluded savings: If the group policyholder has elected to exclude specific classes of savings, as shown in the policy schedule, a life insured does not qualify for cover for those classes of savings.
3. WHO QUALIFIES AS A LIFE INSURED
3.1 Eligibility for cover: All members of the group policyholder who have an insured balance and reside in one of the standard territories are eligible for cover under this policy provided they are age 16 and over.
4 WHO IS INSURED
4.1 Joint accounts and trust accounts: Cover is on the member whose signature appears first on the savings account. Second-named members are not covered. For trust accounts, the first-named beneficiary of the trust is the life insured. However, if there is a written trust agreement on file with the group policyholder stating that the trustee is the true owner of the account, then the trustee is the life insured.
4.2 Automatic inclusion: All members who qualify as lives insured are included for cover.
4.3 New entrants: All members who join the group policyholder after this policy commences who are eligible for cover shall be added, from time to time, to the group of lives insured originally covered under this policy at its effective date. The group policyholder shall include all such lives insured in the calculation of premium. The group policyholder shall not withhold coverage from any eligible member.
5. WHEN DOES COVER START AND STOP FOR YOUR LIVES INSURED
5.1 Cover starts: Cover for a life insured starts on the effective date of this policy or, if later, on the date the life insured qualifies for cover under the terms of this policy in accordance with the eligibility criteria set out in the sections titled “Who Qualifies as a Life Insured” and “Who is Insured”.
5.2 Cover stops: Cover for a life insured stops on the date when:
• The life insured dies; or
• The life insured ceases to be a member of the group policyholder; or
• The life insured moves overseas to a location not listed in the standard territories or any additional locations shown in the policy schedule,
unless we agree otherwise; or
• The life insured ceases to be a life insured; or
• Premium is not received within the grace period unless we agree otherwise; or
• This policy is cancelled.
6. POLICY LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS
6.1 Pre-Existing Condition Limitation: We will not pay a lump sum benefit amount in respect of a deposit from a life insured if their death results from an illness or injury for which they received medical advice, consultation or treatment within the six (6) month period prior to the date of deposit. We will not apply this rule if the member dies six (6) months or more after the date of deposit.
6.2 War/terrorism/nuclear exclusions: Benefit amounts under this policy are not payable if a life insured dies resulting from:
1. Insurrection or any act of war, declared or undeclared, revolution, terrorism, usurped power or action taken by the governmental authority in hindering or defending against any of these; or
2. Nuclear reaction, radiation or radioactive contamination.
6.3 Suicide exclusion: If a life insured makes a deposit or deposits into any savings account and the date of deposit is less than 6 months prior to the life insured dying from suicide, we will not pay a benefit amount in respect of such deposits.
6.4 Drugs/alcohol: If a life insured dies as a result of the illegal use of drugs and/or alcohol or the abuse of legal drugs or drugs prescribed by a medical doctor, we reserve the right to not pay the benefit amount.
6.5 Criminal activity: If a life insured dies as a result of perpetrating a criminal activity, we reserve the right to not pay the benefit amount.
6.6 Time limitation: If the policy is cancelled, there will be a period of two (2) years from the date of cancellation in which the group policyholder may submit a claim that was incurred while this policy was in force, subject to the terms of the “notice and proof of death” provision in the section titled “What happens in the event of a claim”.
6.7 Overseas cover: We will not pay a benefit amount if a member dies outside the standard territories or any additional locations shown in the policy schedule, unless we agree otherwise. However, a claim may be valid if the death of the life insured occurs while they are on holiday, or as part of normal working duties on the United Kingdom’s Stations
and Armed Forces Bases worldwide, provided it is not an operational death. For the purposes of this exclusion the place of death of a life insured is determined by the location where death occurs or, if that is not known, where the body is found.
6.8 Incorrect age: If a member has stated an incorrect age to the group policyholder, the benefit amount will be determined by the member’s correct age. If the member’s correct age is equal to or greater than the age limit shown in the policy schedule, we will return the premium paid to us in respect of deposits for that member for the period after the member reached the age limit shown in the policy schedule and we will not pay any claim.
6.9 Operational death: We will not pay a benefit amount if a member’s death falls within the definition of an operational death.
