Protection

Providing protection for families, individuals and businesses when they need it most is one of our most important roles. Protection comes in many forms:

Life Cover: a lump sum paid on death

Critical Illness Cover: a lump some paid on diagnosis of a serious illness such as Cancer or Heart Attack

Disability Cover: a lump sum paid if an accident or illness leaves you permanently unable to work

Hospital Cash Benefit: an amount per day spent in hospital

1. Protection for your Mortgage

A mortgage protection policy covers the amount outstanding on your loan in the event of death or serious illness.

2. Protection for your family

With less than 50% of people owning a life policy, it is generally regarded that Irish people are lacking in financial protection. The recommended level of Life Cover for a person raising a family is 10 times salary, and a level of Critical Illness Cover of up to 4 times salary time’s salary would usually be recommended.

3. Protection for your business

In addition, very few people are aware of the ways that they can protect their businesses from the negative financial impact which the death or illness of a key person may have.

Fewer people know that the proceeds of a protection policy can used to pay Inheritance Tax bill without incurring any tax liability- and these days it is not just millionaires who are affected by these taxes.

Pensions

What will you use as income when you retire? The Government currently (from 1^st January 2002) pays a State pension of €209.30 per week, but to sustain the lifestyle you were accustomed to during your working life, you need private funding.

The Government acknowledges that the State pension is insufficient and provides generous tax relief on private pension funding.

Income Tax Relief on Pensions

Most contributions into a pension fund are subject to full income tax relief at the marginal rate of tax that you pay.

Types of Pensions

Personal Pension
For self-employed or those in employment where is no company sponsored scheme.

Company Paid Pension
For company employees or a Director.

A.V.C. (Additional Voluntary Contribution) Pension
For member's of a company scheme who are not maximising their contribution.

Buy Out Bond
If leaving a job and wish to take your pension entitlement with you.

A.R.F. / A.M.R.F. (Approved Minimum Retirement Fund)
For those retiring and considering how to invest their pension fund.

P.R.S.A. (Personal Retirement Savings Account)
This scheme will be launched by the Government early 2003. It provides a portable pension savings scheme that you take with you when you move employment and you can contribute to even in you are not working for period. PRSA's can also get relief against PRSI and the Health Level.

Life Assurance

Life Assurance pays a lump sum to your family in event of your un-timely death. They can use this lump sum to pay off their bills or the mortgage, and it will give them an income when they most need it.

Life Assurance Products

• Term Assurance
• Whole of Life Assurance
• Serious Illness Cover
• Keyman Assurance
• Business Protection

Other Benefits Include:

• Hospital cash
• Surgical cash
• Children’s Benefit
• Indexation
• Convertible Option

Serious Illness

Serious Illness Cover is an essential policy for the financial protection of your family, in the tragic event that you succumb to a serious illness such as cancer, a heart attack or a stroke.

Income Protection

• Income protection offers you financial security for yourself and your family if you are unfortunate enough to be out of work because of an illness and suffer a loss of earnings as a result of a disability, an injury or an accident.
• This plan will provide you with an alternative source of income. This income is a weekly benefit payable after a deferred period of either  13, 26 or 52 weeks.
• The deferred period is the length of time between when the illness is first diagnosed and when you start receiving an income benefit.

What types of disability are covered?

Your plan will protect your income against:

• Any illness;
• Any injury;
• Any disability; and
• Any accident

Resulting in you being unable to work for longer than you deferred.