Will my Life Insurance pay out if I get coronavirus and pass away?
Answer:
Yes, in most circumstances your Life Cover policy will pay out if you, unfortunately, contract coronavirus and pass away, assuming you took out the cover before contracting the virus.
This means that if you have a policy in force and you contract the virus and subsequently pass away, you should be covered by the policy. All insurers in Ireland prepare for the losses a pandemic might bring with reinsurance, so this shouldn’t impact your policy in any way.
To our knowledge, there are no exclusions for pandemics as standard in Life Insurance policies in Ireland and we’re currently not aware (as of 12th March 2020) of any insurer looking to exclude coronavirus from their coverage.
Is Coronavirus Covered by New Life Insurance Policies?
Life Cover sometimes called Life Assurance or Life Insurance is a policy that is designed to financially protect your loved ones in the event that you pass away. For many, life cover is a way of making sure their loved ones are looked after with a lump sum payment and or a regular income. Any debts can also be paid off. It can cover any items such as a mortgage, credit cards, personal or car loans and costs arising from your funeral.
Life Cover can also be used to protect a business should the owner or key employee die.
At key stages in your life, it is worth reviewing your life insurance, for example making provisions for children or if you are newly married. Whatever your needs, give one of our qualified advisors a call and they will be happy to discuss your options with you.
What about Existing Policies
Does Life Insurance Cover Coronavirus?
Once the policy is in place, a life cover policy will pay out for most deaths no matter the cause, including anything related to complications from COVID-19 or any other disease.
The rare occasions that the life insurance policy would not pay out would be if the cause of death was suicide within the first year of the policy being in force, if died accrued while committing a serious crime, or if your policy included a clause excluding a specific cause of death. For example, if you’re a rally car driver, you may opt for a less expensive life insurance policy that excludes coverage for death as a result of rallying.
For current life insurance policy holders, if you are diagnosed with coronavirus, your coverage will remain in force. Once you put in place the life insurance policy, as long as you keep paying the premiums your coverage will stay in force
Yes, in most circumstances your Life Cover policy will pay out if you, unfortunately, contract coronavirus and pass away, assuming you took out the cover before contracting the virus.
This means that if you have a policy in force and you contract the virus and subsequently pass away, you should be covered by the policy. All insurers in Ireland prepare for the losses a pandemic might bring with reinsurance, so this shouldn’t impact your policy in any way.
There are no exclusions for pandemics as standard in most Life Insurance policies and we’re currently not aware (12thMarch 2020) of any insurer looking to exclude coronavirus from their coverage.
Is Coronavirus Covered by New Life Insurance Policies?
If you apply to take out a new Life Insurance policy from today, then you may be asked questions about your recent travel.
If you have recently traveled to destinations on the CDC’s restricted list can impact the life insurance application process or you’re being investigated for the virus, there’s likely going to be a postponement of the underwriting decision until the insurer has more information or any tests required have come back all-clear.
The CDC currently lists China, Italy, Iran, and South Korea as level 3 travel warnings: meaning that individuals should avoid any non-essential traveling to these places.
Meaning: if you have plans to travel to a level 3 warning area, don’t be surprised if the life insurance company opts to post-pone your application until some time has passed after you arrive back in Ireland.
Other than recent travel to destinations on the CDC’s restricted list or are under suspicion of having the virus, there shouldn’t be much preventing you from taking out Life Insurance that will provide cover for almost all causes of death, including coronavirus.
What about Existing Policies
Once the policy has been in place, a life cover policy will pay out for most deaths no matter the cause, including anything related to complications from COVID-19 or any other disease.
The rare occasions that the life insurance policy would not pay out would be if the cause of death was suicide within the first year of the policy being in force, if you died while committing a serious crime, or if your policy included a clause excluding a specific cause of death. For example, if you’re a race car driver, you may opt for a less expensive life insurance policy that excludes coverage for death as a result of racing.
For current life insurance policy holders, if you are diagnosed with coronavirus, your coverage will remain in force. Once you put in place the life insurance policy, as long as you keep paying the premiums your coverage will stay in force
Concerns or have questions
If you have concerns about your existing policy or questions about putting in place a new policy, we are happy to advise.
Life Cover Simple Explanation
There are lots of ways to explain what life cover is, here is a simple wee video from one of our providers which explains it very well.
Get Advice
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