WOOLWICH LIFE INSURANCE

The Woolwich plc is a former building society, converting to bank status in 1997 & going public on the London stock exchange. In the past, Woolwich Life insurance policies were sold as their own life insurance products mainly to their customer base. They were also tied to Royal Sun Alliance for endowment sales in late 80's before it stopped selling endowment mortgages as the market moved from endowment to repayment mortgages. 

In 2000, Barclays Life and Woolwich Life operations merged when the bank bought the Woolwich BS. In 2001 however Barclays Financial Services announced that it would close its life insurance division. The bank, whilst maintaining Woolwich Life existing policies, would then divert new life assurance business instead to a tie up with Legal and General.

 

In 2006 Woolwich announced a tie up with Standard Life to sell certain pension term life policies under the Barclays brand. In 2008 Swiss Re, the world's largest reinsurer, agreed to buy Barclays Life, for £753 million.

From 2021, Woolwich Barclays mainly sells across their branch networks to their new mortgage and existing customer base. Although plans are currently insured via Legal & General - before this they used Aviva. 

WOOLWICH LIFE INSURANCE - PRODUCT REVIEW

Although some old Woolwich Life Insurance plans maybe no longer available for new protection business, you maybe able to amend or adjust your existing policy by contacting either Woolwich or Independant Broker. 

WOOLWICH - MORTGAGE PROTECTION 

Designed to cover a repayment mortgage on death or critical illness as it decreases during the plan term

WOOLWICH LIFE INSURANCE 

Offering family protection if the policy holder dies or is diagnosed with a terminal illness during the term

WOOLWICH - WHOLE LIFE COVER 

A whole of life policy that will always payout whenever death may occur. Premiums maybe reviewable in the future.

WOOLWICH - CRITICAL ILLNESS 

Helps ease financial worries if you or your children are diagnosed with a critical illness as specified by Woolwich Insurance policy.

WOOLWICH - INCOME PROTECTION 

Providing security by way of an income if you are off sick or have an accident or disability as specified by Barclays Woolwich Insurance.

WOOLWICH ENDOWMENT POLICY  

Designed to cover an interest only type mortgage. May provide a lump sum on death, critical illness or maturity during the plan term.

Compare Woolwich Life Insurance against other Insurers

WOOLWICH LIFE INSURANCE
- Frequently Asked Broker Questions

Single v Joint life Insurance ?

A single life insurance for a single woman means it covers just that 1 person only. It then pays out the chosen amount of cover if the person dies during the term of the policy or whenever it occurs if whole life. The benefit of having 2 seperate plans if in a relationship & one partner dies, then the surviving partner still has their own seperate policy. 

A 'joint' life insurance policy means it jointly covers 2 lives but then pays out on '1st death' basis. This means once the chosen amount of cover is paid, the policy benefits would then end. This is usually the cheaper option for Insurers ( as it only pays once ) but conversely leaving the surviving partner without any cover.

Can you make changes to your Woolwich life insurance policy ?

In terms of changing your life insurance policy, often you can request some of the following:

• reduce or perhaps extend the period of cover
• decrease or increase the amount of lifecover
• remove indexation option or any specific paid for policy features
• change the collection date of your usual premiums
• remove a life assured from a joint policy
• joint life policy separation, allowing a joint policy to be split into 2 new single policies if a couple divorce, split up or say change a joint mortgage into a sole name. 

The changes could be subject to medical underwriting based on your circumstances at the time & may well affect your premiums.

What if my health or lifestyle changes after I have taken the Woolwich policy out ?

Life Insurance cover is based on full disclosure at the time you took the policy out ie; being 100% as honest & accurate as possible. So any health or lifestyle changes since usually does not void your existing policy, as it wasn't relevant at that time of initial application. Please check your original T&C's 

How do I make a Death Claim ?

Check firstly if premiums are still being paid or alternatively is the policy perhaps "paid up" meaning no further premiums were needed. 

Then contact the Insurers claims line to inform them. They will provide you with their claim form for completion. You will need to send in a number of documents, most importantly being the death certificate proving the cause of death.

Insurers ( as well as other Providers ) will need the original death certificate, so ideally ask for several certified copies. Enclose your policy document, if you can find it and then send by recorded delivery or registered post to Insurers. 

Once received, the Insurers usually cross check all information before processing and settling a valid claim ie; was the medical & lifestyle information correct at the time of original application

If everything is hopefully in order, the Insurer may pay out a claim & usually in a matter of days or weeks.

Death Claims, Life Insurance Trusts & Life of Another

Who the life insurance maybe actually then paid out to can be more complicated & many people wrongly assume it is a simple process.

If it is a joint life 1'st death policy or if it single life policy owned by another person " life of another"  then it will just be paid to the survivor. 

However, if it is a single life policy it can be more complex. Check if the policy was setup & written into a trust. If so the Insurer will pay the life insurance via the trustees named to the nominated beneficiaries directly. Sometimes there are a named beneficiary & others times a list of potential beneficiaries. The life insurance paid out doesn’t have to be included in the legal documents sent for probate and potentially it won’t be liable for inheritance tax either.

So should I put my Woolwich Life Insurance policy into Trust ?

If the life insurance wasn’t written into trust, it will be paid to the executors of the deceased’s estate. They will handle the administration, known as probate in N Ireland, England, Wales and confirmation in Scotland. If not, the benefits will fall into your estate if you died prematurely. If you have not made a will this can then cause further complications with the life insurance monies.

Until probate is fully granted, no monies can be paid out to those named in the will. On average, this can take upto 6 months. By not placing the plan into trust may also swell up the total estate values, leading to potentially Inheritance Tax IHT issues

So placing a policy in trust can help to ensure that the policy proceeds go to the correct beneficiaries you decide to nominate at that stage & help avoid possible probate delays & IHT costs. Ask the Insurers if they provide any standard trust form wordings & seek legal advice if unsure.

Will I be tested by the Life Insurance Company - To proove I am a non-smoker ?

How do Insurance Companies know if you smoke ? If you declare yourself a non-smoker on the life insurance application, there is a possibility you will maybe also asked to undergo a cotinine test to prove you have quit smoking ie; ex smoking status. This test checks your nicotine levels & reads how long absent this is from your body. No point in lying when you apply, as your policy may not payout & you could waste the premiums and leave your family devastated.

Is e-cigarettes (Vaping) or Gum or Patches - classed as Smoker or Ex Smoker for Life Insurance ?

These newer alternative liquid form vaping smoker products may state they reduce the risk on your health, but many Insurers can still classify this as smoking ( but some may apply better terms...please ask us for advice here.) ie; No nicotine based products for at least 12 months.

If I started smoking after taking out Woolwich Life Insurance - Do I need to now tell them ?

If you had legitimately stopped smoking for over 12 months at that time of original application, you may wish to advise the Insurers you have started smoking again - but this should not affect the original policy terms which should still stand - you were being honest. Also maybe suggest letting your GP know if this is the case. 

Article on: Woolwich Life Insurance ~ for more information visit www.woolwich.co.uk *
( * Note: You are now leaving the regulated site of Uk Life Insurance Quotes. Neither ourselves, nor Sesame Ltd, is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained within the linked site.)

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Woolwich Life Insurance  Company Review 2020 

Woolwich
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