UK Life Insurance Centre

The UK life insurance market place can get confusing, especially when tradesmen talk in riddles. We have composed a select glossary of terms that you might come across in your dealings with life insurance, enabling you to get to grips with the lingo.

• Actuary - actuaries work in the insurance industry, calculating risks of various applicants and insurance premiums.
• Churning - this term refers to the procedure of surrendering one life insurance policy and starting up another. In the case of life insurance this is usually an ill-advised practice as it usually means that the policyholder loses money.
• Critical illness cover - bought separately or as an additional extra, this type of insurance will protect you if you suffer a serious illness.
• Estate - this term is used to refer to an individual’s total assets. A person’s estate is worked out by deducting any debts or other fiscal obligations from the total value of any property, possessions and savings.
• Exclusions - exclusions are generally situations in which the policyholder will not be covered by their policy.
• FSA - see Financial Services Authority.
• Financial Services Authority - commonly referred to as the FSA, the Financial Services Authority is the main regulatory body in the UK responsible for overseeing all manner of financial services.
• IFA - see independent financial adviser.
• Income protection insurance - this type of insurance will provide you with a liveable income should you be unable to work for a number of reasons.
• Independent financial adviser - an independent financial expert specialising in providing objective advice on all financial matters.
• Inheritance tax - this is a type of tax payable on the assets of the dead where the estate falls above a certain value.
• Mortgage protection insurance - a form of insurance that will protect your mortgage repayments should circumstances dictate that you are unable to keep them up yourself.
• Paid up - this term is used to refer to a whole life insurance policy for which all required premiums have been paid.
• Qualifying policy - this phrase is used to describe a type of life insurance policy where benefits paid out are not subject to income tax.
• Term life insurance - this type of insurance policy will provide you with cover only for a specified period of time, paying out if the policyholder dies within the specified term.
• Waiver of premium - some insurers allow this as an additional extra that you can take out with your life insurance that will ensure that your life insurance payments are protected even if circumstances mean that you are unable to pay them yourself.
• Whole life insurance - whole life insurance is life insurance runs until the policyholder’s death or until the policy reaches it’s maturity date.