By choosing to invest with Vista, you are planning to ensure that you and your family will be able to afford a comfortable retirement, a holiday of a lifetime, provide a good education for your children or to plan for a special occasion or care for your family.

But what would happen if illness, accident or death meant that you were no longer able to continue saving? With Vista, you can protect against an unpredictable future. It is often overlooked that these tragic events can affect not only the wage earner in a family but also the home-worker. There can be an increased burden on the remaining family unit, if the costs of looking after children and the upkeep of the home suddenly increase.

Vista offers a range of additional benefits,designed to provide peace of mind should unforeseen events affect your future plans.

ZIL's benefits provide cover should you die,are diagnosed with a critical illness, become disabled or are unable to continue making regular savings. They provide you with the security of knowing that if your life is changed due to illness, accident or death, the possible financial burden on your family will be eased.

All the benefits described can be taken out on your own life and/or the life of your joint policy owner and on a life of another basis (this excludes waiver of premium benefit where the cover can only be taken out on the payor of premiums). If you select death benefit, this is payable on a first claim basis when one of the lives insured under the policy dies.

For full definitions of each of the benefits (and deferred periods), reference should be made to CSM Ltd for the Vista terms and conditions.

Death benefit

Nothing can replace you or a loved one, but if your death causes financial insecurity, your family may be forced to make some tough choices at an already difficult time. One way to ease the burden is to ensure that your loved ones are financially secure.

If you choose this cover, your family or other beneficiaries will receive a lump sum payment when you die.If you have a joint life  policy, for example with your spouse or partner, either of your lives may be insured separately, but the benefit is paid out on whoever dies first. You choose the level of death benefit you want and you can also choose whether you want the cover to be ‘inclusive’ or ‘exclusive’.

• Inclusive means that your beneficiaries will receive either the investment value of your savings account or the full amount of your death benefit, whichever is greater.
• Exclusive means that your beneficiaries will receive the investment value of your savings account in addition to the full amount of your death benefit.

In any event, at the very least the full value of your savings account will be returned to your estate should you die before your policy matures.

Critical illness benefit

Diagnosis of a critical illness can be devastating.However, advancements in medical treatment allow many people to make a full recovery.

Critical illness benefit gives you financial assistance during your treatment and recovery.

A lump sum benefit will be paid out if you are diagnosed with a serious illness covered by this policy. These illnesses are:

• cancer
• heart attack
• coronary artery disease surgery
• renal failure
• stroke
• major organ transplant
• multiple sclerosis
• aortic graft surgery
• benign brain tumour
• heart valve replacement or repair
• motor neurone disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• third degree burns
• Alzheimer’s disease
• blindness, deafness and loss of speech
• or any other terminal disease.

If you have a joint life policy, both of your lives may be insured, in which case the benefit will be paid on the diagnosis of a critical illness of each of the two lives.

Critical illness benefit can only be taken out if you also purchase death benefit cover, and your death benefit cover has to be equal to or more than your critical illness benefit. The maximum amount of critical illness benefit you can receive is USD250,000. Critical illness cover has to be taken on the same basis as your death benefit i.e. inclusive or exclusive. If you choose inclusive death benefit, then your critical illness cover will also be inclusive.

If you are diagnosed with a critical illness, you receive your level of critical illness benefit as an ‘early death benefit’, so that you and your family have the extra cash to help you at this difficult time.

For example, Mr Johnson has been diagnosed with cancer, which is at an advanced stage. He has a Vista with USD300,000 death benefit and USD200,000 critical illness benefit. His Vista savings are worth USD75,000. He receives USD200,000 on diagnosis of his critical illness, The critical illness claim reduces his death benefit by the amount of the claim i.e.USD200,000.

Waiver of premium

If you are diagnosed with an illness or suffer a disability that prevents you from working and earning an income, waiver of premium benefit will pay your Vista premiums for you. Even if you have chosen to escalate your premiums, the escalated premium will be covered by this benefit, not just your initial premium. Ad-hoc increases and decreases over the last three years will also be taken into consideration.

The benefit is based on the life of the person who pays the premiums and therefore is only available to the first life on a joint life policy. You should notify ZIL within 26 weeks if you wish to make a claim and ZIL will pay your premiums from the date of your disablement. If you are not able to notify ZIL within 26 weeks, rest assured that ZIL will always pay a genuine claim. ZIL will continue to pay your Vista premiums until your policy matures or your 65th birthday, if this is earlier.

Permanent and total disability benefit

Becoming permanently and totally disabled can have a profound impact on your life. You may need to make significant modifications to your home or pay for nursing care, while being unable to earn an income or care for your family. Permanent and total disability benefit provides a lump sum if you become permanently and totally disabled as a result of an accident or illness. It can provide you with much needed financial resources for making your day-to-day living easier.If you have a joint life policy, both of your lives may be insured and benefits can be claimed on both lives. The level of cover you select cannot be  more than the level of any death benefit you or your partner have chosen.

Dismemberment benefit

Losing a limb or your sight can lead to major changes to your everyday life, and may mean that you will have to adapt your home, pay for extra help at home or even give up your job. Dismemberment benefit will pay out a lump sum if you lose a limb or your sight within 30 days of sustaining bodily injuries, through accident or assault. The amount of benefit you receive will depend on how severely you are dismembered. For example, if you lose two limbs, one limb and the sight in one eye, or the sight in both eyes, you will receive the total amount that you have selected for your benefit. If you lose one limb, or the sight in one eye, you will receive half the total benefit amount. If you have a joint life policy, both of your lives may be insured and benefits can be claimed on both lives should either of the lives insured suffer dismemberment. The level of cover you select cannot be more than the level of any death benefit you or your spouse/partner have chosen.

In cases where critical illness, permanent and total disability and dismemberment benefit are selected and a claim is made for all three benefits, as a result of a single event, only the greatest sum assured under these benefits will be paid.

Hospitalisation benefit

In addition to the emotional impact, spending time in hospital can mean financial hardship through loss of earnings or having to cover expenses at home while you are ill. Hospitalisation benefit provides an amount of cash for each day you (or your partner if both lives are covered) spend in hospital after an initial three days. You can receive this amount for a period spent in hospital of up to one year (or several periods that make up one year).

ZIL will make a single payment to you which represents replacement of your salary while you are in hospital; the amount of the payment will be chosen by you at outset.

Hospitalisation benefit will continue to be paid even if there is a break in your treatment, as long as periods of hospitalisation are separated by less than 31 days. These periods of hospitalisation will be treated as a continuation of the same period.

If you have a joint life policy, both of your lives may be insured and benefits can be claimed on both lives should either of the lives have a period in hospital.In order to claim this benefit you must tell ZIL about any stay in hospital within 30 days of its commencement.

Spouses income benefit

If you would like to ensure that your spouse or partner receives a regular income for the rest of their life should you die before your policy ends, spouse’s income benefit provides this security. You can choose to provide your spouse/partner with a level income over the years, or an escalating income. Income can be increased by 3%, 5% or 7% per year and will escalate at your chosen rate after the first year’s income has been paid.

Alternatively, your spouse/partner can take a lump sum, adjusted to allow for their age and life expectancy, instead of receiving an income. If you have a joint life policy, both of your lives may be insured separately. Should the benefit become payable it will be paid out on the death of the first person (provided they had elected for cover). There is no maximum level of cover you can select.

How much do the benefits cost?

The cost of your benefits will depend on your individual circumstances and the type and level of benefits you select. Your age, gender and where you live, plus your health and occupation will also be factors in determining the fee. A personal illustration is available on request. If you decide to increase your benefits at any time and your circumstances have changed, then your benefit fee may also change.

Summary of benefits

The table below highlights the additional benefits available. The benefits also have dependencies – for example, you can only take out critical illness cover if you also take out death benefit cover.

 

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