This brochure will explain how to ease your financial difficulties if you become disabled. CAPITAL DISABILITY BENEFIT If you were disabled and could no longer work, would you still be financially secure? A disability can affect your family emotionally, but also financially. If you become disabled and can no longer work, Discovery Life s Capital Disability Benefit provides a lump sum payment to help you remain financially secure. It will also be useful to settle outstanding debts at the time of being disabled. Discovery Life s Capital Disability Benefit provides extensive benefits that are unique to the market.
Why Discovery Life s Capital Disability Benefit is unique In the past, disability claims were assessed on your ability to do your job. At Discovery Life, when we assess a claim we look at objective medical criteria, Activities of Daily Living, loss of income and your ability to perform your nominated occupation. A robust claims assessment criteria We look at the severity of your medical impairment no matter what work you do to produce an income. The objective medical criteria means no subjectivity when evaluating claims. Activities of Daily Living is an internationally used scoring system that looks at the functional ability of a person. It considers the physical, social and interactive abilities of a person. If loss of income results from an illness or injury suffered, we will pay a partial payout every four months until permanence is established. This unique benefit is available on the Classic LIFE PLAN. We can also assess your ability to perform your nominated occupation to decide if we must pay a disability claim. The LifeTime Benefit considers the long-term impact of your disability The LifeTime Capital Disability Benefit dynamically adjusts cover to reflect a loss in future earnings relevant to your specific cause of disability and expected future salary growth. By objectively assessing the impact a disability has on your loss of future income, we can accordingly boost your Capital Disability payout by up to 200%. Your living expenses are more affordable during times of need through Discovery Life If you become permanently disabled, you will receive further DiscoveryCard partner discounts of up to 50%. This will depend on your Vitality status at the time of your claim (this is only available on the Classic LIFE PLAN). Boost your spouse s disability cover by up to 40% for free Depending on your spouse s level of cover, the Spouse Capital Disability BenefitBooster may provide added cover of up to 40% for Capital Disability Category A, B and D (if applicable) events at no extra premium. This will not reduce your LIFE FUND and will help ease the financial burden in the event of your spouse becoming disabled. Your LIFE PLAN premiums will be met through the Premium Waiver Benefit If you become permanently disabled and while you are still adjusting to your new circumstances, the Premium Waiver Benefit will ensure that your LIFE PLAN premiums are met provided you have selected this benefit. No explicit waiting periods We do not apply explicit waiting periods we pay your claim as soon as it meets the qualifying criteria. You will have cover up to the age of 70 with Discovery Life With increasing longevity, many of us will be forced to work longer to produce enough retirement savings. With Discovery, you can choose a benefit expiry age of 65 or 70. You will get full cover throughout the benefit term, unlike traditional cover which reduces from age 55 or 60, when disability incidence is highest. Protection throughout your life The Capital Disability Benefit automatically converts to the Severe Illness Benefit (Severity A and B) at benefit expiry age, without medical underwriting. This will assist with extra expenses such as a nurse or caregiver if you suffer a severe illness.
Benefit from different categories of disability When you claim from Discovery Life, the disability benefits fall into one of three disability categories: 1. Permanent disability is when you can no longer work and you never will be able to because of an injury or disability. 2. Temporary disability applies during the period you are off work after suffering an injury or disability and the permanence of the condition is still being assessed. 3. Partial disability is if you have an injury or disability that is permanent, but you are still able to work. For example, if you are paralysed from the waist down but are still able to work, even if it is for short periods. The payout you will receive links to the severity of your disability With the Capital Disability Benefit you can choose between the Core and the Comprehensive PLUS options. The Core option will cover Category A and D claims. The Comprehensive PLUS option will cover Category A, B, C and D claims on the Classic LIFE PLAN or Category A, B and D claims on the Essential LIFE PLAN. The benefit will pay a lump sum on disability. The category of claim, which sets the benefit payment amount, is determined by the claim assessment filter as follows: Medical impairment Accurately reflects earnings ability Activities of Daily Living Underpins medical criteria Loss of income Nominated occupation We assess your claims quickly and fairly We recognise the most important test of an insurance company is when you have to claim. At Discovery Life, we take the process of paying claims seriously. Our aim is always to save you from unnecessary worry by making sure that your claim is assessed and settled quickly and fairly. You can find out more This brochure is a summary of the Capital Disability Benefit. For full details of Discovery Life s products, cost structures and benefits, please refer to the Discovery Individual LIFE PLAN Guide or refer to the Discovery website. Speak to your financial adviser for more information For more information please speak to your financial adviser who will prepare a Financial Needs Analysis for you. Once you have agreed on your requirements, your financial adviser will draw up a quote for you. If you are happy with the quote you will have to fill in the necessary application forms. You will also have to complete the necessary underwriting requirements to ensure you pay the most appropriate premium. Unique cover while permanence is not yet established Occupation-based assessment With Category A claims you will receive a 100% payout of your insured amount if according to the medical criteria, the disability is severe enough to prevent you from working at all. With Category B claims you will receive a 50% payout of the insured amount if you are still partially able to fulfill your occupation. With Category C claims you will receive a payout of 2.5% of your sum assured at the end of every four months if you suffer a loss of between 80% and 100% of your income, while permanence is being established (only available on the Classic LIFE PLAN). With Category D claims you will receive a 100% payout if you are permanently unable to perform your nominated occupation because of an injury or illness. Objective medical criteria and a loss of income underpin provide absolute benefit certainty Traditional criteria
UNDERSTANDING THIS BENEFIT AND WHY YOU NEED IT How much cover do you need What affects your premium When you need to claim By performing a Financial Needs Analysis with your financial adviser, you can determine what your ongoing and future financial obligations are. You also need to consider how much cover you may need to make lifestyle changes, like modifications to your home. To account for inflation you can choose to have your benefit increase every year at the consumer price index or at a fixed percentage. POLICY The premiums you pay every month depend on your lifestyle, pre-existing medical conditions, medical test results and the funding option you choose. By integrating your policy with Discovery Health, DiscoveryCard and Vitality you can enjoy an initial premium discount and control your premium over time. When we assess a claim we look at objective medical criteria, Activities of Daily Living, loss of income and your ability to perform your nominated occupation, unlike in the past, where disability claims were assessed on your ability to do your job. Discovery s unique LifeTime Benefits can double your claim payment depending on the longer term lifestyle impact that a disease or disability has. COVER FOR YOUR SPOUSE R Financial rewards you can enjoy How long will you be covered It is important to consider the financial impact if your spouse becomes disabled. You can structure the cover for you and your spouse in the following ways: In addition to your initial premium discount and the ability to control your premium, you can also have a portion of your premiums paid back to you every five years. Discovery Life recognises that the age at which people retire is becoming progressively older, so you can choose for your benefit to expire at age 65 or 70. 1. You can have separate policies that will not reduce the cover if you or your spouse claim. 2. You can select joint cover which will reduce your cover regardless if you or your spouse claim. 3. You can select the joint cover with the Minimum Protected FUND which will always go back to the minimum protected amount regardless of the number of claims. staying relevant The need for protection does not cease at retirement, therefore the Capital Disability Benefit will automatically convert to the Severe Illness Benefit if you have not claimed by benefit expiry. JENNY S STORY Jenny is a single mother who enjoys the outdoors and in particular hiking. She is an executive in the financial services industry and understands the importance of financial planning. Jenny selected the Capital Disability Benefit. As she was a Discovery Health member, she chose to Integrate her LIFE PLAN which meant she paid a discounted premium of R568 per month for the Capital Disability portion of her LIFE PLAN. A few months ago she went to the Drakensberg with friends and Jenny slipped and fell several metres. The fall damaged her spinal column and she is now permanently disabled from the waist down. She exercised regularly and looked after her health and she achieved Silver Vitality status. After five years, she received 30% of all her premiums paid through the PayBack benefit and invested this payout in an Endowment Plan for her daughter s education. Her Discovery LIFE PLAN paid out 100% of her Capital Disability Benefit, settling her debts and giving her the freedom to focus solely on getting stronger. She took a short sabbatical, made possible by the payout she received, and went for daily rehabilitation. She also had her car adjusted to make it possible to drive to work once she felt able to do so.
Other products that complement this benefit Having the right protection is fundamental to building a lifetime of financial security. Consider these products to create a personalised Discovery LIFE PLAN that addresses your particular needs. Other products that complement the Capital Disability Benefit include the Income Continuation Benefit, the Severe Illness Benefit and the DiscoveryCard Protector. INCOME CONTINUATION BENEFIT DISCOVERYCARD PROTECTOR The Discovery Life Income Continuation Benefit allows you to insure your monthly income, so you can maintain your standard of living if you are not to earn an income due to injury or illness. The DiscoveryCard Protector will pay the outstanding balance on your DiscoveryCard if you die, become disabled or get a severe illness. It will also cover key living expenses charged to your DiscoveryCard. In addition for business owners, the Overhead Expenses Benefit makes sure your monthly business expenses are met under these conditions. You can insure your lifestyle against the impact of severe illness. This means if you get severely ill you will receive a lump sum payout. Discovery Life s Health Plan Protector covers the cost of your family s Discovery Health Medical Scheme contributions for up to 10 years. If you suffer a life-changing event such as severe illness, disability or death, we will pay for the education of your children. We cover you and your family for certain procedures not performed in South Africa or where your chances of survival are significantly higher if performed in the USA. Keep in mind that examining the different benefits with a financial adviser and finding out the appropriateness each one holds for you is the best way to determine the level of financial security you need.
GM_13826DL_13/03/12 CDBBE 03/12 Discovery Life is an authorised financial services provider. Registration number 1966/003901/06 Physical address: 155 West Street, Sandton. Postal address: PO Box 3888, Rivonia 2128. Contact centre: 0860 00 LIFE (0860 00 5433) Fax number: 0860 LIFE FX (0860 5433 39) lifeinfo@discovery.co.za