Builders & Life Insurance

Most insurance providers will offer life insurance for builders at standard terms. There are some key things that the insurer will want to know about your job and we will ask you some specific questions.

To help you find the right insurer we will ask:

• How much of your working week is doing manual, admin and supervisory tasks?
• What is the usual height that you work at?
• What is the maximum height that you will work at?
• Do you need to travel abroad for your work?

Where your job requires you to work at heights of 40 feet and over, this is something that many insurers want detailed in life insurance applications. Working at heights regularly may have an impact on the premiums insurers are willing to offer you.

If your work is usually at 40 feet or lower it’s likely that many insurers will offer you life insurance at normal rates (no price increase).

Your occupation will have the biggest impact upon getting income protection. There is more detail about this below.

Critical illness cover pays out a cash lump sum of money, if you are diagnosed with a medical condition that is listed in the insurer’s claims set e.g. cancer, heart attack, stroke.

As with life insurance, critical illness cover applications for builders should also be accepted at ordinary rates with most insurers. Again, you will need to provide the insurer with details of any significant heights that you are required to work at for your occupation.

Income protection pays you a replacement of your monthly income, if you are unable to work due to ill health.

Builders income protection policies are available with a few insurance providers with an own occupation definition. It is important that you apply for an own occupation definition for the policy, as this will mean that at the point of claim you are assessed on your ability to work as a builder. If you were to choose a policy with a suited occupation or any occupation definition, then any claim you place will be assessed on your ability to perform any like job or any job at all.

This makes the claim criteria much broader and means that you must be much more ill in order to make a successful claim on these definitions. Our financial advisers can ensure that your application is placed with the correct insurer to enhance your chances of being offered an own occupation policy.

Income protection for builders will be written with a deferment period of 1 day, 1 week, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 13 weeks, 26 weeks or 52 weeks. The deferment period is the amount of time that you must wait from becoming unable to work, to receiving the benefit payout. You should consider any employment benefits, savings and budget for the income protection policy when you make the decision as to which deferment period suits you.

Our financial advisers regularly help clients to determine which deferment period best suits their individual circumstances and we are happy to discuss the benefits of different options with you.

Are you travelling abroad? Make sure that you have the right cover in place by clicking here.