Frequently Asked Questions
Many Lyfery clients had loan insurance before insuring their life with Lyfery, often arranged when taking a loan from the bank. Insuring against financial risks is a very good idea to protect you and your loved ones! However, we recommend considering whether it might be more sensible to take out life insurance instead of loan insurance. Why?
The purpose of loan insurance is to ensure that (home) loan is repaid to the bank even if something happens to you. The beneficiary of loan insurance is usually the bank. A characteristic of loan insurance is that the insurance amount decreases along with the remaining loan balance, so insurance payments usually decrease over time.
With life insurance, you can specify the beneficiaries yourself and the insurance amount does not decrease over time, but insurance payments increase as you age. In the event of your death, your loved ones receive the entire insurance amount and can decide whether to use it to pay off the home loan or cover other necessary expenses, such as tuition fees, major repairs, or anything else.
One of the common myths that often comes up when talking to our clients is the belief that if a life insurance policy was once taken out with a bank loan, it cannot or should not be terminated. We want to assure you with complete confidence: you are not "obligatorily and permanently" tied to the loan or life insurance you took out with your bank!
Banks cannot require (and do not require!) you to take out loan or life insurance for their benefit or to cover the loan. You can choose whether to insure, in what amount, and for which beneficiaries both at the time of taking out the loan and at any other time. You can terminate your existing life or loan insurance policy at any time and replace it with Lyfery life insurance. Lyfery life insurance acts as a financial risk mitigator just like life insurance purchased from a bank's group company.
Based on our and our clients' experiences, we can also say that terminating existing loan and life insurance policies is a very simple process - usually, it can be done with a few clicks in the bank's online environment, without needing to justify anything, and on a date that suits you.
Read more about this topic on our blog!
First, Lyfery's insurance coverage is provided by a very reliable partner, Compensa Life Vienna Insurance Group SE (Compensa), which is one of the oldest life insurance companies in the Baltics and part of the leading Austrian insurance group Vienna Insurance Group. Thus, the financial risk associated with your life insurance policy is managed by a large and reliable insurance company.
Second, we have agreed with Compensa that if Lyfery is liquidated or goes bankrupt, all insurance contracts with Lyfery will remain in force. Currently, the insurance contract is concluded on your behalf by Lyfery, acting as the policyholder. In the event of Lyfery's liquidation, you will be automatically considered the policyholder, and Compensa will continue to fulfill the contract according to the agreed terms. This is also stated in Lyfery's life insurance terms, point 15: you as the insured person will assume the role of policyholder without having to do anything, and the contract will continue.
Life insurance typically provides broad coverage - payments are made to beneficiaries regardless of whether the insured person's death was caused by an accident or a serious illness.
However, please note that some high-risk jobs, hobbies, and activities are excluded from coverage. For example, insurance benefits are not paid if the insured person was intoxicated, engaged in illegal activities, or deliberately endangered themselves. Exclusions also apply to certain jobs and hobbies. For instance, if you work as a miner, sailor, or armed law enforcement officer, or if you engage in activities such as skydiving, skiing off-piste, or diving deeper than 40 meters, there is no insurance coverage for death resulting from these (and other excluded) activities.
And this is one area where we strongly recommend “reading the fine print” - please check that point 11 of Lyfery's life insurance terms and point 7 of Lyfery's disability insurance terms do not include anything that would make life insurance pointless for you. Feel free to contact us if you want us to clarify anything for you!
The Lyfery health dividend takes into account various lifestyle categories and factors that affect health and well-being. These factors can be directly or indirectly influenced by an individual, such as physical health, diet, blood pressure, body mass index, risk behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption), and preventive measures (e.g., participating in screening tests).
The health dividend amount is calculated based on a questionnaire and, in the future, new technologies (e.g., activity data from smart devices). The model for calculating the health dividend, categories, and factors will evolve over time. A higher health dividend results in a greater discount, reducing the monthly Lyfery insurance premium.
Our approach is evidence-based, meaning that various scientific studies must provide sufficient reliability for considering the factors in the model and evaluating their interactions. We also strive to ensure that our approach is not overly restrictive. A Lyfery client is generally a responsible and sensible individual who does not need to be a maximalist in all activities and measurable categories at once.
The health dividend rate is valid for one year and is assessed annually. If you are unable or unwilling to provide the data needed for calculating the health dividend, the assessment will be skipped. This means that the health dividend cannot be calculated for that specific year, and the discount will not apply. The assessment model is continuously updated, and we plan to add comparisons and recommendations in the future.
Lyfery's life insurance allows you to choose the frequency of payments and benefits. With us, you can choose between annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly payments. Benefits are usually paid out in one lump sum, although in the future, we are considering options for splitting benefits into installments.
All life insurance policies with Lyfery can be handled online. After paying the premium, you will receive a confirmation email with the insurance policy, which includes the terms and conditions, premium payment schedule, and insurance coverage. You can access and manage your policy at any time through our website.
In the event of an insurance claim, the beneficiary or policyholder should contact us directly to file a claim. We will guide you through the process and provide assistance in preparing the necessary documentation to ensure that you receive the benefit as quickly as possible.
In case of a claim, you can submit it through our client support page or contact us directly for assistance.
Lyfery life insurance monthly premiums and overall contract costs are significantly lower compared to traditional life insurance solutions, saving Lyfery clients thousands of euros over a longer period. To give you a clearer picture, we created a comparison calculator for life insurance from different providers.
Lyfery’s monthly premium consists of the following components:
By looking at all the pricing and business model components together and comparing them to traditional insurance companies, we can offer a solution up to 2x cheaper thanks to cost efficiency, the impact of health behavior, and a better price due to lower risk.
We have been asked why beneficiaries cannot be designated as "heirs" in the insurance contract without listing specific individuals.
At Lyfery, we require that beneficiaries be named specifically in the life insurance application because the process of determining heirs can take months or even years, which is a situation where your loved ones might need financial support immediately. By specifying individual beneficiaries, the insurance amount is paid out much faster under the insurance contract and there is no need to wait for the probate process to be completed.
Additionally, with inheritance, there is the complication that the obligations associated with the estate also pass to the heirs, which in the worst case can even become an obstacle to accepting the inheritance. However, naming a specific individual for the life insurance payout does not come with any additional obligations.
If you also take out disability insurance, you can only name yourself as the beneficiary for this. The purpose of this insurance is to compensate you for income loss.
Moreover, to ensure that your named beneficiary(ies) can claim the benefit as quickly as possible in the event of an insurance claim, it is important to discuss the life insurance contract within your close circle. Cases where the information about the insured person’s death does not reach the insurance company in time are extremely rare, but for the sake of your loved ones' peace of mind, it is still reasonable to inform them in advance: if something happens to me, you will be financially protected.
Since concluding a life insurance contract consists of several stages (sending the application, possible additional risk assessment, receiving the policy, and paying the invoice), we are often asked from which moment the insurance coverage actually begins.
The insurance period, i.e., the start and end dates of the insurance coverage, are indicated on the policy we send you after concluding the contract.
Continued insurance coverage requires, as usual, that invoices are paid on time. To avoid unpleasant surprises, we recommend setting up an e-invoice standing order with your home bank. And if it happens that an insurance payment is missed, we will remind you at least once more.