Unusual Risks have arranged many Insurance policies for Cryonics members over the last 5 years and each time we are asked about the different types of Insurance and which is the most appropriate for the purpose of funding Cryonics?
Currently we are the approved Insurance agents in the UK for both Alcor Life Extension Foundation and The Cryonics Institute and have advised many of their current members. We also advise members of Cryonics UK, who are the organisation that provide assistance and transportation to people in the UK wishing to be Cryopreserved upon death.
Here are some examples of the different types of insurance available in the UK …
Decreasing Term Assurance – Decreasing amount of Life Assurance that reduces from the initial sum assured down to zero over the set term of the plan. This type of cover is not generally considered acceptable for Cryonics as benefits are reducing.
Level Term Assurance – Level amount of Life Assurance that remains in place for a set period of time. This type of Insurance can be used for Cryonics, but only in limited circumstances due to the fixed term nature of the contract.
Endowment Policy – Provides a combination of Life Assurance and savings investment within the one policy. In theory this type of Insurance could be used for Cryonics, but has proven to be expensive in the past and has been known to under perform – falling short of original expectations.
Over 50’s Life Assurance – Generally provides smaller amounts of life cover, without the need for any medicals by the insurance provider. This type of policy has proven useful to some Cryonics members who have wanted to increase their cover, but are not eligible for standard types of insurance due to health reasons.
Whole of Life Assurance – Provides a guaranteed benefit payable in the future at the point it is needed. Normally this type of Insurance is best used when there is specific purpose for the policy and is generally considered the most appropriate type of Insurance for the purpose of funding Cryonics.
Last year Unusual Risks surveyed members of the UK Cryonics community and asked them to indicate how they intended to fund their Cryopreservation agreement. 90% of respondents to the survey indicated some form of Life Assurance, whilst 10% of respondents indicated their intention to fund their agreement using cash or some other method of investment.
Also as part of the 2014 survey Unusual Risks asked people to specify which kind of Insurance Policy, they were using or were intending to use to fund their Cryonics agreement. 62% indicated Whole of Life Assurance, 24% indicated Level Term Assurance, 4% indicated Over 50’s Life Assurance and 10% were either using cash or some other method of Investment.
In the next few weeks we will be releasing our Cryonics and Insurance Survey 2015 which focuses on the amounts of Insurance that Cryonics members have in place currently ….
Unusual Risks are experts at helping people find the correct Insurance policy for the purpose of finding Cryonics. They are approved Insurance agents in the United Kingdom for both Alcor Life Extension Foundation and The Cryonics Institute.
If you require more information on Cryonics and Insurance in the UK you can contact Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email atEnquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk
Or visit us on the web at www.cryonicsinsurance.co.uk for free factsheets and research notes.
For information about The Cryonics Institute visit www.cryonics.org and Alcor Life Extension Foundation www.alcor.org
People in the United Kingdom wanting to know more about Cryonics can contact Cryonics UK at www.cryonics-uk.org
Unusual Risks would like to thank the members of Cryonics UK for their help and input into this survey.