When it comes to your financial future, it isn’t easy predicting what is going to happen in the years ahead. This uncertainty is perhaps even more acute if you are an expatriate who is living and working away from home.
OPTIMA PLANIt always pays to plan ahead - plan your future. After all, the plan you make today will not only affect you, they will also have an impact on those you care about - especially your spouse and your children. The Plan enables you to provide a combination of investment and protection benefits, to meet your present needs as well as your future requirements. The flexible OPTIMA plan offers you the advantage of adjusting the combination in the light of changing circumstances as you go through different phases of life. That is why we call it a Plan for Life. HOW THE PLAN WORKS - SIMPLY Depending on your needs and circumstances, you can choose to invest any amount, in US Dollars, on a regular basis. 100% of your contribution will be invested to buy units in the Alliance Property and Managed Fund. The units purchased are credited to your personal Investment Account. You can choose any level of Life cover, plus additional benefits from a wide range available, to cater to your individual circumstances. The cost of providing the level of Life Cover and administration charges
is met by encashing units from your Investment Account
ACCESS TO YOUR INVESTMENT ACCOUNT If your circumstances change, you may have a need for cash before the end of the maturity period of your savings. OPTIMA gives you the facility to get immediate access to your accumulated Investment Account. You can encash the plan or make a partial withdrawal at any time whilst continuing to make contributions and keeping the Plan in force. INVESTMENT WITH A SAFETY NET As soon as you start saving with OPTIMA you will enjoy a guaranteed level of life assurance on an inclusive basis. This means that in the event of an untimely death, your dependants will receive the Sum Assured or the value of the Investment Account ( whichever is greater ) on the date of death. However, if the Additional basis option is chosen Sum Assured Plus the Investment Account value will be payable to the dependants.The Plan gives you the flexibility of choosing from a wide range, the level of life cover best suited to your circumstances. Alternatively, the Sum Assured could be paid on death on an additional basis. TERMINAL ILLNESS If the Life Assured is diagnosed as having a rapidly progressing or incurable illness
where in the opinion of the company, life expectancy is less than 6 months then 50% of the
life cover will be paid in advance. The balance of life cover is payable on death. This
feature is a standard part of Optima Investment and Protection Plan. INDEXATION This option enables you to automatically update your benefits every year regardless of your state of health. This gives you the peace of mind that you are able to hedge against inflation and maintain the real value of your investment. If this option is selected, regular contributions will increase on each plan
anniversary by either 5% or 10% of the original level of contribution. BONUS These bonuses will help to give a substantial boost over the longer term to your savings in your Investment Account. After the fifth plan anniversary a bonus allocation of 3% of the initial contribution is made every alternate year. If you are investing more than US $ 2,500 per annum, the bonus applicable will be 5% of the initial premium. These bonuses will help to give a substantial boost over the longer term to your savings in your Investment Account. RETIREMENT INCOME At the maturity of the plan you may need a regular retirement income as opposed to a
lump-sum. OPTIMA gives you the facility of applying the accumulated value of your
Investment Account to provide a pension to help you maintain your standard of living on
retirement. We can arrange for this pension income to be paid to you in any part of the
world, subject to the laws of that country. EARLY TERMINATION Although the Plan is designed to maximize returns until maturity. Alliance recognizes that you may be faced with unforeseen circumstances which prevent you from continuing with the Plan. In this event you have the option to exercise any of the following alternatives : Encash your plan for the value of the Investment Account less a surrender charge. Stop paying the contribution but continue with the Life cover. Under this Automatic Cover Continuance option, the cost of the life cover and administration charges are met from your accumulated Investment Account and the Life cover will continue until the value of your account is exhausted. Make the Plan paid up. Stop the contributions and leave your Investment Account to
continue to benefit from the investment growth of the Fund. Additional Benefits In addition to the flexibility of payment amount and period which best suits your circumstances, you can also tailor the Plan by choosing from a comprehensive range of additional benefits. Accidental Death Benefit ( ADB ): This benefit provides that if death occurs as a result of an accident, the Basic sum assured is doubled. Accidental Death and Dismemberment Benefit ( ADDB ): This benefit adds another layer of protection to the ADB option by covering a range of disabilities. Under this option, if you become disable as a result of an accident, the additional benefit payable is either 100% or 50% of the Basic sum assured depending on the type of disability. Triple Accident Benefit ( TAB ): This option pays additional benefits in the event of Accidental Death, Accidental Dismemberment and Accidental Total or Temporary Disability as follows : CRITICAL ILLNESS BENEFIT The benefit payable, subject to a survival period of 31 days, is the Sum Assured for the Critical Illness Benefit, after confirmed diagnosis or occurrence of a critical illness or specified surgery. WAIVER OF PREMIUM Illness or Disability can have a serious effect on savings provisions as it may prevent you from working for any length of time. More immediate financial obligations will have to take priority. This benefit provides that your contributions would be maintained for you, should you fall ill or have an accident and are unable to work for more than three months. Contributions will be paid by Alliance on your behalf until your return to work or your 60th birthday, whichever is earlier. This means that whether or not you continue to enjoy good health your investment objectives will be achieved. FAMILY INCOME BENFIT In addition to the lump-sum payable on death, your dependents may also require a regular monthly income to maintain their lifestyle. This additional benefit will provide a monthly income payable for the remaining term of the Plan, subject to a maximum age of 70. CRITICAL ILLNESS COVER Most of us realize the need of providing secutiry for our dependents in the event of our untimely death. Unfortunately, few think about what would happen if a serious illness were to strike. Although the financial impact could be just as devastating, life assurance would not provide the cash life-line which would ease the situation. Serious illness is something we prefer not to think about, but statistics show that the changes of being affected are extremely high. The Critical Illness option would provide a sizeable cash sum just when you need it most, helping to relieve the financial burden of a health crisis, if you were diagnosed as suffering from one of the following :
ENCASHMENT The cash value of the Plan is the bid value of units in your Investment Account If the Plan is terminated early, a surrender charge is levied to recoup the costs which
would otherwise have been recovered over the period of the Plan. The early surrender
charge, expressed as a percentage of the cash value is shown below DEATH BENEFIT The Basic sum assured chosen is a multiple of the annual premium with a minimum and maximum range specified for each age. The ranges are as follows
The benefit payable on death will be the Basic Sum Assured or the full bid value of the units whichever is the greater. However, if the additional basis option is elected, Sum Assured plus the Investment Account Value will be payable to the dependants. The Sum Assured in respect of any additional benefits would be in addition to the basic
death benefit. TECHNICAL DETAILS ENTRY AGE Minimum - 18 years next birthday Maximum - 65 years next birthday TERM The term of the Plan can be for any period from 10 years onwards, subject to a maximum age of 75 at maturity. |
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