2. Crisis Protection Plan and Stand Alone Crisis Protection Plan

2.1 Guaranteed Personal Insurability Benefit

Under the Guaranteed Personal Insurability Benefit you can increase the Benefit Amount of the Crisis Protection Plan, subject to:

• application in writing for an increase being made within 30 days of an Allowable Event (as described below), or within 30 days of the Policy anniversary following an Allowable Event;
• the life insured being less than age 55 at the time of an Allowable Event;
• the increase being up to the lesser of:
  - 25% of the original Benefit Amount;
  - $200,000;
  - five times the annual amount of salary increase (if applicable); and
  - the amount of mortgage being taken out or increased (if applicable);
• total crisis cover on the life insured, (including the cover with TOWER and any other organisation), being less than $2,000,000, and
• evidence, satisfactory to us, of the Allowable Event, being provided.

For all increases under this Benefit, the maximum amount by which you can increase the sum is the lower of:

• the original Benefit Amount; and
• $1,000,000

subject to total crisis cover (including cover with TOWER and any other organisation) not exceeding $2,000,000.

Only one Guaranteed Insurability Benefit (either Personal or Business) may be exercised in any 12 month period.

The premium for the new Benefit Amount will be calculated in line with the Plan Conditions and will take into account any extra premiums charged and special provisions that apply to the Crisis Protection Plan.

If cover increases as a result of Guaranteed Personal Insurability, changes in the health, occupation or pastimes of the life insured will not be taken into account.

Allowable events are:

• the birth of a child where the life insured is a parent;
• the adoption of a child by the life insured;
• a dependent child of the life insured starts secondary school;
• marriage of the life insured;
• divorce of the life insured;
• a change in employment status of the life insured where the life insured’s salary increases by at least $10,000 a year;
• the life insured completes a post graduate degree; and
• taking out, or increasing, a mortgage by the life insured (either alone or jointly with another person) on the purchase of a home which is the primary residence of the life insured.

During the first six months after exercising the Guaranteed Personal Insurability Benefit, the increased portion of the Benefit Amount will only be paid in the event of the life insured suffering any of the listed Crisis Protection Plan events that are caused by Accident.

The Guaranteed Personal Insurability Benefit cannot be exercised while premiums are being waived under the Premium Relief Option.

If a loading or an exclusion has been applied to your cover, this benefit is not available.

This benefit is not available if your Crisis Protection Plan cover results from applying the Crisis Buy-Back Option.

2.2 Child’s Crisis Option

The Benefit Amount under the Child’s Crisis Option will be paid when an insured child suffers a Crisis Event under the Child’s Crisis Option as described below.

If an insured child suffers more than one Crisis Event, the Benefit Amount is only paid for the Crisis Event which occurs first.

Crisis Events under the Child’s Crisis Option are:

• Death
• Terminal Illness
• Aplastic Anaemia
• Benign Brain Tumour
• Blindness
• Cancer*
• Cardiomyopathy
• Chronic Kidney Failure
• Coma
• Encephalitis and Meningitis
• Heart Attack*
• Loss of Hearing
• Loss of Limbs
• Loss of Limbs and Sight
• Loss of Speech
• Major Head Trauma
• Major Organ Transplant
• Meningococcal Disease
• Paralysis (the Paralysis Support Benefit will not apply)
• Severe Burns
• Stroke*
• Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis

* In the case of these events, no benefit would be paid under the Plan if the condition occurred or was diagnosed, or the circumstances leading to diagnosis became apparent, within three months after:

• the Plan start date;
• the date of an applied for increase but only in respect of the increase; or
• the most recent date that we have agreed to reinstate either the Plan or Policy.

Grief Counselling is available to the immediate family members of the insured child. This counselling is provided to assist family members to come to terms with their reaction to grief which arises from the death of, or other Crisis Event occurring to the child. We will reimburse the costs of the initial consultation up to a maximum of $500. The consultation must be with an independent, qualified counselling organisation.

On expiry of the Crisis Protection Plan, all cover provided under the Child’s Crisis Option will cease.

On the anniversary of the Policy start date immediately prior to the insured child’s 19th birthday, if no benefit has been paid under the Child’s Crisis Option for the insured child, you can elect to continue the Crisis cover for your child under the Crisis Protection Plan. If the Crisis Protection Plan is no longer sold by TOWER, continued cover will be available under TOWER’s Crisis product that replaces it.

If the Benefit Amount under the new Crisis Protection Plan (or other replacement Policy) is less than or the same as the original Benefit Amount, the insured child’s health will not be underwritten, but we will require details of smoking status, occupation and pursuits.

However, any increase to the Benefit Amount for such a Policy will be subject to full underwriting. This applies in all circumstances including (but not limited to):

• if the Benefit Amount is increased at the time of continuing cover under the Crisis Protection Plan (or replacement policy); or
• the Benefit Amount is increased during the lifetime of that new Policy, regardless of whether the terms and conditions of the new Policy allow a guaranteed increase of the Benefit Amount without underwriting.

These conditions override the terms of any new or continued Policy arising from the exercising of the continuation option under the Child’s Crisis Option.

The premium rate under the new Crisis Protection Plan (or other replacement Policy) will be the standard rate for that Policy applying for the sex, smoking status and any other premium rating factors that apply at the time the continuation option is exercised. Any special conditions, loadings or exclusions that applied to the original Child’s Crisis Policy will continue to apply under the new Crisis Protection Plan Policy.

If you wish to exercise this continuation option, you must apply to us in writing within 30 days of the Policy anniversary prior to the insured child’s 19th birthday.

2.3 Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy means impaired ventricular function of variable aetiology resulting in permanent and irreversible physical impairment to the degree of at least Class 3 of the New York Heart Association classification of cardiac impairment.

2.4 Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

Primary Pulmonary Hypertension means the life insured has Primary Pulmonary Hypertension with substantial right ventricular enlargement established by investigations including cardiac catheterisation, resulting in permanent irreversible physical impairment to the degree of at least Class 3 of the New York Heart Association Classification of Cardiac Impairment.

2.5 Total and Permanent Disability and Totally and Permanently Disabled

Under the Total and Permanent Disability Option mean that solely because of a Sickness or Injury, the life insured has not been in any occupation for three consecutive months and, in our opinion, after consideration of medical and other evidence, is incapacitated to such an extent as to render the life insured unlikely ever to be able to work in any occupation for which they are reasonably suited by training, education or experience which would pay remuneration at a rate greater than 25% of the life insured’s earnings during their last 12 months of work.

When ‘Own Occupation’ is shown in the Policy Certificate, the reference above to ‘any occupation for which they are reasonably suited by training, education or experience which would pay remuneration at a rate greater than 25% of the life insured’s earnings during their last 12 months of work’ will be replaced by ‘their Own Occupation’.