DKV Vida — life insurance: a capital sum for your family if you are gone

What this policy is

DKV Vida is life insurance covering death. If the person the family budget rests on is gone, the insurer pays the family the capital sum chosen when the policy was taken out. The point is not the payment itself but that it lets life stay as it was. The mortgage keeps being paid, the children finish their studies, the home stays the home, and the family does not have to sell in a hurry to clear debts. The benefit is paid on death from any cause, not only from an accident.

Three benefits people usually do not know about

This policy has three mechanisms that come into play earlier or faster than the main payment. Advance on terminal illness. If doctors give a diagnosis that leaves no hope, the insured can receive 50% of the capital while still alive — for treatment, for care, for whatever they decide. It is a rare option, and it works in favour of the person themselves rather than their heirs. Funeral advance of up to €4,000. The main payment takes time to process, but burial costs arise immediately. This money reaches the beneficiary at once, without waiting for the full procedure. Advance for inheritance tax. In Spain, inheritance and gift tax is paid before the estate is accepted. Families whose money "exists but is frozen" are the first to run into this. The policy allows capital to be advanced specifically for that payment.

What can be added

The main cover is death from any cause. Added to it, by choice: Absolute and permanent disability. The same capital, but paid during life, if the person can no longer work at all. Double and triple capital. If death results from an accident, the capital doubles. If it happens in a road accident, it triples. There are variants that apply the same rule to full disability. Serious illness. Cancer, coronary artery surgery, bypass, myocardial infarction, kidney failure and others. A share of the capital is advanced, chosen when taking out the policy: 10, 25, 50 or 100 per cent.

Services included in the policy

This is not health insurance, but the range of services is unusually broad. Online will — free of charge. With legal advice and with notary costs covered. For someone living in Spain who also owns property in another country this is not a formality: a will drawn up without regard to Spanish law goes on to cost the heirs months of trouble. Psychological support. Face to face for the insured in cases of disability, serious illness, depression or suicide prevention. And for relatives in the event of death. Telephone psychology line, 24 hours, 365 days. With no limit on the number or length of calls, and not only for the insured but for their parents, spouse or partner, children, siblings and grandchildren. Support for the family. On the death of the insured, the family is assigned someone who helps with arranging the funeral, with paperwork and with grief. Telephone legal advice on any everyday matter, not only on the claim. Plus medical telephone lines (DKV doctor around the clock, paediatric, pregnancy, women's, sports, dietary, tropical, psycho-emotional) and reduced prices on laser eye surgery, plastic surgery, audiology, childminding, gait analysis, pelvic floor recovery, quitting smoking, sleep apnoea treatment, assisted reproduction, orthopaedics and second medical opinion.

Who needs it

The classic case is someone aged 35 to 55 who holds a family together: there is a mortgage or loans, children at school or university, someone who depends on them financially. The second case is a business of one's own. If the business rests on a single person, their loss brings down not only the family budget but also the commitments to employees and partners. The policy sits well alongside three others: Renta, when it is already clear that illness takes away income but the risk of death remains uncovered; Decesos, when the funeral side is covered but the family's financial protection is not; and health insurance, if you want to add a capital sum for the worst case to your medical cover.

What to know before taking it out

It can be taken out between the ages of 18 and 64. The contract is annually renewable term: it renews every year and the premium is recalculated by age. That means the payment rises over the years — and that it is better value to take the policy out earlier rather than once you have finally got round to thinking about it. It is not issued to people in high-risk occupations and sports or to those already suffering from a serious illness. But refusal is not automatic: DKV looks at each case individually and often offers terms, albeit with a loading. Payment can be spread annually, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly.