Before you start - important information

All benefits at a glance

ChildShield pays a fixed lump sum for each of the events below (the insured events). The amount depends on the level of cover you choose: ChildShield Standard or ChildShield Plus - the coverage is the same, Plus simply pays double the benefit. There's no limit on the number of children covered or the number of claims under one policy.

How ChildShield works

ChildShield is a standalone product that can complement existing policies or be taken out on its own. It's designed to simply and effectively protect your children when the unexpected happens - accidents and some serious conditions. The policy pays a lump sum directly to you (the policyholder), helping you cope financially and minimise disruption to normal family life - how you spend the money is entirely up to you, at the moment your child needs you most.

Section 1 - Broken bones

The benefit is paid if your child sustains bodily injury caused by an accident (or as a direct result of self-inflicted injury or attempted suicide - after 12 months from the policy start date) resulting in a major or minor broken bone.

• The nose - a broken nose is not covered.
• Bones broken due to osteoporosis, brittle bone disease or other degenerative bone disorders.
• Broken bones from a non-accidental cause, from an accident which was itself caused by an underlying illness, or linked to a previous injury.
• Bruised bones and micro-fractures, and deliberate breaks as part of a surgical procedure.

Section 2 - Hospitalisation

The policy pays for each full 24-hour period your child spends as an in-patient in a UK hospital, up to a maximum of 90 days for the same or related cause. The rate depends on whether the child is in a non-ICU ward or an Intensive Care Unit (including PICU and NICU units for children and babies) - for any given day, one rate applies, never both.

When cover starts

• Stays due to accident - cover begins from the policy start date.
• Stays directly connected to a valid serious-condition claim - cover begins from the policy start date.
• Stays due to sickness - cover starts 1 year after the policy start date.
• Stays due to pregnancy-related complications of the eligible child (including childbirth, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, placenta praevia) - cover after 12 months; the first four days are not payable, with payment starting from the fifth consecutive day, which counts as Day 1 of the claim.
• Stays for the treatment of self-inflicted injury (sustained as a direct result of self-harm or attempted suicide) - cover starts 1 year after the policy start date.
• Stays due to voluntary organ donation by the child to their parents, siblings or their own children - cover begins from the policy start date.

What this section doesn't cover

• Routine care for a newborn - e.g. the child being born in hospital and remaining there until they can be allowed home.
• Hospital stays outside the UK.
• Admissions to facilities that are not hospitals - e.g. care homes or rehabilitation units.
• Once treatment of a self-inflicted injury is complete - further days in hospital to treat the underlying cause of the self-harm.

Section 3 - Diagnosis of a serious condition

MetLife will pay the amount shown on your Policy Schedule (£5,000 for Standard, £10,000 for Plus) if a qualified medical practitioner diagnoses your eligible child with one of the following serious conditions during the term of the policy. Only the original MetLife definitions are binding.

What the policy doesn't cover - general exclusions

In addition to the exclusions in each section above, the policy does not cover any claim resulting directly or indirectly, in any part, from:

• Psychiatric illness, depression, mental or anxiety disorders, or stress-related conditions (except: UK hospitalisation for the treatment of self-inflicted injury, and broken bones, burns or paralysis as a result of self-inflicted injury).
• Unreasonable failure to seek or follow medical advice - including failure to obtain advice after symptoms have been noticed or injury suffered (for a child under 18, this requirement applies to you).
• Assault or fighting (except in genuine self-defence or participation in organised sport, such as boxing or martial arts).
• Active participation in an actual or attempted illegal act, including road traffic offences.
• War, invasion, act of foreign enemy, civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection or coup.
• Travel to a country where the FCDO advises against all travel, or against travel following the declaration of a pandemic by the WHO.
• The child drinking alcohol, resulting in physical or mental impairment which causes the accident, or loss of inhibitions leading to actions the child might not otherwise have taken.
• Solvent abuse or drug taking (unless taken as prescribed by a qualified medical practitioner and not for the treatment of drug addiction).
• Contests of speed (cars, motorcycles, quad bikes, motor or wind powered boats, jet skis, horses - other than dressage, show jumping, team chasing and cross country), mountaineering, outdoor cliff or rock climbing, or potholing.
• Any form of military, army, naval or air force service.

Significant limitations and restrictions

• Maximum cover - 4 units. A Standard policy provides 1x unit of cover; a Plus policy 2x units. A child can be covered by more than one ChildShield policy (e.g. one taken out by each parent), but the maximum benefit payable for any single insured event is based on 4x units in total.
• Hospitalisation limit - 90 days for the same or related cause of admission, per child.
• You must have at least one eligible child at all times for cover to remain active. When all your children are no longer eligible (likely on your youngest child's 23rd birthday), you must tell MetLife and end the policy - it does not end automatically (except in certain cases, e.g. your 99th birthday), so without telling them premiums would continue to be collected. Overpaid premiums are refunded.
• Every claim needs to be supported by satisfactory, dated evidence from a qualified medical practitioner. MetLife pays the costs of obtaining medical records.
• The level of cover cannot be changed during the life of a ChildShield policy.

Levels and cost - Standard or Plus?

There are two levels of cover. The coverage is identical - ChildShield Plus pays double the benefit at less than twice the cost. Your selected level determines the monthly premium and benefit amounts, and is shown on your Policy Schedule.

• Payment: premiums payable monthly in advance, by Direct Debit from a UK bank account, in pounds sterling.
• Premium changes: MetLife can increase or decrease the premium for existing policies no more than every 5 years, under circumstances set out in the terms; any change is not based on your individual circumstances.
• No fixed term: the policy has no fixed term - cover for each child ends no later than their 23rd birthday. When you take out the policy you'll receive a personalised illustration of the total premium to the 23rd birthday of your youngest child.
• Missed premiums: you have 30 days to pay each premium. If unpaid, the policy automatically ends as at the date the premium was due. If you claim within the 30-day period, missed premiums are deducted from the claim payment.
• Cancellation: you can cancel at any time. Cancelling within 30 days of receiving your documents = a full refund of premiums (provided you haven't claimed); after 30 days, no refund is paid.
• The policy ends at the earliest of: you no longer having any eligible children, your 99th birthday, ceasing to be a UK resident, your death, stopping premiums, or instructing MetLife to end the policy.

How to make a claim

Contact MetLife as soon as possible after the event - by phone: 0800 917 0100 (option 2), by email: claims@metlife.uk.com, or in writing: MetLife Claims Team, PO Box 1411, Sunderland SR5 9RB. You'll be sent a claim form to complete. Payment is made to you as the policyholder (or, if you have died, to the child's legal guardian), into a UK bank account. We'll gladly manage the claim with you - at no extra charge.