Friday Five Focus on Protection – 5 Questions in 5 Minutes – 28 Nov 2025

Friday Five Focus on Protection – 5 Questions in 5 Minutes Every Friday

What’s this all about?

Each week, we ask questions relating to one of these topics: Investments, Taxation, Pensions, Protection, or Regulation. This week, our Friday Five is relevant to Protection; this is useful as you prepare for the CII’s R05 exam. The challenge is for you to answer them in 5 minutes. Answers at the bottom of the page.

Questions

IMPORTANT! These questions relate to examinable tax year 2025/26, examinable by the CII until 31 August 2026.

1. Marie has an onshore life assurance policy and Claire has an offshore life assurance policy. The difference in the tax treatment of their funds is
   1. Marie’s fund will be taxed at roughly the basic rate of income tax, while Claire’s fund will have gross roll-up.
   2. Marie’s fund will be taxed, but the tax is reclaimable while Claire’s fund will have a gross roll-up.
   3. Claire’s fund will be taxed at roughly the basic rate of income tax, while Marie’s fund will benefit from gross roll-up.
   4. Marie’s fund will be taxed, and the tax is non-reclaimable, while Claire’s fund will be taxed but the tax is reclaimable.

2. If a claim is made on a critical illness policy, which factor would NOT usually be checked by the office that issued the policy?
   1. The diagnosed illness is likely to cause death.
   2. If the diagnosed illness is covered by the policy.
   3. Whether the diagnosed illness was not a pre-existing condition.
   4. Whether the policyholder disclosed all relevant facts when applying for the policy.

3. Belinda, a single parent, has 2 children aged 8 and 10, has taken out a personal accident and sickness policy for herself. If she wanted to extend the cover of the policy to cover her children, what restriction might there be?
   1. The lump sums payable on the events covered will be half the amount paid to her.
   2. The cover may be restricted to accidents only.
   3. The cover may exclude permanent disablement.
   4. The children can only be covered if they live with her permanently.

4. The improvements in mortality rates over the last 30 years has led to more aggressive underwriting processes which result in more lives being
   1. rated.
   2. declined.
   3. accepted at lower rates.
   4. accepted at normal rates.

5. Anne wants an income protection policy which includes an element of protection against inflation. What option may be available to her in order to fulfil this need?
   1. An amount of increase chosen by the insurer every five years.
   2. A rise in benefits selected by her every year.
   3. An automatic increase at stated periods without further underwriting.
   4. An automatic elevation of benefits based on the occurrence of stated life events.

Answers

1. A; See R05 Study Text, Chp 5; Rationale: Marie’s onshore fund will be taxed at roughly the basic rate of income tax, while Claire’s offshore fund will have gross roll-up, meaning tax is not generally deducted at source (although a small non-reclaimable withholding tax may be taken).
2. A; See R05 Study Text, Chp 7; Rationale: Providing the claimant outlives the 14–30 days survival period, whether their illness is likely to be terminal is not relevant to the claim.
3. B; See R05 Study Text, Chp 9; Rationale: Under a personal accident and sickness policy, children’s cover is likely to be restricted to accidents only.
4. A; See R05 Study Text, Chp 1; Rationale: The improvements in mortality rates over the last 30 years have led to more aggressive underwriting practices. These have resulted in more lives being rated with only the very healthiest paying lower premiums.
5. C; See R05 Study Text, Chp 6; Rationale: At outset, Anne may be able to choose an automatic increase at stated periods. The increase will be given without the need for her to give further medical evidence (i.e., without further underwriting) and will help her cover keep pace with inflation.

Grab the resources you need!

If you’ve been keeping up with our protection-themed quizzes, take the next step with our CII R05 E-Mocks. They’re built to mirror the real exam structure — helping you gauge your readiness, fine-tune your knowledge, and approach the test with confidence. Start with the free taster to experience the question style and format first-hand.

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