Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the 750 military personnel sent to Sierra Leone have full life insurance cover.

It is ultimately a matter for individual Service Personnel whether they choose to purchase personal accident and/or life insurance cover.

However, the Department recognises that we also have a duty of care to ensure that personal accident and life insurance cover is available to those service personnel who consider they require it. The Ministry of Defence therefore has a contract with Aon Ltd for a Personal Accident and Optional Life and Critical Illness Insurance, named PAX. A separate contract for Life insurance, named SLI365, is in place, managed by Willis Ltd and underwritten by Sterling Insurance Group. The cover which these schemes provide is voluntary and separate from the benefits provided by the Government. It is also possible that Service Personnel may have secured accident cover/life insurance through other means.

Separately, the Ministry of Defence provides compensation for personnel injured due to service through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.