If you find yourself in financial difficulty or if you are battling to pay the premiums then you should: Speak to your assurance company and get their permission to stop paying your premiums for a few months. This is called premium bridging. You will only be allowed to do this if there is a cash value in your account. The cash value is calculated as the amount of money you have already paid into the account plus any growth on this money, minus any expenses. Make the policy PAID UP. This means that you stop paying any more premiums. The money you have already saved continues to grow, but obviously your benefits will be reduced because you are not adding new savings any more. A policy can be only made ‘paid up’ if it has a minimum cash value. Terminate the policy. You will no longer pay any premiums and you will be entitled to any money in your account, less all expenses (see explanation in point 1 above) due on your policy.