How can I give someone Power of Attorney on my policy?

A power of attorney is a legal document that lets you appoint someone to either help you make decisions about your money or your health, or make those decisions for you. In England, there are two types of power of attorney:

  • Ordinary power of attorney – this gives someone you trust the authority to make decisions for you about your money. People tend to set up an ordinary power of attorney for a short time, such as if they’re going to be in hospital for a few months and want to make sure their bills get paid while they’re away.
  • Lasting power of attorney – this gives someone the ongoing authority to make decisions for you about your money or your health. People tend to set this up either because they’ve decided they don’t want to make those decisions themselves any more, or because they’ve been diagnosed with a condition that means they’ll lose the mental capacity to look after themselves – such as dementia.

There are similar documents in Scotland (called a continuing power of attorney) and Northern Ireland (known as an enduring power of attorney).

Because a lasting power of attorney is a legal document, you’ll need to register it with the Office of the Public Guardian before we can update our records. You can find up-to-date information on appointing and registering a power of attorney at Age UK.

So that we can update our records, you’ll need to send us a certified copy of the document. It’ll need to be stamped on each page by the Office of the Public Guardian within the last three months. We’ll update our records and send it back to you using recorded delivery.

If you’ve got any questions, please get in touch.