Why Turtleneck gives money back to its customers

Turtleneck is a product born from a revolutionary idea by the founders of Squarelife Insurance: bringing the concept of life insurance back to its origins, when the concept of insurance as such did not yet exist but communities of people still protected each other.When a person passed away, the members of the community helped the family of the deceased, each as they could. This powerful concept of mutual aid offered community members the awareness that if something went wrong, their loved ones would still receive support from the community.From this concept Turtleneck was born: the idea is to offer a life insurance product that provides all policyholders with life cover, but instead of requiring a fixed premium every year, asks each policyholder to contribute a small amount every time a death occurs in the community. This way everyone pays little and everyone is covered. Turtleneck retains only 30 EUR/CHF per premium, the minimum needed to run the product autonomously. We believe this is the purest and most honest form of life insurance.

How the premium cashback works in practice

Reproducing the old insurance model 1:1 was not feasible, so with Turtleneck we inverted it, even though the end result is the same. At the beginning of the year each policyholder pays a premium relative to their insured sum and their mortality risk (which is based on their advancing age). Turtleneck takes this money (the premium paid at the start of the year) and every time a claim occurs within the community, uses a small part of it (everyone pays little) to pay the beneficiaries of the deceased policyholder. A portion is also contributed by Squarelife, the insurance company behind the Turtleneck product.At the end of the year, all the premium money that the policyholder paid at the start of the year and that we did not need to use to pay death claims (perhaps there were fewer than expected or none at all) is returned personally to the policyholder. We call this mechanism the premium cashback, which is deducted directly from the renewal premium or returned to you when you decide to cancel the policy.
Good to knowThe refund is not a guaranteed return and cannot be calculated in advance. The amount varies each year based on actual claims from the community of policyholders. What is guaranteed is the mechanism: if there is a surplus, it is returned. It is written in the general terms and conditions of the contract, it is not a temporary promotion.

When you receive the refund

The refund is calculated instantly at the time of policy renewal and is communicated to the policyholder by email, deducting it directly from the following year's premium.

Why most policies don't work this way

In traditional fixed-term life insurance policies, the premium you pay is calculated to cover the risk for the entire duration of the contract. If you don't die, that money stays with the company: it is the price of the cover you had. This is the standard market model and there is nothing wrong with it, but it means that 100% of the premium is a sunk cost if nothing happens.Turtleneck can work differently because it is annually renewable: the premium covers one year at a time. There is no "reserve" to set aside for future years. If at the end of the year the collective had few claims, that money is not needed and can be returned.

How much you receive in practice

The refund amount varies each year. It is not possible to give a fixed percentage because it depends entirely on the collective's claims. In years when claims are very low the refund is higher, in years with more claims it is lower or potentially zero.What can be said is that the mechanism has worked concretely every year since the product was created. It is not a theoretical promise, it is a verifiable historical result.

What the premium refund is not

It is not an investment with an expected return. You are not investing, you are insuring yourself. The refund is an additional benefit, not the reason you take out the policy.
It is not a guarantee that you will always receive something. In a year with particularly high claims, the refund could be reduced or absent.
It is not an incentive to avoid claims. The mechanism is collective: your refund depends on the behaviour of the entire group of policyholders, not on yours individually.

Frequently asked questions

Does the refund apply to both Instant and Classic?

Yes, the mechanism applies to both variants. The calculation is separate for each collective (Instant and Classic have distinct risk pools), but the principle is the same.

Do I need to do anything to receive the refund?

No, the refund is automatic. You don't need to request it, you don't need to fill in any forms. If there is a surplus at the end of the year, it is credited to all policyholders who were active during that year.

If I cancel mid-year, am I entitled to the refund?

Yes, in proportion to the period during which you were insured during the year. If you were covered for 6 months out of 12, your refund will be calculated based on the premiums you paid during those 6 months.