Level Term Life Insurance Guide Discussion

dunstonh · 17 December 2010 at 9:34PM

We want 250,000 cover until retirement, but should we look for increasing benefit to increase inline with inflation, and is this likely to put our premiums up significantly (which we wouldn't be able to afford)

It will put it up a bit but not much normally.

ALso, I looked online through here and did a quote myself and it was £13 a month cheaper than that of a financial advisor, I know that it was a one off fee which will make a small difference - but why so different?

IFAs are cheaper than FAs. FAs are typically the most expensive distribution channel. Internet quote portals are typically cheapest but thats because you dont have the consumer protection that you would get on an advice case and there is less admin. An adviser carries a lifetime of liability. Even into their retirement. A DIY case makes you liable for getting it right. With a DIY case you have that liability.

Other reasons it could be cheaper is that you are leaving options off your quote (things like critical illness cover or waiver of premium). Or, you are comparing reviewable premiums with guaranteed or even renewable premiums. A common DIY mistake is to think that terminal illness cover is the same as critical illness cover.

Can anyone help or have any recommendations?

An adviser can help and give recommendations.

ds1980 · 6 January 2011 at 10:10PM

I have been offered Life insurance many time but always vowed motto get it until we had dependant. We are now expectingbour first in the summer and see this as something that would now be good for us to have.

Life insurance has always puzzled me I think down to you buying something in case of death!! However it's about time we looked at this but still not sure what we need. We hve a number of properties that create income and I don't see the life insurance having any impact on those nor death to one of us making any difference in how we manage the houses.

The other thing that never seems to get mentioned are the benefits that would ensue due to single parent status etc or obviously somebody else comes into your partners life who would then takeover some of the "slack". Therefore understanding "how much" would be needed is harder than it seems.

With all this in mind £100k I'm sure is more than enough. If memory serves me correctly it was goig to be about £60 a month when I saw a broker but looking at friends and best buy tables they don't pay anywhere near that. More like £10 per month. This seems about right to me and what I would be willing (perhaps not best choice of words) to pay. Anyway if anyone could point me in the right diretion or offer up any help it would be appreciated.

Ds1980

dunstonh · 6 January 2011 at 10:46PM

The other thing that never seems to get mentioned are the benefits that would ensue due to single parent status etc or obviously somebody else comes into your partners life who would then takeover some of the "slack". Therefore understanding "how much" would be needed is harder than it seems.

It never gets mentioned as its assume that your partner wont be in any hurry to jump someone else in the foreseeable future following your death. Also, as you will soon realise, its not about you or the partner as much as it is about the children.

With all this in mind £100k I'm sure is more than enough.

5k a year income from that. If thats enough then ok.

If memory serves me correctly it was goig to be about £60 a month when I saw a broker but looking at friends and best buy tables they don't pay anywhere near that. More like £10 per month.

That is obviously not comparing like for like.

ds1980 · 7 January 2011 at 1:14PM

Typical ifa response and as unhelpful as was to be expected. Of course it's not assumed but it will happen and sooner rather than later. I'm perfectly cabable of realising it's about the kids which is why it's the news of our first which has prompted me into looking into this. Not because i think my wife is going to die! However I disagree it's them who you need to think of. The surviving parent is surely the person who is going to have to provide etc? Anyway when you say £5k a year is this based on annuity rates? I would only need it until they are dependant so about 20 years, obviously this will extend as we have more hopefully. Like for like. I'm sure it was. It might have had critical illness but that's a waste of time if you ask me. Anyway I'll have a look around for non ifa products. Ta

shelly42 · 7 January 2011 at 1:38PM

ds1980 wrote: »

Anyway I'll have a look around for non ifa products.

I'll look forward to your thread in a years time where you are moaning about the product you have bough being unsuitable.

Honestly, you've come on to a forum asked a question and someone has answered it for you. What did you expect?

dunstonh · 7 January 2011 at 1:48PM

Typical ifa response and as unhelpful as was to be expected

I only answered what you typed.

Of course it's not assumed but it will happen and sooner rather than later.

Its great you feel that way about your partner. What happens if they dont feel the same way you do?

However I disagree it's them who you need to think of. The surviving parent is surely the person who is going to have to provide etc?

it is the kids because its only now that you want life assurance. Without the kids you were not bothered. The provision is for the benefit of the children.

Anyway when you say £5k a year is this based on annuity rates?

No. You wouldnt typically use an annuity for that.

Anyway I'll have a look around for non ifa products. Ta

Fair enough. It seems a bit daft to do that though as it will cost you more (assuming you get your needs right and have the right trust documents put in place).

pushedtothelimit · 30 January 2011 at 4:57PM

Hi, I was looking for a bit of advice as this all seems a lot more complicated than I thought! I suspect we will seek out an IFA, but wanted to test the waters here first.

Our plan was always that when we got married, we would get life insurance/assurance for my husband as he has a good wage and while his death wouldn't leave me destitute, I would certainly have to change things. That was a lovely plan, but 2 months before our wedding my husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. As a cancer, it has a 98% cure rate.

He has just passed 1 year since diagnosis and it's highly unlikely it will come back now (she says tentatively...). We want to get life insurance/assurance for him, especially as we are now thinking we'd like to start a family.

He is 25, a non-smoker and otherwise fit and healthy. Are all cancers considered equal? In his instance, this cancer is highly curable and unlikely to strike again in the same individual. I'm really worried this terrible luck will scupper our plans for life insurance and potentially a mortgage when we come to it.

We don't have a mortgage. DH has a separate income protection insurance which we didn't have to use.

We would want something to pay out a sum on his death, so I wouldn't have to worry too much. He currently has a death in benefit thingy with his work which would pay out 2 x his annual salary.

Any input would be valued, and I would share my findings with a testicular cancer survival group I am involved with - a large group of young men who are in a similar situation and not sure what to do!

dunstonh · 30 January 2011 at 5:30PM

Are all cancers considered equal?

No.

I'm really worried this terrible luck will scupper our plans for life insurance and potentially a mortgage when we come to it.

There are insurers that take on high risk cases and consideration for cancer has a lot to do with timescale since the diagnosis and what happens afterwards. Typically though you are talking in terms of 5-10 years rather than 1 year for the mainstream providers. The high risk providers look at it (and price it) differently.

As each case would be looked at individually, it would be difficult to say what the decisions would be. Plus, as mentioned, the insurance companies will not all act the same way.

pushedtothelimit · 30 January 2011 at 5:49PM

dunstonh wrote: »

No.

There are insurers that take on high risk cases and consideration for cancer has a lot to do with timescale since the diagnosis and what happens afterwards. Typically though you are talking in terms of 5-10 years rather than 1 year for the mainstream providers. The high risk providers look at it (and price it) differently.

As each case would be looked at individually, it would be difficult to say what the decisions would be. Plus, as mentioned, the insurance companies will not all act the same way.

Thanks for your response. It's good to know not all cancers are treated the same.

Research shows that with testicular cancer, if you are clear at 1 year you are between 95-100% sure of being clear for the rest of your life. And even if it does come back, there's around a 98% cure rate again.

Is it possible to have life assurance with recurrence of a specific cancer excluded?

What we're concerned about is if there's a car accident or other unforseen event and don't want to wait 5-10 years to cover for that possibility.

applemaclover · 15 February 2011 at 9:37PM

Hi,

I'm really really confused about all of this stuff!!

Me and my wife are mid 20's and have good salaries and a big mortgage for our house.

We would ideally like to cover our mortgage for the term of the mortgage and then have a separate policy to cover us for a £100k payout.

What I notice is that a lot of the policies are not for life they are just for a certain amount of years. Also we are also thinking of critical illness cover for the mortgage protect, are there better ways of doing what I want to do?

Thanks

Level Term Life Insurance Guide Discussion

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