Should I get life insurance for my parents?

Anne26

Hi there

I'm just after other people's opinions onthis one. My parents are only still young (mum 48 and dad 53).
One of my friends parents sadly passed away recently and the cost of the funeral was huge.

My parents don't have any savings so if the worst happended, financially I would not be able to afford it. I know it sounds a bit morbid (i'm not though honestly), i'm just tryingto think logically.

Does anyone know if it's even possible?

pukkamum

As far as i know you can't take out a policy on someone elses life (too much temptation to bump them off probably!) Maybe you could offer to pay the premiums for them if they take some out themselves.

Anne26

lol, never thought of that.

I'll have to check out prices etc

clairehi

pukkamum wrote: »

As far as i know you can't take out a policy on someone elses life (too much temptation to bump them off probably!) Maybe you could offer to pay the premiums for them if they take some out themselves.

Well DH has a policy on my life so should I worry You can take out a life policy on a spouse or other person with whom you have linked finances, this makes sense as the policy will pay out to you immediately on their death, rather than waiting for probate. this kind of query probably best dealt with on insurance board.

there are also prepaid funeral plans etc. for people who want to sort the costs out before they shuffle off this mortal coil

my dads funeral (in church with burial) recently cost £2K which was covered by Bereavement Payment which my my mum was eligible for - but not everyone is eligible for this iirc, the Job Centre PLus (somewhat inappropriately!) were v helpful to us in advising what we could claim.

floss2

pukkamum wrote: »

As far as i know you can't take out a policy on someone elses life (too much temptation to bump them off probably!) Maybe you could offer to pay the premiums for them if they take some out themselves.

I always understood that it cannot be done without their knowledge, and that the insurers would be legally obliged to inform them......

Maybe you could bring that sad fact about your friend's parent into a conversation - after all, it would be useful to know if they have made provision & plans and where any documents would be kept. You could (if the conversation went the right way) suggest one of the pre-paid funeral plans; my mum had one with Co-op Funeralcare that was a fully paid up life policy, which paid out enough to cover the cost of her funeral (over £2.5k for RC church & cremation) + a bit towards the cost of the gathering afterwards.

miserly_mum

As Floss said you can take a policy out on someone aslong as they are aware of it.

We recently took out a policy (with his knowledge) on my FIL. He said he was relieved as he worried about who would pay for his funeral. But obviously not enough to actually take a policy out.

He's 65 and lives on the state pension plus Pension Tax Credits. Basically he pays his bills then drinks the rest. He has no savings and my OH is the only one of his 4 kids who speaks to him, so guess who'll be left to pay for a funeral when the time comes???

OP, i'm wondering why your parents can't take out their own insurance policies? Surely they wouldn't want you to be landed with a big funeral bill like your friend was? My Mother was truly awful with money but always made sure her insurance premiums were up to date as she felt it was her reponsibility not mine to pay for her funeral.

Also the longer they/you leave it the higher the premiums will be.