Life assurance for the over 50's

Peroxwhygenesis

I was hoping someone could help me find a good deal on life assurance for the over 50's. Are there any particulary good websites or brokers who specialize?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

dunstonh

Any IFA can provide advice and set up a life assurance plan. If whole of life assurance is the required need then an IFA is the best place to get it as there is very little coverage of whole of life assurance on the web.

If its a rubbish over 50s life insurance plan then dont waste your money unless you have no other choice.

Money_Watch

There are a few providers who offer these products, here are some examples:

LV=: http://www.lv.com/lifeinsurance/50plus

The Post Office: http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/jump1;jsessionid=KKANRYCZUGB5IFB2IGVEQ3QUHRA0WQ2K?catId=19300223&mediaId=58700696

ASDA: http://www.asdafinance.com/over-50s-life-cover.html

Be sure to check the terms & conditions of all of these to make sure they do exactly what you want them to.

dunstonh

All those ones above are life insurance plans. Not life assurance. All of them are poor value compared to life assurance unless there is some medical reason that prevents life assurance from being an option.

Peroxwhygenesis

I'm not sure of the differenced between assurance and insurance; basically I wanted a policy that will pay out a lump sum to my son when I die.

dunstonh

I'm not sure of the differenced between assurance and insurance

Its vague and an increasing Americanism isnt helping. Life assurance is guaranteed to pay out on death. Life insurance will have terms which means it may not pay out.

You tend to find that plans that are called "over 50s plans" are not medically underwritten at point of sale and have qualifying periods. This makes them insurance. They also tend to be very poor value for money. This is why they can afford the likes of Michael Parkinson on TV adverts and give away rubbish for getting a quote or taking one out.

A proper whole of life assurance should be used if there is a whole of life need. If a term need exists (i.e. one for a specific period) then a level term assurance should be used.

*MF*

Hi ...

Maybe some general background information might help.

This from the FSA - but it is very basic:

http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/products/insurance/types/income/life_insurance.html

This from the Financial Ombudsman - again basic comments but also shows some of the pitfalls:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/39/whole-of-life-39.htm

FWIW - neither of those sites tell the whole story and dunstonh is imho steering you in the right direction - the IFA community - but shop around.

dunstonh

This from the FSA - but it is very basic:

http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk...insurance.html

spot the mistake from the FSA. They refer to whole of life assurance as insurance. Under any definition, whole of life is the one that always tends to be called assurance.

davida25

I have just discovered that my Father who is 87 has one of these policies with Axa Sun Life and the sum assured is only £850.

He took it out after he had a heart attack back in 1991 and I calculated that he has paid in £1899 to date.

I think it is an absolute disgrace that they can continue to take this amount of money from an elderly person.

In my opinion there should be a maximum amount that can be paid in once you have reached the sum assured in premiums, after all they have had the use of the policy holders money fro all those years.

I telephoned them today and asked if the policy would die were my Father to stop making payments and they said that they would write to him to advise of the "Surrender Value".

He should find out within the next 7 - 10 days, I will post the result here.

dunstonh

I think it is an absolute disgrace that they can continue to take this amount of money from an elderly person.

Why? He chose to buy it and they come with a warning that if you live past a certain point you may end up paying more than you get out.

In my opinion there should be a maximum amount that can be paid in once you have reached the sum assured in premiums

Whole of life assurance plans often do have a cut off point. However, these over 50s life insurance plans tend not to.

I am no fan of these pretty awful over 50s plans but they do exactly what they tell you they are going to do.

davida25

dunstonh wrote: »

Why? He chose to buy it and they come with a warning that if you live past a certain point you may end up paying more than you get out.

Whole of life assurance plans often do have a cut off point. However, these over 50s life insurance plans tend not to.

I am no fan of these pretty awful over 50s plans but they do exactly what they tell you they are going to do.

True he did choose to buy it however I am not so sure that this is or was made clear at the time of purchase but it is worth taking note of for anybody considering taking one of these policies.