Insurance confusion hell!!

littlevoice_3

Hi, I would be so grateful for some unbiased advice.

I am aged 44 and on my own with a small child. I have no debts/ credit cards and a little bit in the bank for emergencies. I am moving soon, my new mortgage has 20 yrs to run and is going to be £46,000 . I don't earn loads but I hope my job is fairly secure, although none of us know for sure. My parents are no longer around so I have no one to turn to in emergencies. Unfortunately a fair few of my mums side of the family died after developing cancer (including my mum at 62) and a lot of my dads side had heart type problems. Aside from trying to be health conscious there is not much I can do about my genes!! And I could always get run over by a bus...!

I have researched my new budget and household bills and trimmed down the costs in my moneysaving novice fashion, it has been a challenge but very rewarding!

The only thing remaining is life/ mortgage / critical illness cover. My FA has advised CIC at £50 per month, its a big chunk out of my budget, also I am wary as when my mum had it they never paid out when she needed it the most. What measures do I need to take to protect myself and my 3 year old. If something happened (to either of us ) and I couldn't work for example, the consequences would be disastrous. I haven't a clue and don't mind paying but want to try and comprehend whats on offer and make the right decision.

By the way my will is bang up to date, if I died my estate would be administered and held in trust by nominated close friends/ relatives ( not including childs dad ) until child is 18.

I suppose its more long term illness/ redundancy/ accident I may need. Any advice on my situation and how much I should expect to pay for cover would be much appreciated. My child's security and home are absolutely paramount.

Sorry I had to ask an obvious question but I am just so bewildered, term cover, decreasing cover etc.

Many thanks , Littlevoice

dunstonh

My FA has advised CIC at £50 per month, its a big chunk out of my budget

Is that an FA or an IFA? If FA, then you are probably looking at a premium cost that is 20-30% more than an IFA doing it on full commission, let alone fee basis.

also I am wary as when my mum had it they never paid out when she needed it the most.

CI claims stats are published by most insurers and they are running at over 90% of claims being paid out nowadays.

What measures do I need to take to protect myself and my 3 year old. If something happened (to either of us ) and I couldn't work for example, the consequences would be disastrous. I haven't a clue and don't mind paying but want to try and comprehend whats on offer and make the right decision.

This is what the adviser should be telling you. There is no point using an adviser if you dont get the info. Again, referring to earlier point on FA, is this sales rep you are seeing? Their focus is to flog the product as quickly as they can and move on to the next person so they can hit their sales targets. Explaining things and spending time with you isnt always their forte.

I suppose its more long term illness/ redundancy/ accident I may need. Any advice on my situation and how much I should expect to pay for cover would be much appreciated. My child's security and home are absolutely paramount.

A generic overview would be: 1st priority is life assurance. Secondary would be permanent health insurance (possibly with standalone Unemployment or a PPI/MPPI combonation with PHI). CI would be third on the list after that. You would expect that to be the order of events as far as recommendation goes from an IFA. A tied agent/sales rep would probably be more focused on CI before PHI or PPI and ignore PHI.