Life Assurance and critical illness

Simongooner1

Hi there

Does anybody out there have any advice with regards to getting a new life assurance and critical illness policy? I think I'm overpaying at the moment and would like to try and get costs down. Are there any cost comparison websites or would you recomend speaking to an advisor?

Thanks for any advice.

Simon

MortgageMamma

do you know exactly what cover you require and how much are you paying at the moment? more importantly, when did you take your existing policy as the terms could be superior to those o a new one

PabloNeruda

Simongooner1 wrote:

Hi there

Does anybody out there have any advice with regards to getting a new life assurance and critical illness policy? I think I'm overpaying at the moment and would like to try and get costs down. Are there any cost comparison websites or would you recomend speaking to an advisor?

Thanks for any advice.

Simon

https://www.theidol.com

Money_Watch

If you know what you're after, then The Idol above or https://www.moneysupermarket.com might be good places to start, MoneySupermarket compares many different life insurers / brokers in one go.

When comparing with your current policy, you must ensure that you are getting like for like cover, especially in the case of critical illness - make sure that it covers the same illnesses as your current policy, else you might find you're paying a cheaper premium but for worse cover.

OshayAway

Money_Watch wrote:

When comparing with your current policy, you must ensure that you are getting like for like cover, especially in the case of critical illness - make sure that it covers the same illnesses as your current policy, else you might find you're paying a cheaper premium but for worse cover.

This is a very valid point! The problem is that it is very difficult to compare critical illness policies available now 'at a glance', let alone the exact policy conditions available to you with your existing cover. Basically, your existing policy may have definitions that could be impossible to find in a new policy because certain conditions and definitions of when a CIC policy will pay out have changed in recent years, but not amended to an existing policy.

You will (or should) find it very difficult to find someone to advise that you re-broke an existing CIC policy for that reason. This is because if you do so and then suffer a condition that would have paid out on your original policy but not your new one, you would have a valid case to argue you were mis-sold.

That's not to say you can't save money. If you are prepared to take that chance, you can find a policy yourself by using online quote portals from broker's websites. Alternatively, you may be fortunate enough to find a broker who can offer information on a non-advised basis to explain exactly how the present policies differ and what conditions are covered on your existing policy if you provide details of when and with whom the cover was taken out with. Armed with that information, you may feel confident enough to take out different cover and there would be no 'come-back' to the broker as they were only providing product information not a recommendation.

I hope that helps! Good luck!

rossbenn

Try https://www.lifeassurancedirect.com they rebate 50% of their commisions back to the life assurance co to get you a discounted premium.

Wyndham

Simongooner1 wrote:

Hi there

Does anybody out there have any advice with regards to getting a new life assurance and critical illness policy? I think I'm overpaying at the moment and would like to try and get costs down. Are there any cost comparison websites or would you recomend speaking to an advisor?

Thanks for any advice.

Simon

You may find that a new policy is more expensive as you are now older than you were when you took, out the first policy. If it's not much (i.e. a year or two) then it won't make much difference, but if it's, say, 5 years or more, then it will make a difference as the underwriters will equate 'older' with 'more likely to be ill/die and claim'.