MPPI vs standalone insurance

sturdygirl21

Hi

I posted this on the MPPI discussion board but haven't had any responses, so thought I'd try my luck here - any advice?............

I'm after some advice - Myself and my partner are due to complete on a house next week and have a mortgage set up with nationwide. We've sorted life insurance with integrated critical illness cover (aviva). We're not sure if we should go for MPPI as well or if we should get standalone health insurance and unemployment cover.

me - currently on a temporary contract until end of March 2011 (obviously i know that i won't be covered under any unemployment cover if I am without work after this time as you can't cover the inevitable!). covered for 2 months full sick pay, followed by 2 months half pay. The type of work I do means that I don't anticipate being out of work for any great length of time, and I'll be looking for another job pretty soon so there (fingers crossed) shouldn't be a period without wages. Again, the type of job I do means that sickness benefits are normally pretty good regardless of where I work. I'm therefore questioning if I even need to be covered for sickness/unemployment.

partner - works as a builder. made redundant last year but is now working again. No sign of redundancy again, but lets face it this sector is pretty rocky anyway at the moment. He has no sickness benefits with his employer. (he's trying desperately to find work elsewhere)

What do you think given our situations? I've been thinking about it for ages but haven't got around to sorting anything yet. I'm pretty certain we should have something for my partner at least......

Also, does MPPI/standalone health insurance/unemployment cover only cover one person or can it be a joint policy (like our life insurance)? If it can't be a joint policy, can both of us be insured separately?

sorry if these are daft questions, it's just all a bit confusing!!

yelf

"The type of work I do means that I don't anticipate being out of work for any great length of time," - you'd be amazed at just what can keep people off wotk, regardless of what it is.

Yes you can get a joint policy. MPPI will only pay for12/24 mths, so you need to decide if you want something more substabtial (though redundancy cover will only pay for that period anyway, is expensive, and noyt easy to get on its own)

dunstonh

I posted this on the MPPI discussion board but haven't had any responses, so thought I'd try my luck here - any advice?............

There isnt an MPPI discussion board. Maybe thats why there hasnt been a response

We're not sure if we should go for MPPI as well or if we should get standalone health insurance and unemployment cover.

Personally, I prefer PHI and standalone unemployment cover. However, sometimes its better to go with MPPI (or plain PPI) and a PHI with a longer deferment period.

sturdygirl21

thanks for replying. My comment about not anticipating being off work for any length of time was in relation to the time my contract ends and finding another job (if I haven't done so before the contract ends anyway). Obviously I appreciate that there are other, currently unanticipated, reasons that I may be off work!
Maybe I'll stick with MPPI then......it seems to be the more straightforward option possibly?

sturdygirl21

ah thanks dunstonh - I think we must have been typing at the same time!
I posted on something anyway......couldn't have been a discussion board clearly, lol!
I'll look into it some more. My head is fried. It's all too confusing for me!

dunstonh

Basically, for accident and sickness, PHI is better than PPI. PHI is underwritten at point of sale. So, you know you are accepted and on cover. Plus, it cannot be cancelled by the insurer and premiums are usually guaranteed. PPI is effectively underwritten at point of claim. It can be cancelled by the insurer and it can increase in premium. PHIs can pay out until your selected end age whereas PPI is usually 12 months (although some exist that pay out up to 24).

MPPI will only cover your mortgage. PPI & PHI can go higher than that. Even if you set your MPPI higher than your mortgage, it will only pay out the mortgage amount (plus usually a tolerance of up to 25%).

sturdygirl21

Thank you - that actually makes sense to me!