Level Term Life Insurance Guide Discussion

cook0891

Hi all,


I have a life insurance and critical illness cover with Aviva. My wife has been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I have checked online and can see that it is covered. However I have just rang them and they said that when we took the policy out it wasn't on the list therefore can't pay out. Is this correct? I am not at home to check my policy documents but would have expected it to be that things can be added as time goes by?

kingstreet

cook0891 wrote: »

Hi all,


I have a life insurance and critical illness cover with Aviva. My wife has been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I have checked online and can see that it is covered. However I have just rang them and they said that when we took the policy out it wasn't on the list therefore can't pay out. Is this correct? I am not at home to check my policy documents but would have expected it to be that things can be added as time goes by?

The definitions which applied at the time of taking out the cover are applied at time of claim.

Over the years, definitions have hardened making it more difficult to claim on new plans, while the number of definitions has increased on newer plans.

Anyone with critical illness cover should review it regularly to ensure they fully explore the existing cover and the options should they decide to replace it with a more up-to-date version.

cook0891

kingstreet wrote: »

The definitions which applied at the time of taking out the cover are applied at time of claim.

Over the years, definitions have hardened making it more difficult to claim on new plans, while the number of definitions has increased on newer plans.

Anyone with critical illness cover should review it regularly to ensure they fully explore the existing cover and the options should they decide to replace it with a more up-to-date version.

Thanks for the reply.


I will be get my paperwork out tonight and have a look.


Can you replace an existing cover with same company? I am guessing now they have a record of her having it premiums will rocket and wouldn't cover her anyway which makes it all pointless.

familyguy321

Hi All,

Looking for some advice here on the premium I am currently paying for my mortgage life insurance.

I bought my first house last year and, through my mortgage broker, took out decreasing term life insurance with Friends Life under their 'Critical Illness with Life Cover' scheme.

The monthly fee is £21. Is this reasonable for a person in late twenties, light smoker (e-cigarettes), no medical conditions and 1 dependant (wife)?

Thanks in advance.

FG

dunstonh

Looking for some advice here on the premium I am currently paying for my mortgage life insurance.

advice is a regulated activity and the board is not allowed to give advice. Just discussion.

I bought my first house last year and, through my mortgage broker, took out decreasing term life insurance with Friends Life under their 'Critical Illness with Life Cover' scheme.

The monthly fee is £21. Is this reasonable for a person in late twenties, light smoker (e-cigarettes), no medical conditions and 1 dependant (wife)?

Friends are not the cheapest. However, they cover many more conditions than the cheapest. They are not expensive. They effectively fit the better quality without silly pricing category. So, your adviser has prioritised quality over absolute cheapest.

Most insurers have a minimum premium of £10 and £21 for life and CI for a smoker is right in the ballpark for someone in their 20s in terms of expectation of the sort of premium you would see.

familyguy321

dunstonh wrote: »

advice is a regulated activity and the board is not allowed to give advice. Just discussion.

Apologies, newbie mistake.

Friends are not the cheapest. However, they cover many more conditions than the cheapest. They are not expensive. They effectively fit the better quality without silly pricing category. So, your adviser has prioritised quality over absolute cheapest.

Most insurers have a minimum premium of £10 and £21 for life and CI for a smoker is right in the ballpark for someone in their 20s in terms of expectation of the sort of premium you would see.

Thanks for the info. It's reassuring that I am not paying over the odds.

Out of interest, I've just done a quick quote comparison on the top discount broker sites (Cavendish, Moneyworld, Money Minder) and Legal & General are coming out top on all 3. The quote is cheaper than what I am paying currently.

For discussion purposes, do L&G fall into the 'quality without silly pricing' category too?

FG

dunstonh

Out of interest, I've just done a quick quote comparison on the top discount broker sites (Cavendish, Moneyworld, Money Minder) and Legal & General are coming out top on all 3. The quote is cheaper than what I am paying currently.

For discussion purposes, do L&G fall into the 'quality without silly pricing' category too?

L&G have worst level of cover of all the mainstream insurers. They are effectively a budget plan with budget cover. i.e. getting what you pay for. You cannot refer to them as a quality option.

Amontylado

Hi Dunstonh
I'm confused by your comment re Legal and General - I don't understand what you mean by 'budget cover'. If I take out level term assurance with them with a guaranteed premium that is cheaper than other insurers will they not pay out the full amount on death as I expect any other insurer would? They are a long established company and unlikely to go bust.
Have I missed something?

busicat

Hi Amontylado
Dunstonh's talking about the critical illness cover under the policy. It's not about the amount of payout, but whether there'll be one. I.e. fewer illnesses are covered for lower premiums.

Amontylado

Ah I see. Thanks busicat.
Any idea which companies offer the best CIC? I.e. Cover most illnesses?
Also I don't understand why the amount of cover for CIC is so low relative to mortgage cover. The offer seems to be only 10% of the mortgage amount. If I suffer an illness which prevents me from working (I'm self-employed) then that is not going to go very far. I'm new to this area of insurance so not very clued up!