Life Assurance - Not sure my broker has my back!!!!!!!

lordhaldon

Well said dunstohn. Whilst sites like this have their uses, they do have a tendency to make people believe that cheap is best. They also have a tendency to make people believe that whilst solicitors and accountants can work to a fee of £100 to £300 per hour, they only have to pay their financial planner £50 (KPMG report Oct 2010) for whatever time it takes. They also proliferate the belief amongst the great British public that most financial advisers are rogues of some sort. There are good professional financial planners out there and you must be prepared to pay for the advice and not get wrapped up in how much commission they earn. They also have families to feed and mortgages to pay.
PS. At £50 for the "job" that probably equates to about £5 per hour BEFORE expenses, tax and NI. Would you work for that? And remember, the advice is given by a fully qualified professional and the advice is also underwritten.

foggytown

lordhaldon wrote: »

Well said dunstohn. Whilst sites like this have their uses, they do have a tendency to make people believe that cheap is best. They also have a tendency to make people believe that whilst solicitors and accountants can work to a fee of £100 to £300 per hour, they only have to pay their financial planner £50 (KPMG report Oct 2010) for whatever time it takes. They also proliferate the belief amongst the great British public that most financial advisers are rogues of some sort. There are good professional financial planners out there and you must be prepared to pay for the advice and not get wrapped up in how much commission they earn. They also have families to feed and mortgages to pay.
PS. At £50 for the "job" that probably equates to about £5 per hour BEFORE expenses, tax and NI. Would you work for that? And remember, the advice is given by a fully qualified professional and the advice is also underwritten.

That's a very charitable view, I must say. Still, it is that season. In four decades I've met my share of brokers, IFAs, agents, etc. It is axiomatic that anyone working on a commision basis has a built-in conflict of interest. How they resolve that conflict determines how professional they truly are. The fact that some have families to feed and mortgages to pay only makes it more necessary that they "sell" as much as they can and nobody can assure that the best interests of the customer are always in the forefront of their thoughts. Like any profession, there are professionals, rogues and incompetents.

mikey72

lordhaldon wrote: »

PS. At £50 for the "job" that probably equates to about £5 per hour BEFORE expenses, tax and NI. Would you work for that? And remember, the advice is given by a fully qualified professional and the advice is also underwritten.

I wouldn't.
Why do you, I'd be interested as you not even making minimum wage ?

lordhaldon

foggytown wrote: »

That's a very charitable view, I must say. Still, it is that season. In four decades I've met my share of brokers, IFAs, agents, etc. It is axiomatic that anyone working on a commision basis has a built-in conflict of interest. How they resolve that conflict determines how professional they truly are. The fact that some have families to feed and mortgages to pay only makes it more necessary that they "sell" as much as they can and nobody can assure that the best interests of the customer are always in the forefront of their thoughts. Like any profession, there are professionals, rogues and incompetents.

QED although my belief is that there are more genuine people who have their clients interests at heart than there are other types. You can actually feed your family without allowing the conflict to influence you. In your 42 years, you must have met quite a few.

lordhaldon

mikey72 wrote: »

I wouldn't.
Why do you, I'd be interested as you not even making minimum wage ?

No. I retired at age 47.

mikey72

lordhaldon wrote: »

No. I retired at age 47.

Probably don't need to top up your begging bowl just yet then, maybe the £50 is about right, rather than £1200 from the first two years premium.
It is interesting how well you have done selling advice given by a fully qualified professional.
Thanks for the heads up.

kevin_c_3

Buying two separate policies for a couple is not only good advice - it is good value for money. I'll briefly try to explain why (and the commission isn't the reason).

A joint life policy only pays out once as it is only one policy, even though both lives are covered. In the event that both lives should pass away, either at the same time or years apart, a joint policy only pays once, then it is over. If a couple has a policy each both policies can pay out, which potentially provides double the cover - for pretty much the same premium. If you compare the joint life quote to the single life quote there is unlikely to be much difference. And it is this premium that drives the commission - so two policies does not pay twice as much commission. It will be about the same.

There has been numerous articles in the national press advising couples to take single life policies and it has become the norm for some advisers because it is so obviously the right thing to do in most circumstances.

There are further reasons, such as flexibility - you could have different amounts over different terms if you wanted to, plus it is much easier to put single life policies in trust...

Hope this helps.