Over 40s Life Insurance????

ACG

stephenni1971 wrote: »

If he has told you the premiums will reduce when he leaves the army it's not the right policy for you- simple as that.

There are options that should be cheaper right now available.

As for your term you choose that to suit hour need, be it family, mortgage or other debt you want to cover.

Stephenni, you will probably be more of an expert in this field than i am, but i used to work for an life office. The way we used to do the premiums would be heavily loaded for 2 years and then come down to standard rates - that was presuming they wernt going into an active theatre of conflict or however its worded.
It was changed to that as i think previously we just did slightly loaded premiums for the whole term of the policy.

I suppose there will be a few ways of doing it and its whichever the advisor/client would prefer. However i think based on the fact the OP;s husband will be out soon it could be better to go for slightly loaded premiums then review once he leaves?

stephenni1971

There is no need to go for loaded premiums as FriendsLife will not load assuming a) he is not under orders and b) he is not in a high risk trade.

The policy he has recommended is fine but it WILL NOT reduce in price when he leaves the army. Perhaps what he has said is that you could re do your policy when he leaves with another provider ( as loadings will no longer apply ) - however this again is subject to continuing good health when he leaves and also not going in to a new occupation with loadings - for example a sizeable percentage of ex forces will go on to Close Protection?Maritime Security and the like where obtaining life cover is incredibly difficult.

mscroft

Perhaps im looking way to far ahead (that'll be the carer in me) and should be looking at a policy to take us both to age 60. The same policy to 60yrs old will cost 26.00 per month.

We have no other debts, whatsoever, apart from 90,000 on our mortgage. Once our savings mature and we throw them into the mortgage, that wont leave much and PAX would cover the shortfall. We also have 40,000 tied up in 2 cars with a guaranteed buy back of 40,000 so mortgage cover wont be necessary. Our primary concern is protecting the kids should we die any time soon but income protection is something we should probably look at too.

stephenni1971

Couple of things -

If you have a mortgage debt NOW - don't avoid cover on the basis you intend to pay it down at some point in the future... circumstances can change and you may need your lump sum for other purposes.

As for the cars - I know of several cases where the 'guaranteed buy back' was anything but - both for guys in BFG and Cyprus. £40,000 is a big amount to owe on these and depending on how your policies are set up any debts you owe may have to come from your estate if anything were to happen so you need to be very careful.

I would suggest ( not advise you understand ) you consider a policy with different segments rather than just picking a lump sum of money. One segment covers mortgage and can be decreasing to reduce the cost ( assuming you have repayment mortgage ) the other segment can cover your need to provide for your family.

Just to add re read the thread and IF I were advising no way would I recommend 100k cover when you have a 90k mortgage debt outstanding. Just not enough at all.

ACG

It was friends prov i worked for - the gits got rid when they merged :P.

Its been a while though, so you will know more than me.

at the OP, i wouldnt take a policy out to cover you until your 60 then re-write it. What happens if you become ill between now and then? best case it would be increased premiums worst case it could mean your uninsurable.

mscroft

Ive heard of policies with segments to cover different things. Ive read a little but they appeared complicated. I will look into this more now.

Just to clarify - both cars were bought with cash, 1 at 25,000 and the other 15,000. We started small/cheap 3yrs ago and gradually built them up, selling each back after a year and paying the difference on the new/better model in cash. In 3yrs we havent lost a penny on them. We are also considering not replacing the one at 25,000 and putting this into the mortgage also. If we threw all our assets and investments at the mortgage we could be mortgage free in just over a year but we figured this probably wasnt practical. Instead we wanna be mortgage free B4 we head for civvy street in 2016.

The IFA we spoke to last week said he thought 100,000 per life was excessive based on all the savings/assets we already have. Hopefully tho, we have another 40yrs or so in us yet and it wont seem excessive then.

What age would you recommend any policy/policies run to? As ACG states above, I would be mortified if we reached a stage in life where no1 would insure us. We are both in very good health at present.

stephenni1971

mscroft wrote: »

The IFA we spoke to last week said he thought 100,000 per life was excessive based on all the savings/assets we already have.

Sorry to appear blunt but I think that is just nuts.

You owe £90k on your mortgage. You have a 12yo son reliant on you for care ( will be be able to live independently once older or will he always need help ).

You have £40,000 tied up in cars - a car is a depreciating asset - unless its a classsic or collectors model. Every time you drive it it loses value - every year you have it it loses value. I wouldn't call it an 'asset' in the traditional sense.

If your husband retired and mortgage paid off and he passed away, you would get 50% of his pension. Could you survive on £600 per month?

For my money I would be considering some form of family income benefit for as long a term as possible. Rather than pay a lump sum it pays a regular annual payment until the end of the term. You could use this to supplement your income or pay for additional carers if you needed them.

Any form of Whole of Life cover is going to be very expensive and premiums will generally review after 5/10 years and each 5 years thereafter. Just look through these boards for people who bought WOL policies years ago and just as they really need them the premiums go through the roof.

My suggestion would be to look at some form of cover to protect income in the event of death/inability to work ( income protection for hubby at the minute is just impossible to get in his occupation - so might have to wait out on this until he leaves. )

On the basis of what you are saying I just don't think you are getting very good advice at the moment. Disabled child/long term care need/ 100k cover just doesnt add up.

mscroft

I dont know how to do quotes but will try to answer your questions -

My Son has a mental disability but we hope one day he will be independent. That said, I have a 47yr old Brother with the same condition who still lives with parents, but works and is doing ok. If I live as long as my parents, I dont see my Son needing any care other than what I provide. Our older Daughters will see that he is ok in the later years (after we have gone, should we live to old age).

I couldnt live on 600 per month, I couldnt even afford to move back into our own house if that was all I had. Im going to look into the income benefit, to be honest, ive never even heard of it. Like I said in an earlier post, things have changed so much since we last looked into our finances.

As already stated, in the past we have had lots of policies covering lots of things and all for various amounts. Is this still the way to go or should we be looking at something (like the portions policies) where everything is in one place - 1 policy, 1 company, 1 premium?

ACG

Most insurers do life cover, critical illness, income protection etc etc. In effect its like a menu where you can pick and choose what you want. So you could have 2x life insurance polices, 1 income protection etc.

Each to their own really, some people prefer 1 company to do it all. this might not be the best or the cheapest but it covers you for everything and makes life easier.

I know i keep saying it but you should speak to an advisor, if your in the UK at some point soon then book an appointment, it will save you having to look into everything yourself and risk getting it wrong.

property.advert

Going to see any advisor for an hour is only going to make you more confused than you are now. You are not in a position to assess prices because you don't know about types of coverage. So get on google and read up on the types of cover and the nuances of each one.

Why ? because then when you go to an adviser, you won't be spending 45 minutes getting a lesson in life assurance 101.

You obviously need both lives insured but 100k is not going to buy much ! You are potentially looking at way more than that. You also have this child to take care of and that may be forever. Income protection ,critical illness and how much and for how long are questions you can explore with an adviser but do have an idea beforehand.

If you have no idea of your expenses, real ones that is, not guestimates, then that is the place to start.