Do you have life insurance?

Oldernotwiser

Good life assurance is essential when there are any children involved, much less when one of them has a disability.

pinkclouds

Mimi09 wrote: »

Does anyone else deem life insurance when they're on a tight budget?

Yes, it is a priority - just like car insurance and home insurance. You need to ensure you always have a roof over your family's head. It should at least cover your mortgage till the end of the term. We have insured hubby's life only because if I died then he would still be able to pay the mortgage but I am a SAHM so I wouldn't be able to immediately cover the mortgage (arranging childcare and getting a sufficiently well-paid job takes time). This covers our immediate needs within our current budget.

Additional policies you may wish to consider are health insurance and critical illness insurance. For pets too, if you have any large animals.

If you ever need to claim on an insurance policy, it will be too late to wish you had one. However, you only need to cover what is essential to your household and you may not require the same type/amount of cover as the average household. It's all a matter of balancing risks.

Ciske

We have it and I hope it will be a complete waste of money, as it means we will both live to see our pension age. :beer: It's the one insurance you hope will never pay out.

I took it out because it will make a huge difference to the family should the worst happen, and we're young and healthy enough for it to be a fairly minor expense (both covered for £250k, for only £15.00 a month).

With regards to cost, I'd recommend using the life insurance guidance on this site to get the best deal. I got a £18.00 quote from Aviva, but managed to get it down to £15.00 using a website recommended here. That doesn't sound like a huge drop, but considering it's something you take out for several decades, it works out as over £1k saving over the life of the insurance.

Tiddlywinks

I'd recommend that you make sure that the insurance covers critical illness as well, otherwise you could be alive but incapacitated and therefore unable to work or care for your family. This scenario is equally financially devastating and could go on for years - sorry to sound so depressing but a life-limiting illness is just as likely (may be more?) than death.

A friend of mine has had MS for 18 years+ and for the last 12 years has been a wheelchair user. Over the years she has lost her vision on and off and has now lost her ability to grip so needs help for personal care. She had no critical illness cover - they had to sell the house and move to somewhere more affordable because they could not manage on just one wage. The assistance from local services is being cut back and her OH is now looking at leaving work to be her carer as they are both so concerned that she cannot now be left alone.

margaretclare

Mimi09 wrote: »

However.....money is very tight and I've had it deeply ingrained in me that insurance cover is waste of money and unnecessary....

I don't know who's been telling you this fairy story. IMHO life assurance is one of those 'must-haves' especially when you're young and have children. There is such a thing as false economy - whatever else you save money on, do not save it on not having life assurance! It's much cheaper when you're young, anyway.

I think my first husband had also been convinced of this fairy story when he was a young dad. He 'didn't believe in it', consequently we didn't have it. I always had it for myself because I believed differently. I also didn't worry too much because I intended that I'd always have a job. However, his death in 1992 coincided with my redundancy and I was left with a mortgage to pay.

Think about what would happen if he died, or if you died, or if the both of you were e.g. killed in an accident leaving orphaned children. The possibilities are endless, so just get some life assurance for both of you as soon as you can.

Mimi09

Joint or individual cover??
I've applied for cover now, joint cover through Cavendish for £300k (thank you Marian).

BUT- after applying I'm left wondering whether I've done the right thing. Why would you do joint cover? The cost difference between seperate and joint is minimal. If we both died in an accident for example, only one of us would get a pay out and the policy would finish.

If we had seperate policies (for a similar fee) there would be two pay outs, or if only one of us died, the living person's policy would continue.

I can't see the benefit in a joint policy?

retepetsir

Van1971 wrote: »

I just took Term Life Insurance on last week! I went on Topcashback and used Confused.com which gives you £70 cashback and will tell you who is the cheapest provider for what you need.
I am paying £17.50 a month for a £350K fix cover should I die. It's a great peace of mind as I also have a disabled son. My mortgage would be paid off and so would the Inheritance tax, plus he would have cash left over.
Make sure you put it in trust so it's not part of your estate.

Very interesting, I've just had a look but my quotes are coming out at over £70 per month and I'm a healthy 27 year old, never smoked, etc. That was only for 25 year cover and £350,000!

Who was your cover with? I'd ideally like to pay a lot less than £70 per month.

indebtinsussex

not at the moment, I've got more health problems (all in remission) then you can shake a stick at so am hoping by giving it a couple more years when they see I've had no relapses I can argue my case and get a more reasonable premium.

hubby has death in service at the moment and we will organise life assurance for him

[Deleted User]

retepetsir wrote: »

Very interesting, I've just had a look but my quotes are coming out at over £70 per month and I'm a healthy 27 year old, never smoked, etc. That was only for 25 year cover and £350,000!

Who was your cover with? I'd ideally like to pay a lot less than £70 per month.

£70 is a lot. It is with Aviva via Confused.com (it would have cost a bit more if I had gone directly to Aviva tsk tsk) but my policy is only for 10 years, maybe that's why? Oh and I am 40, non smoker. Perhaps being young goes against you?

Brighton_belle

Van1971 wrote: »

Perhaps being young goes against you?

It should be the opposite - you can get better rates when young as less likely to fall ill at that age etc.