Life insurance query

Scout13_2

Hi, I am new this this forum but I would like some advice re: my late fathers life insurance policy.

My father took out a small life insurance policy on the 26.01.11 and he passed away suddenly on the 01.01.12. He had paid 12 monthly installments, However the company involved say they are not willing to pay on this policy at it had to be running for 12 months i.e. to the 26.01.12. I thought that because my father had paid the 12 installments the policy would pay out.

They did state they are willing to pay back the 12 installments he made.

I was wondering does anyone have any advice on this.

ACG

What does the policy documentation say? Id be surprised if it says he had to live for 12 months as most offer free cover before the policy even goes live.

Who is the cover with? Are there any exclusions or special conditions applied?

InsideInsurance

You ultimately need to read the terms of the policy, if you are unclear from them then type them in in here or provide a link to the document for others to help with

dunstonh

If it was an underwritten life assurance policy then cover is offered from day one unless the insurer impose special terms (although waiting 12 months would be unusual on a life assurance plan).

If it was one of these over 50s life insurance plans then they tend to start cover after a period (typically 12 months) and only pay back a little on death anyway (very often less than what was paid in if held on to for a number of years). These plans are generally poor quality and an option of last resort.

Scout13_2

Thanks for your feedback. The company is Royal London Financial Sense. The policy is the Guaranteed Lifetime Plan - Life Cover. This was sold to my father through Santander. He had topped up his unsecured personal loan and was advised to take this out and not the Personal Loan Payment Protection. He paid £25.00 a month - last payment on the 29/12/11 (12 payments made in total). I have written to Royal London and they have responded that "in order for the full sum assured to be paid, the policy must have been in force for a minimum for 12 months. Your father's policy commenced on the 27 January 2011 and, as he passed away on the 1 January 2012, it is with regret that I confirm we are unable to pay".

I have just looked at the policy:- Exclusions and limitations of my plan - If you die during the first year from a cause other than accidential death, the amount payable will be the return of the premiums paid up to the date of death.

Any advise? Is there any point or way to progress this?

Thanks

ACG

I dont think there is a lot that can be done then.

dunstonh

Any advise? Is there any point or way to progress this?

He bought the wrong type of life assurance. Nothing can be done to change that in hindsight I'm afraid.

_Andy_

Scout13 wrote: »

Thanks for your feedback. The company is Royal London Financial Sense. The policy is the Guaranteed Lifetime Plan - Life Cover. This was sold to my father through Santander. He had topped up his unsecured personal loan and was advised to take this out and not the Personal Loan Payment Protection. He paid £25.00 a month - last payment on the 29/12/11 (12 payments made in total). I have written to Royal London and they have responded that "in order for the full sum assured to be paid, the policy must have been in force for a minimum for 12 months. Your father's policy commenced on the 27 January 2011 and, as he passed away on the 1 January 2012, it is with regret that I confirm we are unable to pay".

I have just looked at the policy:- Exclusions and limitations of my plan - If you die during the first year from a cause other than accidential death, the amount payable will be the return of the premiums paid up to the date of death.

Any advise? Is there any point or way to progress this?

Thanks

I don't think there's anything to progress here - the T&Cs are quite clear. By all means you could complain but essentially there's nothing valid to complain about so you'd just be wasting your time and energy.

jonesMUFCforever

If the policy was 'sold' to cover the personal loan could the estate not claim a miss-sale for selling the wrong product??

dunstonh

If the policy was 'sold' to cover the personal loan could the estate not claim a miss-sale for selling the wrong product??

It isnt the wrong product as in mis-sale wrong. Its the wrong product compared to what he could have got had he shopped around and seen an IFA (unless he was medically unable to obtain underwritten life assurance)

The type of plan bought is like the over 50s plans you see advertised. They have similar criteria. You can choose to buy those or you can choose to go down the personally underwritten route (which is far better than the over 50s plans for most people). However, if you pick the "wrong" one with hindsight then a complaint cannot be made about it.

Scout13_2

Thanks for all your advice!