Who has life insurance?

claretmatt

I have two policies one that would pay off the mortgage and the other to provide my partner with an increasing monthly income until children are financially independent.

I don't want my partner to be 'forced' to go back to work to pay the bills.

zcrat41

Yes. On my parents. They have to live for another 80 yrs for it not be financially worthwhile.

Yes for oh so I have a lump sum if he dies.

Yes for me so that he gets a cleaner/general skivvy if I die.

madison-nyc

aliasojo wrote: »

I've been considering my mortality lately, hence the topic.

I wondered if some of you wouldn't mind sharing your insurance situations?

You have it?

You don't?

Your OH has it and/or you feel you don't need it?

Are you covered for every eventuality or just certain things?

I have been covered by a policy that was set to run for a certain time and it runs out very soon. It probably wasn't the best policy to buy but I was young and much less knowledgeable back then.

Anyway, just wondered if everyone treated life insurance as important as the air we breathe or is it one of those 'must get round to it' or 'just don't have it' things?

I took out some life insurance 5 years ago when we had our first child. It's a joint policy, runs for another 30 years , up until my husband retires and would pay out £150k if one of us dies. If husband dies first then i'd also get 3 times his wage which at the min would add another £90k to it.

at the time 150k was enough to pay off the mortgage and debts and have a decent wedge left. we sold that house though and now rent and with house prices as they are 150k wouldn't go so far , 250k of cover would be better but , realistically , 150k to either of us would mean we could live and keep a decent standard of living for a good while and clear all the debts etc.

It's only £13 per month and something i think is really important to have , especially if you've young children as if one of us died right now the other would maybe have to drop down the part time hours so the money would be needed for day to day living.

belfastgirl23

We have a small life insurance policy that we took out with the mortgage. I have very good cover from work, I'm probably worth more dead than alive but DH has nothing else. I should really see about getting him some more insurance actually cos if he got hit by a bus tomorrow I'd be on my uppers trying to pay the mortgage

aliasojo

Looks like more people have it than not.

I have been on the fence a bit about re-insuring after this policy expires but I do think I need some sort of cover.

I expect the premiums will have shot up a lot though, I'm older, heavier and higher risk for all sorts now so I daresay I'll be paying much more than before.

Savvy_Sue

thorsoak wrote: »

Sadly, OH was refused cover

That's just happened to me! :eek: :mad: Bit of a wake up call, I can tell you! Still trying to find out WHY!

dragonette wrote: »

I don't, however my family are big on life assurance (so if you outlive the policy you get money back). Just to throw another possibility into the mix

That's not always economic or affordable though.

Nicki wrote: »

We took out an endowment policy which still has about 10 years left, but have repaid mortgage early so would just get a lump sum if one of us died before it expires. DH has death in service benefit through work. I am a SAHM and while kids are still under 18, DH has me insured to the hilt as it would cost a fortune to pay a nanny and housekeeper if I popped my clogs. When kids are grown up though, I don't suppose it would be worth continuing to insure me.

That was our decision once ...

Our (varied) situation: when we bought our first house we had an endowment mortgage. And DH was working in insurance, so he had very good death in service benefits, so we left it at that. Then DS1 arrived, so we took out a policy on me for the reasons Nikki gives.

Then we went mortgage free for a few years (too complicated to explain how), so all we had was the endowment and the insurance on me, since DH was no longer working in insurance.

When the term assurance on me ran out, we let it lapse - I don't think they ever offered any more, company having been taken over multiple times, if they'd offered it we might well have started another term.

And now we've just taken out an interest only mortgage, because it's still complicated, but we will downsize once the boys stop coming home at regular intervals (seem to have managed it with DS1, and DS3 is still a student, we're cutting DS2 a bit of slack as he's only just graduated). And I really didn't want THAT to start before at least DH had life insurance to cover the mortgage. But they won't touch me!

pinkmami

Both DH & I have. We have a few policies running as we have 3 kids. We are also fortunate to have 3 properties to our names (mortgage on 2) so they are covered should something happen & then the kids won't have the burden of paying the mortgage.

coolcait

OH and I both have individual policies from our 'past' single lives. We have a joint policy, tied to the mortgage, which will pay out in the event of death or critical illness. OH also has a couple of small policies taken out through previous workplaces.

Also, we each have death in service benefits through work, and each of us is named beneficiary by the other. It's important to make sure that's up to date - especially for people who aren't married to their partner. I know of some cases where the bereaved partner has not received the payment because the name of the beneficiary hadn't been changed.

OH is an insurance obsessive because his father died young, without insurance, leaving his stay at home wife and several young children in a very difficult situation economically. I can understand his need for the comfort of knowing that has tried to cover the bases. And then some.

While it's not necessary to go to those lengths, I do think it's necessary to have life insurance (or assurance). If you have young children, or a stay at home spouse, then it's important to make sure that the insurance payout will give them a decent buffer for the future, and not just cover funeral costs.

Nicki

coolcait wrote: »

I do think it's necessary to have life insurance (or assurance). If you have young children, or a stay at home spouse, then it's important to make sure that the insurance payout will give them a decent buffer for the future, and not just cover funeral costs.

Not just one way though. If you have a SAH spouse who looks after the children, you probably need insurance on their life as well as your own. Childcare is very expensive, and without a spouse at home to look after the children, you may be unable to afford to continue to work, or work the same hours, which will have a huge impact on family finances.

burnoutbabe

aliasojo wrote: »

Looks like more people have it than not.

I have been on the fence a bit about re-insuring after this policy expires but I do think I need some sort of cover.

I expect the premiums will have shot up a lot though, I'm older, heavier and higher risk for all sorts now so I daresay I'll be paying much more than before.

but work out if YOU personally need it. what are the financial implications if you die.

i didn't bother when i was single, as if i died, i had money in the bank for parents to pay for a funeral and they could sell my flat as lots of equity to clear the mortgage.

Now i am living with someone, well same really. both work and earning, both have reasonable savings. either can afford to rent somewhere if other died (well i own the flat we live in anyway). So no point getting a policy on either of us.