Life Insurance quote checker question

weighty1_2

Mr_Incredible wrote: »

Latest response from my guy after I questioned what his thoughts were on aviva and Freinds Life;

There is not much in the difference in cost between the companies for example the same policy with Aviva for you would cost £55.51 per month and with Friends life £57.59 per month.

For you wife her policy would cost £48.87 with Aviva and £52.78 with Friends life.

The main reason I would recommend Legal & General is. I think they have the best Critical Illness cover on the market they are 5 Star Defaqto rated and they paid out £147 million in CIC claims in 2011 with 93% of Critical illness cover claims paid. The are also the uk No1 protection provider.

He "thinks" they have the best critical illness policy - He is wrong - simply as!
Loads of providers have 5 star defaqto ratings so that a complete non-reason.
L&G paid more out more money in cic claims but Aviva paid out on a higher percentage at 94.1% in 2011.
No 1 protection provider......in regards to what?

Also, did your broker ever discuss the pro's/cons of taking a long term income protection plan with life cover instead of life and cic? That would often provide more comprehensive cover in regards to what you are covered for, can often provide a level of cover which provides a far greater potential payout than cic and in many instances can work out more cost effective as well.

kingstreet

Given the changes happening in the industry, it may be prudent to go for guaranteed rates, rather than reviewable ones. It may previously have been the case that reviewable plans didn't go up much, if at all on review, but premium increases are much more likely in the future.

Guaranteed rate plans remain the same for the whole term and this has to be the way to go if "rebroking" can't reduce your costs in a couple of years' time.

It may well be that additional plans become much more the norm in future, in preference to the current replacement plan option.

Just to follow on from weighty's post, any mention of writing the plan(s) in trust so they fall outside your estate for tax purposes, get paid out more quickly and avoid the need for probate?

dunstonh

The main reason I would recommend Legal & General is. I think they have the best Critical Illness cover on the market they are 5 Star Defaqto rated and they paid out £147 million in CIC claims in 2011 with 93% of Critical illness cover claims paid. The are also the uk No1 protection provider.

I once had an L&G sales rep visit me and he found out we transacted over 300 pensions a year. He acted all surprised because we put so little with L&G and said that he expected more business from us as L&G are the market leaders on pensions and that would should be putting at least a third of our cases with them. I showed him the door as I found his attitude poor. However, that was after I first showed him exactly where L&G came out on the research software compared to others (about 25 cheaper and most had better features). Plus, in the last few years, L&G increased their charges on existing pensions. Most schemes have it written into their T&C to allow it but it is very rare to happen. It happened with L&G though. So, they do have a track record of increasing prices in other areas post sale.

L&G have a sales force. They are one of only a few insurers that still do. Many of whom are based in estate agents. They also have a number of the banks retailing their products under tied arrangements. So, they have a fairly large distribution base. So, they do sell a lot of insurance. Size is not everything though. By definition, the one that has the most policies will pay out the most.

Aviva recently published it's claims stats and CI was and 94.1% paid out. Better than L&G. Aviva are also the UK's largest insurer. But not a reason to use them. If the credit crunch told us anything it was that size is no indicator of success, quality or stability.

At the end of the day the L&G policy is fine. It is not the best and it is not the cheapest. If you want either of those then you wouldnt pick L&G. Perhaps it is a compromise recommendation. Perhaps there is a commission bias going on as most policies have a 4 year claw back. Not 2.

Mr_Incredible

dunstonh wrote: »

I once had an L&G sales rep visit me and he found out we transacted over 300 pensions a year. He acted all surprised because we put so little with L&G and said that he expected more business from us as L&G are the market leaders on pensions and that would should be putting at least a third of our cases with them. I showed him the door as I found his attitude poor. However, that was after I first showed him exactly where L&G came out on the research software compared to others (about 25 cheaper and most had better features). Plus, in the last few years, L&G increased their charges on existing pensions. Most schemes have it written into their T&C to allow it but it is very rare to happen. It happened with L&G though. So, they do have a track record of increasing prices in other areas post sale.

L&G have a sales force. They are one of only a few insurers that still do. Many of whom are based in estate agents. They also have a number of the banks retailing their products under tied arrangements. So, they have a fairly large distribution base. So, they do sell a lot of insurance. Size is not everything though. By definition, the one that has the most policies will pay out the most.

Aviva recently published it's claims stats and CI was and 94.1% paid out. Better than L&G. Aviva are also the UK's largest insurer. But not a reason to use them. If the credit crunch told us anything it was that size is no indicator of success, quality or stability.

At the end of the day the L&G policy is fine. It is not the best and it is not the cheapest. If you want either of those then you wouldnt pick L&G. Perhaps it is a compromise recommendation. Perhaps there is a commission bias going on as most policies have a 4 year claw back. Not 2.

this is life and Ci not pension but I take your points and thank you.

That Aviva claim stat is only marginally better than L&G and I think as you say its a balance.

Thanks to all for the advice, I've weighed up all of what has been said and I think I will proceed with L&G and I'm gambling somewhat that there won't be too much of a hike in 2 yrs if I want to renew/change.

Thanks again all