Life Insurance Discussion

Rozlynmac

I just wanted to say thank you for the Life Insurance articles on the site. I had life insurance through my employer which was heavily subsidised. When the scheme ended and I actually had to think about what we needed I was utterly lost. Tonight I found a policy and premium that I'm happy with and I'd never have managed it without this site.

:T

eden123

hi please can u recommend me the company?

sillysaver

I'm concerned that I cant remember all of my medical history,
I don't want to have a policy that will not pay out because I missed something.
any advice please ?

dunstonh

sillysaver wrote: »

I'm concerned that I cant remember all of my medical history,
I don't want to have a policy that will not pay out because I missed something.
any advice please ?

You only have to remember 3 to 5 years worth of minor things and anything else that is far more serious. It shouldnt require you to remember everything when making an application.

cadmus

my wife has insisted i take a 20 year life assurance policy . either one that pays £50k if i pop my cloggs or a £12k a year ( 1k month family income benefit policy )
im 45 , never smoked . do not drink ,. exercise regular . im not overweight and think im in good health .
i have been given two quotes .....
50k of level term assurance over 20 yrs cost £9.90
or 12k family income benefit over 20 yrs cost £17.90
are these quotes good value or not . also is a lump sum better then and regular monthly income . its that if i popped it early the 12k a year would be better as it would pay out more long term but if i popped it later , i think the lump sum would be better and thst policy is nearly half the cost. am i correct in thinking this
any advice guys would be realy appreciated

Blewis

Hi, I'm really impressed by all the informative answers on this thread/site and it has thrown up some questions for my own situation.

1. Do all IFAs charge per hour? I thought they tended to consult for free and get their spondoolics in the form of commissions from the providers?

2. I'm 34, single, one dependant, I rent privately so no mortgage, a small manageable debt, tiny personal pension - not currently being paid into, small pot of savings in instant access account/ISA and a handful of shares. I work full time and other than tax credits, have no other form of income so am really needing pointing in the right direction wrt income protection and/or life cover bearing in mind I don't have much in the way of disposable income until they allow listing of small boys on ebay. I have a recommendation for an IFA from a neighbour but what things do I need to ask about?

3) Perhaps not the right thread for this Q but what is the best way to get a will drawn up to my requirements? A straight forward solicitor? I want to ensure that any sums my son receives as a result of my death cannot fall under the control of my ex who would certainly use it to go on an almighty bender leaving son with nothing <<evil !!!!!! emoticon>>

TIA

Yes, I was kidding re ebay.

dunstonh

1. Do all IFAs charge per hour? I thought they tended to consult for free and get their spondoolics in the form of commissions from the providers?

IFAs can work on either fee basis or commission basis. Its up to you to decide which. Not the IFA. The IFA must have a fee option. For smaller transactions, commission is usually cheaper. For larger ones, then fee is usually better. Some will agree a fee but only take commission to the level of the fee and rebate the rest (either meaning lower plan charges or a cash rebate depending on the product).

I have a recommendation for an IFA from a neighbour but what things do I need to ask about?

Make sure it is an IFA and not an FA. Over half of those that see FAs actually believe the person is an IFA. An FA will be more expensive and limited in choice on what they can offer.

It's virtually impossible to cover yourself for all events and planning areas. Your budget won't allow it. So you need to prioritise what is important or what is most likely to happen.

3) Perhaps not the right thread for this Q but what is the best way to get a will drawn up to my requirements? A straight forward solicitor? I want to ensure that any sums my son receives as a result of my death cannot fall under the control of my ex who would certainly use it to go on an almighty bender leaving son with nothing <<evil !!!!!! emoticon>>

I'm not a big fan of these will writers or professional executors. I have seen too many that have given out wrong information or been a bit fly by night. A solicitor may cost a bit more but you know you are going to be fine with one.

kevin_c_3

Re joint life vs single life above, its common for single life policies to be better value for money - if anything happens to both lives then both policies pay out, and if anything happens to one life the other life is still insured

Re indexed/increasing policies - yes the 1.4 ratio seems high - but you'll probably find that the premium in the first year is the same as if you dont take this benefit, where as other companies who dont apply the 1.4 ratio charge extra for this option straight away

penguine

How do we decide how much life insurance cover we need?

My husband earns the majority of our income, I only work part-time and earn much less but obviously if anything happened to me he would need to pay for household and childcare help. Our daughter is 6 so I think we want a 15-year term.

Also we currently have decreasing term assurance in my husband's name linked to our mortgage. The mortgage is now very small and we are offsetting 100% so I'm inclined to think we don't need this cover anymore. It's only costing us £11 a month but I think we might be better off putting that premium towards the life insurance instead.

Thanks in advance.

Gwenrose

We have no mortgage and no dependants. I'm 53years old and my husband will be 62 in October. We don't smoke, my husband likes an occasional pint of Master brew, I don't drink at all. We are both very fit and active, I gave up teaching to spend more time doing other things and my husband is a window cleaner and intends to work for many more years.

We are looking for an assurance or insurance that will pay out when one or other of us dies. The idea being that who ever is left will not have to worry about bills, funerals etc, but be able to live a comfortable life without money worries. I've been told a lot of insurances will not pay out after you reach 75, so can you suggest any that do pay out on older ages, our life insurance has always been linked to our mortgage, now it feels like we're in the wilderness.