Life Insurance Discussion

10past6

Thank you dunstonh, I'm going to make some enquries with Norwich Union about that one.

Aussieonabudget

Hi, not sure if this is the correct place to post so feel free to direct me somewhere else.

My OH is about to start work as a motorcycle courier and I have serious concerns about this (probably becuase I work in a hospital with people with head injuries). I want to take precautions and was thinking life insurance, private health insurance and making sure that motorcycle insurance is pretty comprehensive (they rent him a bike and charge for insurance).

We have a small amount of joint debt (currently just under £2000), he has some debt on his own (won't tell me how much but insists he has it under control) and we have no assets or property. We are also thinking of returning to Aus in the next 2 years or so, so will only need the insurance until then.

What is my best way forward, do we need the life insurance, I found a website that quoted £5/month for about £34,000 for only a couple of years. But then they charged £35 a more in depth quote.

I have absolutely no idea where to go from here and don't think we are in a dire enough situation to warrent paying a IFA for advice.

Can anyone help???
Thanks in advance
Aussie

mentat72

Hi, I am unsure as to what insurances I require for the house I live in. I currently have home and contents insurance only.

My wife and I recently reviewed our mortgage and realised we did not have any insurance protection on it.

We're both in our mid 30's, non-smokers and both do office jobs (accountancy/IT). She is in the company pension scheme, I am not (but will be joining it soon).

What we'd like is cover/insurance/assurance that would cover the paying off the mortage should either of us die or be unable to work and to provide cover for dependants should they come along.

I've looked at Level Term assurance, but wanted to check to see what I would need and what the wife would need to cover us for this.

Any suggestions to meet our requirements?

Thanks.

dunstonh

I've looked at Level Term assurance, but wanted to check to see what I would need and what the wife would need to cover us for this.

You dont need level term assurance with a capital and repayment mortgage. You need decreasing term assurance.

brianrhill

Bethan1978 wrote: »

Hi there,
I am going totake out an £8000 loan, however, do i need the payment protection they offer, which brings the repayments up? I work for a company that pays 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay if sick and also has a £10,000 death in service benefit. Is there a better place to get the protection i will need for the 4/5 yrs i will be paying back the loan? Im very confused with the level term life insurance notes, but have askedfor a quote from cavandish as noted on the site? but dont want to rush into buying something that is not suitable. Thanks

Cavendish (or execution only/no advice) is really only for those who know exactly what they require financially, but even then some of the guidance they provide is potentially misleading. For instance, they suggest that simply because you have a repayment mortgage, a decreasing term assurance (DTA) would be appropriate - in the simplest sense this is true, but if you're a 25 year old, the chances of you increasing your mortgage over the next 40 years is relatively high, in which case a DTA may actually be inappropriate.

You are also thinking about 3 areas: life insurance, income protection, and unemployment cover.

Your question indicates that this is a new area for you and you should obtain independent advice to make sure any cover is adequate and affordable. I've come across many clients who had products that were unsuitable after copying a friend or taking "advice" from a lender.

Good luck

Brian

judi24

Can anyone give me some advice please?
I split from my husband last year and am in the process of buying him out of our house. My mortgage will be £183000. I have around £12,000 of debt. I have 4 children ranging in age from 4 to 17. I need mortgage protection insurance and I also would like some extra life insurance on top of that so that the children would be financially safe until they finish school at least. I pay into and NHS pension so they should get some benefit from that but I don't think that would be enough.

I have been looking at mortgage insurance and level term insurance. Do i need both or am I better doing one big policy to cover say £30000 which would cover mortgage and give a lump sum for the kids?

I am so confused - does my new mortgage provider need a particular insurance or does it not matter to them what kind of insurance I have? The broker is trying hard to sell me mrtgage insurance at the moment!

Any advice would be great

the-chauffeur_2

Hey Judi

The simplest of your questions is the last. Your mortgage provider does not require any specific insurances to be in place - in fact, it doesn't need an insurance policy to be in place at all. Of course, if you were to die without an insurance policy in place, your estate would be liable for the repayment of the remaining debt - which is fine if you've got no dependants, 'cos the estate could sell the property and settle the loan with the proceeds of the sale. Clearly that's not an option for you, so in some respects the broker is right to encourage you to get cover in place.

As for exactly what sort of cover you should arrange, there's any number of options - and there's no 'right' answer. Some of the factor(s) you'll need to consider are:

i) what cover do you actually need (in terms of level of cover and types of policy),
ii) what cover do you have in place (either personal or through employers), and
iii) how much can you afford.

For single folks, or people without dependants, point i) involves a fairly straightforward calculation. Things get tricky (in the nicest possible way) when you involve dependants. So you'll need to sit down and work out your answer to point i) - taking into consideration the amount of your mortgage and then the possible costs involved in bringing up the children.

Remember, any insurances you apply for will need to cover you until the youngest is old enough to look after him/herself (18?), and that you'll need a higher level of cover in the early years, reducing as each of the kids pass that age. At the same time, you might want to consider whether you want to include options like critical illness cover - death isn't the only eventuality that could put a stop to your ability to repay an outstanding debt or look after the children.

Then look at everything else you've got in place. You mentioned the NHS pension; I'd be inclined to check whether you've also got some form of death in service cover as well. And think about what is in place for the little ones if the worst were to happen. Would they have help from friends/relatives or are they entirely reliant on you for everything? Either way, this will give you an idea of how much more you'll need.

But TBH, I'm not surprised that the options facing you make your head spin - you've got plenty of variables to consider. Ultimately, your best bet is going to be to talk to an independent financial advisor - someone who can spend some time with you and talk through your current situation, establish what you needs are and show you the best options available. Forums are great, but folks who you can sit down with and do this kinda thing for a living are even better.

Whatever you do, don't be rushed into buying policies you don't understand or that have been recommended by someone who hasn't been full appraised of your situation. But at the same time, don't take on the mortgage debt without some form of cover in place. Instead, make sure you devote some time to getting your affairs in order at the start so that you can be sure you and yours are properly protected.

HTH

judi24

Thank you the-chauffeur for you comprehensive and helpful reply:beer: You have given me some pointers and food for thought. I agree I probably need to take some advice on this matter as soon as possible. Thanks again

vik123

Ha-ha, you're right. By the way, I was llokking for Visitors to Canada Insurance, and just found only this company who provide such type of insurance: http://arbetovinsurance.com
I was going to go to Canada, but according to Canadian legislation all the people who enter Canada must have such insurance. So it's a niche in a market.
Thanks!

MPlant

Myself and my partner have bought a flat in May and would like to take out a Life Insurance cover, so that is something was to happen to one of us the mortgage would be paid.

In May I did an online quote with Post Office (actually Norwich Union) and everything was okay up until the point where they asked us if we had ever take recreational drugs or had mental health problems.

Both of us have used drugs infrequently at various times in our lives, but we now have a no drugs policy and haven't used drugs for over a year. I am also not proud to say that I [stupidly] took an overdose in 2004 whilst in a past turbulent relationship. I have no history of mental health problems and the incident was a one off thing that helped me shape my life for the better.

On the basis of the above we were turned down Life Insurance. We'd really like to take out a policy, but we're unsure of where to look now...

Can anyone help?