Insurance

_Andy_

Also, when you're young / healthy is the time you want to be getting it - as it's cheaper - not when you're old/not healthy

amnblog

_Andy_ wrote: »

Also, when you're young / healthy is the time you want to be getting it - as it's cheaper - not when you're old/not healthy

You may not get it at all when you are not healthy. Or you may have to pay extra to get cover.

Premiums double every 5 years or so as you get older.

Thrugelmir

Some years back a close work colleague of mine succumbed to a brain tumour at the age of 37, left a wife and 2 young children. Fortunately he had the good sense to have made provision for them. For the relatively low cost it is. Life assurance makes perfect sense.

No different to insuring a property against fire. While the chances are remote. Somebody's house is damaged every day.

amnblog

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Some years back a close work colleague of mine succumbed to a brain tumour at the age of 37, left a wife and 2 young children. Fortunately he had the good sense to have made provision for them. For the relatively low cost it is. Life assurance makes perfect sense.

No different to insuring a property against fire. While the chances are remote. Somebody's house is damaged every day.

We had a client that my colleague chased 26 times in 6 months to get him to take his life cover.

Unfortunately, he died 1 year to the day after it went in force.

His widow had a considerable six figure sum to help her continue to bring up their two teenage daughters.

ACG

Conrad wrote: »

If an insurance salesman tells you he believes passionately in arranging cover then ask him for 80% of the commission and watch this so called moral passion disappear.

I believe 99% of my clients should have PHI - its the one policy i think most people should consider. Just because i believe that doesnt mean i should give up the commission.

Why should i subsidise their policy? Are they going to pay me 80% of the payout when it pays out? Lets face it, they will still be 20% better off than if they hadnt taken my advice.

amnblog

Conrad can only speak for himself with this comment ACG.

He has no way of knowing your motives, or those of any of our other colleagues.

gazter

My interjection on this is how your family would cope if anything happened.

Losing their father would be traumatic enough, but loss of a wage earner means that there's a real chance your children will be needing to leave their home pretty soon after they bury you.

You want to have life insurance at least enough to pay out your house, that gives whoever is left time to pick their lives up.

It really isnt expensive if you are young. Go for the insurance based on the amount not changing throughout the term, otherwise you only get covered for the mortgage amount.

Check out one of the comparison sites to get an idea.

bigadaj

Conrad has ruffled a few feathers amongst the brokers, which is good for debate.

The depressing thing is that most people don't think for themselves and commission has been a significant driving force in sales.

I didn't have life insurance when I took my mortgage as partner worked, no kids and like many there was a payout of three times salary with my work. Subsequently got a good payment on a critcial illness policy through work, though I only had a few weeks off whilst undergoing chemo and the company continued to pay my full rate.

With dependents then life cover is advisable, as is phi or critical illness, however like anything people should be shopping round for it.

kingstreet

The trouble is, when people shop around, they shop around only on price. That's why the comparison sites are generating a "rush to the bottom" with the previous features of better plans slowly eroded in an effort to save cost.

On critical illness cover, the number of definitions, the ABI+ definitions and part-payments for less severe bouts of an insured condition are part and parcel of the kind of comprehensive plans recommended by advisors who have a choice. Plans from the likes of Friends Life, L&G, Scottish Provident, Bright Grey etc cover around forty conditions.

Here's one major provider's list, for example;-

Alzheimer's disease
Aorta graft surgery
Aplastic anaemia
Bacterial meningitis
Benign brain tumour
Blindness
Cancer
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiac Arrest
Coma
Coronary artery by-pass grafts
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
Deafness
Dementia
Encephalitis
Heart attack
Heart valve replacement or repair
HIV infection
Kidney failure
Liver failure
Loss of hand or foot
Loss of speech
Major organ transplant
Motor neurone disease
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple system atrophys
Open heart surgery
Paralysis of a limb
Parkinson's disease
Primary pulmonary hypertension
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Removal of an eyeball
Respiratory failure
Stroke
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Third degree burns
Total and permanent disability
Traumatic head injury

Now, compare that with the list of a well-known comparison site's "in-house" critical illness cover;-

Alzheimer’s disease
Aorta graft surgery
Benign brain tumour
Blindness
Cancer
Coma
Coronary artery by-pass grafts
Deafness
Heart attack
Heart valve replacement or repair
HIV infection
Kidney failure
Loss of hands or feet
Loss of speech
Major organ transplant
Motor neurone disease
Multiple sclerosis
Paralysis of limbs
Parkinson’s disease
Stroke
Third degree burns
Traumatic head injury

In addition to the number of definitions, will you get a payout for a serious heart condition requiring surgery? The lower cost plans may require you to have a sternotomy (division of the breastbone) before they'll pay out, whereas the comprehensive products payout where keyhole surgery is conducted.

What happens if one of your kids gets a critical illness? The better plans pay a lump sum if that happens.

Do you have to lose an arm and a leg before you get a payout? The better plans pay out on the loss of one arm, or one leg.

If you are going to go to the trouble of taking out cover, at least take the trouble to see what the chances of a payout actually are. Look at the claims stats of the providers. What percentage of claims are actually successful?

On income protection, always ensure you get "own occupation" cover, so you get a payout if you can't do your own job. Cheap plans that won't payout because you can hold a pen, or operate a keyboard, or do someone else's job may not be there for you when you need them.

If you have a risky job the usual providers won't cover on an "own occupation" basis, look at the specialists who do. You may find the premiums are lower than they are for the main insurer's "work tasks" definition...

Plenty to think about and cost just one of those things.

Dan-Dan

This thread is interesting reading , i will be arranging some sort of cover through my broker in time for exchange , and especially Kings comments on what to look for , i have printed and will refer to at the time

The one thing someone said was if you dont make allowances in some way , your family will have to cremate you at the same time as having the stress of the mortgage etc , my work pay two times my salary if i pass whilst employed here which covers the mortgage amount i would have outstanding , more or less , which is good , but how would that help me if touch wood my wife passed and i had to give up work for the kids

Theres so many costs to consider when you move from renting to home ownership , and everything seems to mount up , but if there is a priority list , surley soemthing for ultimate peace of mind comes above SKY tv (or similar luxury) ?