paying too much for critical illness cover - anything I can do?

veemac28

I have just been looking at my monthly outgoings.
My husband and I have a decreasing critical/terminal illness cover for my mortgage, which we have had for 10 years, and pay £37 a month for. For some reason it just never occurred to me that these policies are now much cheaper than they used to be, and therefore haven't thought to query this. :mad: (at myself)

But today I did a very quick quote for (what looks like) a similar policy, which came out at approx £14. So it looks as if I have been paying well over the odds for a long time. Is there anything I can do about this?
Is there any reason I SHOULDN'T go elsewhere (eg do policies still cover the same nbr of illnesses etc)?

Any constructive advice would be great, thanks.

kingstreet

Be VERY careful.

You may have a comprehensive policy which is much easier to claim on than a current plan and which has definitions which may no longer be available.

If you have obtained a quotation for budget cover, perhaps fifteen to twenty conditions covered only, you may end up making a monumental mistake by changing.

Seek advice and ensure you do not give up quality by choosing price alone.

InsideInsurance

What you can do is cancel the old policy and take out the new.

As above though, just because two things are called CI cover doesnt necessarily mean they are identical/ equal cover. It needs to be an informed decision and not just on go purely on price especially as once you cancel the old one you cannot get it back. As medical knowledge changes so will these policies. Some elements may get better but some elements will get worse too.

dunstonh

For some reason it just never occurred to me that these policies are now much cheaper than they used to be

Many modern ones are not as good as older ones. (could be but some older ones have wider coverage as you used to get budget/comprehensive plans).

But today I did a very quick quote for (what looks like) a similar policy, which came out at approx £14. So it looks as if I have been paying well over the odds for a long time. Is there anything I can do about this?

Are you comparing like for like? I suspect, like those above, that you are not. Possibly comparing terminal illness cover with critical illness cover. A very common DIY mistake. Or a budget plan vs comprehensive or reviewable premiums vs guaranteed or a combination.

Is there any reason I SHOULDN'T go elsewhere (eg do policies still cover the same nbr of illnesses etc)?

There is no set number of illnesses. There is no a minimum standard but many go beyond that. Some only by a little, some by a long way. Price is not how you measure CI policies.

veemac28

Thanks so much for the replies - it is very much appreciated.
I have now phoned my current provider to ask them to post me all the details of what they cover, so I can then make a decision based on that.

kingstreet

Although not perfect, the Defaqto ratings for critical illness cover may give you some help in working out the relative qualities of your current and prospective plans;-

http://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/

As providers often have different products which may appear in different star categories, make sure you accurately determine which one applies to you.

InsideInsurance

kingstreet wrote: »

Although not perfect, the Defaqto ratings for critical illness cover may give you some help in working out the relative qualities of your current and prospective plans;-

http://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/

As providers often have different products which may appear in different star categories, make sure you accurately determine which one applies to you.

Defaqto are fine for compare current products, with a pinch of salt just like the hotel star ratings, but wouldnt be useful to measure a historic product to a current one. Even if you could find out what the old one was originally stared at the ratings do evolve along with the market.

magpiecottage

Do be aware that if you cancel one policy and take out another, you will have no cover if a condition develops in the meantime.

The only way to guard against this is to keep to old policy in force until the new one has actually started.