Insurance confusion... please help!

taka

As a bit of a general overhaul of my finances I'm questioning if I have the right insurance in place or even if what I have is entirely necessary for me.

I am 32, single, no dependants, ok health (couple of probs that would come under pre-existing conditions for the MPPI but did not prevent me getting the cover I have but obviously couldn't be claimed for!)

My job is in the education sector so I get 6 months full pay then 6 months half pay for sick leave and have an open ended contract. (ie permenant but only as long as we have funding... definitely have 4 full yrs funding). Redundancy would be fairly crappy if I was made redundant. I have 2 months "salary" saved just in case and this should rise to 3 months worth by the end of this tax yr. I also have a fair bit of equity in my property.

I have a mortgage (48.5k left 20yrs left 338/month) and a loan (7.4k less ~35 months left 234/month )

I have...
- life assurance (fixed level term for mortgage) £5/month
- MPPI £41.95/month (which covers £400 for mortgage and £200 for other bills) for 24 months (think there is a 90 day waiting period).

I'm kinda thinking the MPPI is v expensive and I presume would not pay out for me for the 1st 6 months if I'm ill and only part of the next 6 months but I am paying for ALL 24 months cover. I'm so confused! Any thoughts anyone?

dunstonh

PHI would be better than MPPI (as is very often the case). A 12 month deferment and your occupation would see it being very cheap but would fill that gap from 12 months to retirement. Unlike the MPPI.

Plus, it would be underwritten to your circumstances, unlike the MPPI. It may even cover pre-existing conditions depending on what they are.

taka

Oooppps my reply went AWOL. Thank you dunstonh for your reply! What is the best way to investigate the costs/benefits etc of PHI? Would this be thro an IFA? Is that the only way? Thank-you again!

dunstonh

PHI doesnt have good web coverage. Its a product that falls under both full regulation and protection regulation. Many of the internet sites only hold protection authorisation and will be missing a number of plans. There are also different levels of cover (typically referred to as budget, standard and comprehensive, although providers use their own names). The providers also vary a lot on what they cover.

Buying one from whole of market choice is only possible through IFAs. Whether it is an IFA's website by execution only or face to face on advice or execution only is your choice.

It also needs to be noted that PHI is low profit and quite high admin. Thats another reason you dont see it much on internet sites.

taka

Thank-you again!