Life insurance ceased without notice

The_Rook_of_Doom

I had a joint life insurance policy when I bought a mortgage. I was happy to have this but was also forced into taking PPI as a condition of a Halifax morgage. This was via Winterthur Life. This changed to AXA then to Friends Life. At the end of 2017 the payment went down. On review it appears that the life insurance policy part of the payment disappeared! As the payment was via direct debit I don't understand how this has happened as the payment was always revised upwards annually. Do I have any recourse or is this a write off? We recently had some very bad news and discovered my wife had bowel cancer so unfortunately we need to ensure we have something in place.

Old_Lifer

One possibility is a whole life policy which has reached the end of the premium payment term. The monthly payments would cease but the policy would continue in force.


We really don't know what type of policy you have. Take a look at the policy schedule (it will usually be just a single page). This will tell you when premiums start and finish.

sal_III

Did you receive communication from the insurance provider that the policy is cancelled/expired or is it just the DD payments stopped?

Just call the insurance provider and ask them what's going on.

SonOf

Do I have any recourse or is this a write off?

Nobody here can answer that as you haven't given any details as to why it happened.

Have you spoken to the insurer yet? - what did they say?
Was your address correct on the policy?
Did the original policy term end?

I was happy to have this but was also forced into taking PPI as a condition of a Halifax morgage. This was via Winterthur Life.

I don't believe Winterthur life did PPI.

Old_Lifer

Another reason for deductions for life cover ceasing is where the value of the fund exceeds the amount of the life cover. This usually arises where there is a fairly low sum assured at outset.


I understand from the post that the cost of life cover was 'always revised upwards annually' which indicates a whole life policy and not a term assurance.


As Sonof says, nobody here can give a proper answer until we have more details.

The_Rook_of_Doom

Old_Lifer wrote: »

One possibility is a whole life policy which has reached the end of the premium payment term. The monthly payments would cease but the policy would continue in force.


We really don't know what type of policy you have. Take a look at the policy schedule (it will usually be just a single page). This will tell you when premiums start and finish.

Hi,

The schedule shows a commencement date but no end date. It shows a review date 5 years later from the policy commencing. It initially covered the amount of the mortgage borrowed but was then increased to cover an extra £19000.

It appears to cover the first death or critical illness.

Thanks
Alan

The_Rook_of_Doom

SonOf wrote: »

Nobody here can answer that as you haven't given any details as to why it happened.

Have you spoken to the insurer yet? - what did they say?
Was your address correct on the policy?
Did the original policy term end?



I don't believe Winterthur life did PPI.

The insurance was definitely from Winterthur. It paid a monthly benefit where there was a period of ill health. If that's not PPI, then apologies. From my uniniated perspective I believe it is. I'm happy to be corrected though.

The_Rook_of_Doom

sal_III wrote: »

Did you receive communication from the insurance provider that the policy is cancelled/expired or is it just the DD payments stopped?

Just call the insurance provider and ask them what's going on.

The direct debit continued but the payment reduced as there were two policies. Now there only appears to be one.

Old_Lifer

So there were two policies, one a whole life with critical illness ? the other a permanent health insurance ?



Permanent health insurance replaces income during a period of prolonged illness. PPI is short term and covers payments due under a specific debt, such as a loan or credit card debt.


If there were two policies and 'now there only appears to be one' and you have no documentation to explain why this has happened I think you need to ask the Life Office for an explanation quoting the 2 (?) policy numbers.

TrickyDicky101

Your policy will be with Aviva now so their customer service team would be the place to direct questions to.

Winterthur Life definitely never sold PPI so I don't think that's what you have.