Over 50' life insurance

scotty1971

My father in law has an over 50s life insurance policy. That covers a funeral plan. He took this out in 2001 and the sum assured is just under a thousand pounds. To date he has paid in over 1800 pounds. Does his sum assured increase with the amount paid in? Or is that just the way the policy is?
Thanks

Old_Lifer

No, the sum assured does not increase.   The sum assured would have been determined by your relative's age when he took-out the  policy.   The cost of life cover increases with age.     Had he been younger when he took-out the policy, the sum assured secured by the premium he pays would have been higher,   if he had taken-out the policy a year later, the sum assured would  have been less.    Taking-out a policy where no medical questions are asked is going to be more expensive,  as those policies attract people with medical conditions and this is reflected in the price.   If the life assured lives for many years after the policy is taken-out, the point may soon be reached where the total premiums paid exceed the sum assured.      Although for most people , completing  a standard proposal form where details of medical history are requested will be better value,   any life policy taken-out in the twilight of life will not be cheap.

payless

Generally poor value, But he properly got a free Parker pen and £20 Argos vouchers though.

dunstonh

These plans are typically an option of last resort for people who cannot get conventional life assurance.   
However, too many people fell for the daytime TV adverts from nice people like June Whitfield or Micheal Parkinson telling them that no salesman will call and they can have a free pen or carriage clock.....     As a result, a lot of people who could have had proper life assurance plans with a much higher sum assured ended up with these life insurance plans instead.  Some whole of life assurance plans had a maximum age you paid the premium to and after which you still retained the benefits but stopped paying into it.
Basically, these over 50s plans are poor value unless you are unable to get conventional life assurance due to poor health.  They are priced on the expectation that it is those in poor health buying it. 

scotty1971

Thanks for the info. He took it out when he was 54. To be honest he probably didn't have a clue what he was signing up to. Expensive mistake! 

Sandtree

There are warning signs with certain products... “no medical”, “unlimited cover” etc which when you stop and think about it means they appeal to certain people more than joe public. That doesn’t make them bad products, my home insurance is unlimited, but they generally are poor value for joe public.

 The majority don’t think about this though and just think it’s taking hassle out the buying process (not to mention the free pen) and so pay over the top and ultimately help fun those who do benefit from these things.