Phoenix Life Death benefit rip off

SiliconChip

SevenOfNine said:

Pennylane said:

I am surprised. my Mum died last year and Phoenix were brilliant. Of all the organisations I had to deal with after she died, they were by far the most prompt and polite and I told them so.  They answered the phones promptly, dealt with my call sensitively and paid out very quickly. 

My condolences. I think maybe the question is what did they pay out in relation to how much your mum paid in.

OP hasn't exactly criticised the staff service, more the really small pay out given that she'd paid in more than 3 times that much over 25 years.

But that is how all insurance works. If their premium income isn't higher than their claims payments then they are operating at a loss and will eventually go bust. This seems to be a particularly poor policy but it is unlikely that there is any valid complaint to be made.

Keep_pedalling

SiliconChip said:

SevenOfNine said:

Pennylane said:

I am surprised. my Mum died last year and Phoenix were brilliant. Of all the organisations I had to deal with after she died, they were by far the most prompt and polite and I told them so.  They answered the phones promptly, dealt with my call sensitively and paid out very quickly. 

My condolences. I think maybe the question is what did they pay out in relation to how much your mum paid in.

OP hasn't exactly criticised the staff service, more the really small pay out given that she'd paid in more than 3 times that much over 25 years.

But that is how all insurance works. If their premium income isn't higher than their claims payments then they are operating at a loss and will eventually go bust. This seems to be a particularly poor policy but it is unlikely that there is any valid complaint to be made.

True, but it even more so for these over 60s type policies which are particularly poor value. 

Pennylane

SevenOfNine said:

Pennylane said:

I am surprised. my Mum died last year and Phoenix were brilliant. Of all the organisations I had to deal with after she died, they were by far the most prompt and polite and I told them so.  They answered the phones promptly, dealt with my call sensitively and paid out very quickly. 

My condolences. I think maybe the question is what did they pay out in relation to how much your mum paid in.

OP hasn't exactly criticised the staff service, more the really small pay out given that she'd paid in more than 3 times that much over 25 years.

Mum was not well off so her premiums could not have been large.  the paperwork is all in the loft but will check when I have time. We received about £6,500 payout.  I do remember several years ago she received a letter saying she did not need to pay any more premiums.

SevenOfNine

Pennylane said:

SevenOfNine said:

Pennylane said:

I am surprised. my Mum died last year and Phoenix were brilliant. Of all the organisations I had to deal with after she died, they were by far the most prompt and polite and I told them so.  They answered the phones promptly, dealt with my call sensitively and paid out very quickly. 

My condolences. I think maybe the question is what did they pay out in relation to how much your mum paid in.

OP hasn't exactly criticised the staff service, more the really small pay out given that she'd paid in more than 3 times that much over 25 years.

Mum was not well off so her premiums could not have been large.  the paperwork is all in the loft but will check when I have time. We received about £6,500 payout.  I do remember several years ago she received a letter saying she did not need to pay any more premiums.

A different policy for sure. OP has said premiums had to continue until death, long after they overtook by far what was going to be paid out. 

I agree, probably no grounds for complaint, but no harm in OP having their say. I'm a bit surprised there sounds like there might not have been paperwork indicating how much this policy was worth over the years, so it probably was a sad shock. Lifetime premium agreement might not have been possible to get out of.

Mojisola

Ruthie_v said:

I should add that the reason my nan took the policy out was to help with funeral costs, so the benefit is intended for the funeral

Such a shame - she could have taken out a funeral plan which would have covered the complete cost of the funeral.

At 1996 prices, she would have done well out of it.

nanna_jack

My husband took out 3 policies with Sunlife over 50's.
He took the first one out around 7 years ago then 2 more over the next couple of years. His total payout was £5,200 but he'd only paid in around £2,750 or so, he wanted enough to cover his funeral and that's what we got with a few pounds left over.