Life insurance.

GT60

Hi 
I am now 60 and thinking even more about insurance.
Can I get "normal life insurance" and if so how?
Or 
Should I get the  over 50's life insurance?

Thank you 

dunstonh

Can I get "normal life insurance" and if so how?

Yes you can.   An IFA or via a broker are typical.

Should I get the  over 50's life insurance?

That is the option of last resort.  Aimed at people who cannot get normal underwritten life assurance.

DullGreyGuy

dunstonh said:
That is the option of last resort.  Aimed at people who cannot get normal underwritten life assurance.

Or people that don't know better/ are tempted by the free carriage clock 


From a purely personal perspective, my experience of buying protection insurance was vastly better via a whole of market advisory broker than an IFA.

GT60

What's the difference between a comparison site and going to a broker or IFA?
Thanks 

dunstonh

GT60 said:

What's the difference between a comparison site and going to a broker or IFA?
Thanks 

Brokers and IFAs give advice and tell you what you need, how much, if trusts are required and will tell you who they think is best and do the work for you.  A comparison site gives you a list of providers and you select the one you want. 

Most IFAs (individuals) don't do much in the way of insurance, if any at all nowadays.  The IFA (firm) will often get their mortgage and protection advisers to handle the insurance side.      Its hard to be a jack of all trades nowadays.  Although there are still some self employed IFAs that may do everything themselves.

DullGreyGuy

GT60 said:

What's the difference between a comparison site and going to a broker or IFA?
Thanks 

The other big difference is medical conditions... they'll know generally which are open to considering certain conditions or if they don't know they have dedicated telephone lines they can use to proper support teams and can have a "no names" conversation on if XYZ is likely to be accepted etc rather than blindly submitting applications and getting rejections. 

Initially I tried using an IFA who didnt feel engaged, even though recommended by a charity for those with my medical condition. He got declines and simple response to me was do I want him to try someone else or accept Im uninsurable. I switched to an advisory broker who said they were surprised as the decline came from a company normally more forgiving so they had a conversation with them, agreed to get a consultant report rather than my GP and not only then got offered terms by the same insurer but with hardly any loading. I'm sure the consultant letter saying that many GPs get it wrong and actually with medical treatment mortality and morbidity for those with my condition is actually better than someone without the condition. 

dunstonh

Initially I tried using an IFA who didnt feel engaged, even though recommended by a charity for those with my medical condition. He got declines and simple response to me was do I want him to try someone else or accept Im uninsurable. I switched to an advisory broker who said they were surprised as the decline came from a company normally more forgiving so they had a conversation with them, agreed to get a consultant report rather than my GP and not only then got offered terms by the same insurer but with hardly any loading. I'm sure the consultant letter saying that many GPs get it wrong and actually with medical treatment mortality and morbidity for those with my condition is actually better than someone without the condition. 

I wonder if that was a lead-generation process rather than a referral to a specialist adviser.     There are a number of charities, affinity groups, etc, that operate on a lead basis, and the adviser firm either buys leads from them or shares the commission earned from the policy.

Tends to be taken up by firms with a sales bias, those just starting out or those without enough clients and getting desperate.  

DullGreyGuy

dunstonh said:

Initially I tried using an IFA who didnt feel engaged, even though recommended by a charity for those with my medical condition. He got declines and simple response to me was do I want him to try someone else or accept Im uninsurable. I switched to an advisory broker who said they were surprised as the decline came from a company normally more forgiving so they had a conversation with them, agreed to get a consultant report rather than my GP and not only then got offered terms by the same insurer but with hardly any loading. I'm sure the consultant letter saying that many GPs get it wrong and actually with medical treatment mortality and morbidity for those with my condition is actually better than someone without the condition. 

I wonder if that was a lead-generation process rather than a referral to a specialist adviser.     There are a number of charities, affinity groups, etc, that operate on a lead basis, and the adviser firm either buys leads from them or shares the commission earned from the policy.

Tends to be taken up by firms with a sales bias, those just starting out or those without enough clients and getting desperate.  

I think it was a one man band IFA... certainly the chap himself was an IFA.

The charity's website says to contact them for advice/help on various matters and so I did and asked about protection insurance because I anticipated challenges. They didnt have anything to hand and said they'd check and come back to me which they did a few days later saying that some of their members had had success using this chap and gave me his telephone number. When I called him he asked how I found him and seemed surprised to have been referred to by the charity but said he'd be happy to help (and do I need advice on pensions/investments whilst we're at it etc)