Life Insurance cancelled

Viking10101

I recently received a letter from Aviva stating they were stopping my DD payments, and closing my Life Insurance policy as it had completed its 19 year term.
I was under the impression it was a whole life policy, but as it was taken out 19 yrs ago I do not have the original paperwork and therefore no details of the Policy.
I requested a copy of the original policy but Aviva sent thru a summary of the details of the original policy that were recorded when the paper documents were transferred to digital records so I am unable to verify the details of the actual documents I signed.
Do I have any recourse with this matter, the life insurance was for £225k and I am 64 yo and I can not replace this policy like for like, the only thing available seems to be an Over 50's plan for under £20k.
Any help would be appreciated 

dunstonh

Do I have any recourse with this matter, the life insurance was for £225k and I am 64 yo and I can not replace this policy like for like

A WOL policy would have been more expensive than a Term Assurance.   The difference in documentation would have been significant as well. Completely different application forms and illustrations.  So, its unlikely to be a mix up.

You could ask the original seller of the policy if they have any records. 

But in reality, there is unlikely to be any recourse unless somehow it got mixed up.    WOL assurance sales were quite unusual for 2006.  Its a niche product.   Indeed, many distribution channels don't offer it.

the only thing available seems to be an Over 50's plan for under £20k.

That is not correct.  WOL plans are still available.
Do you actually have a WOL need? - most people don't.

lon_don

dunstonh said:

Do you actually have a WOL need? - most people don't.

Could you please elaborate on  why most people don't need WOL (thus Term is enough) ?

400ixl

lon_don said:

dunstonh said:

Do you actually have a WOL need? - most people don't.

Could you please elaborate on  why most people don't need WOL (thus Term is enough) ?

As you get older you will likely have paid your big debts off (mortgage etc) and built pension funds or other investments for retirement years. Therefore most people only need term assurance until you get to that tipping point. 

DullGreyGuy

lon_don said:

dunstonh said:

Do you actually have a WOL need? - most people don't.

Could you please elaborate on  why most people don't need WOL (thus Term is enough) ?

The average term life insurance is £150k of cover, roughly... why do you think the widow of a 95 year old would need £150k?

Most people need/want insurance to cover their mortgage and to support their spouse and dependent children until they are no longer dependent. Most people its effectively until the end of the working life at which point pensions kick in which potentially have their own mechanisms for dealing with widows. 

If you are 95 and you are still paying a mortgage or you have a teenage kid then your life has not followed the normal path. 

Whole of life policies are frequently much lower sums insured because they are vastly more expensive and they're often there to do things like cover funeral expenses. There are a smaller number with significant wealth, often tied up in property, where its there to pay the IHT as not to have to sell the ancestral home. 

With many WoL you may pay in more than you ever will receive back if you live notably longer

Aretnap

Indeed, term insurance is the norm; whole of life insurance is a niche product. If you Google "Life Insurance" you will be shown providers and comparison sites selling term insurance,* and if you tell an insurance broker that you are interested in life insurance, he'll start by telling you about term insurance unless you specifically asked about whole of life (or you said that you were interested because you wanted to avoid inheritance tax etc).

So if you wanted whole of life insurance you would have to have gone out of your way to find it - so do you remember if you did?

As above, the reason term insurance is sufficient in most cases is because with life insurance you are mainly insuring against the risks that come with dying young. The fear that your wife won't be able to pay the mortgage without your income, that your children will have to leave school and work cleaning chimneys, that sort of thing.

As you get older those risks go away - your wife no longer has to worry about how she'll pay the mortgage without you as it no longer exists, your children are working for themselves and no longer need your financial support (except maybe when there's a new car to buy) and they will get a nice nest egg anyway from selling your mortgage-free house when you do eventually pass on. There's no need to pay the high cost of WOL insurance to protect yourself against the "risk" that you will die aged 90. And if you did want to leave your children a large sum should you die at that age, putting money in a bank or investment account every month for then would be a much more efficient way of doing it that through life insurance.

 * I guess this might not be true if Google knows that you are 64 - it might show you over 50s plans instead. You can try it from a private browser window if you want to see what it shows a person of unknown age.

Midlander59

You can still get life cover but do you need it realistically? Dont bother with the over 50s plans. Pay out is peanuts.