Life Assurance help required

proudmum_3

I am a newbie to this site and after years of staying with the same companies have been doing a bit of detective work.
I cannot believe that i have been paying £45.00 a month for life assurance for the past 10 years when i can get better cover for less than half the amount! (thanks Martin)
Anyway, can anyone advise me about putting a policy in trust. Would i need to include this even though i have a will.
It would be a joint policy for my husband and myself and we only have one child.
Any help gratefully received.
Thanks.

dunstonh

I cannot believe that i have been paying £45.00 a month for life assurance for the past 10 years when i can get better cover for less than half the amount! (thanks Martin)

10 years and half the premium suggests you have not bought like for like. You typically find differences are small if you used an IFA but upto around 20-30% if you used a tied agent.

Anyway, can anyone advise me about putting a policy in trust.

You would need advice from an IFA or solicitor on the most appropriate trust you should use and the wording.

Would i need to include this even though i have a will.

The idea of the trust is to bypass the will. The aim of the trust is to ensure quick payment to the beneficiaries without being liable or included in any calculation for inheritance tax.

homer_j_3

Sounds like you have either had a loaded premium if its just life cover or it has something else added in like critical illness or income protection or maybe a bit of both...

What does your policy schedule state?

proudmum_3

The Policy we have was taken out with our mortgage. We were naive first time buyers and didn't shop around, just went along with the banks advice. We ahd a seperate joint mortgage protection which we also badly advised about. we were under the impression that we could claim the majority when my husband was made redundant, but learned that as it was a joint policy, my salary was taken into account & could only claim a small amount. If we had seperate policies the claim would have been higher.
I have looked at two cheaper life assurance policies and they appear to cover the same as what we have now.

dunstonh

I have looked at two cheaper life assurance policies and they appear to cover the same as what we have now.

life assurance pays out on death, not unemployment. Some providers will allow you to bolt on payment protection but its often not the cheapest or best way of doing it.

If you are dropping payment protection and going with life only then that would explain the difference in premiums.

proudmum_3

If you are dropping payment protection and going with life only then that would explain the difference in premiums.[/quote]

Payment protection was a completely seperate policy and paid seperately.
Think i was just fleeced by my bank!

dunstonh

Buying insurances from your bank (even if they use a known branded insurer as they add on to the normal premium) its the most expensive way to get insurance.

Whilst I am no fan of banks and their "financial advice"/sales the fact it isnt cheap doesnt mean the products were wrong.