Do you have life insurance, critical illness cover or income
Discussion
..protection?
I thought to start this thread off the back of another where the cost of this was mentioned, and someone commented that people always think they are invincible or immune to accidents, illness and/or redundancy.
I have, within the last 4 months, had the following two clients:
1. Client applied for life & critical illness cover. During the insurer underwriting the application (took ~2 months), one of the clients has been diagnosed with cancer. They're positive about it and it seems they have discovered it early, so fingers crossed.
2. A client ringing me, giving me a load of grief about having sold him a really expensive life & critical illness policy (~£90) and that he had been given a much better deal by his bank - they had sold him 4 x the volume of life cover, with NO critical illness cover - when I tried to explain this, I was swore at and called a crook.
He called me a couple of months later telling me he had been diagnosed with cancer - I took no pleasure in telling him that his banks policy would pay him sod all.
I would be interested to hear from those on here about their views on these types of insurance - is the common view still that they take your money but never pay? Do people still confuse these policies with PPI policies?
I have seen clients cancel their £10 policies as they were "a waste of money", but carry on smoking 10 a day.
Ironically, now that most of my clients are medics, they mostly want good quality cover in place, and will pay a significantly higher proportion of their income on the cover than someone earning an average wage.
ETA:
Due to some confusion of the terminoligy used, I thought it wise to clarify the different types of cover here:
Life cover : Pays out a lump sum on death
Life with critical illness cover : Pays a lump sum on death or diagnosis of a specified critical illness - pays on the first event and is settled.
Income Protection - Pays a regular monthly income following a specified deferred term (usually 1,3,6 or 12 months) of being unable to work due to ACCIDENT OR ILLNESS. It will continue to pay until the end of the policy term (usually set up to expire at retirement), return to work, or death - whichever comes first. No limit on claims.
Mortgage payment protection AKA Accident, Sickness, Unemployment cover - Restrictive policy, typically a maximum claim term of 12 months. Can be set up to pay in the event of accident/sickness and redundancy, or only accident/sickness OR redundancy. Received a lot of bad press as this has often been mis-sold.
I thought to start this thread off the back of another where the cost of this was mentioned, and someone commented that people always think they are invincible or immune to accidents, illness and/or redundancy.
I have, within the last 4 months, had the following two clients:
1. Client applied for life & critical illness cover. During the insurer underwriting the application (took ~2 months), one of the clients has been diagnosed with cancer. They're positive about it and it seems they have discovered it early, so fingers crossed.
2. A client ringing me, giving me a load of grief about having sold him a really expensive life & critical illness policy (~£90) and that he had been given a much better deal by his bank - they had sold him 4 x the volume of life cover, with NO critical illness cover - when I tried to explain this, I was swore at and called a crook.
He called me a couple of months later telling me he had been diagnosed with cancer - I took no pleasure in telling him that his banks policy would pay him sod all.
I would be interested to hear from those on here about their views on these types of insurance - is the common view still that they take your money but never pay? Do people still confuse these policies with PPI policies?
I have seen clients cancel their £10 policies as they were "a waste of money", but carry on smoking 10 a day.
Ironically, now that most of my clients are medics, they mostly want good quality cover in place, and will pay a significantly higher proportion of their income on the cover than someone earning an average wage.
ETA:
Due to some confusion of the terminoligy used, I thought it wise to clarify the different types of cover here:
Life cover : Pays out a lump sum on death
Life with critical illness cover : Pays a lump sum on death or diagnosis of a specified critical illness - pays on the first event and is settled.
Income Protection - Pays a regular monthly income following a specified deferred term (usually 1,3,6 or 12 months) of being unable to work due to ACCIDENT OR ILLNESS. It will continue to pay until the end of the policy term (usually set up to expire at retirement), return to work, or death - whichever comes first. No limit on claims.
Mortgage payment protection AKA Accident, Sickness, Unemployment cover - Restrictive policy, typically a maximum claim term of 12 months. Can be set up to pay in the event of accident/sickness and redundancy, or only accident/sickness OR redundancy. Received a lot of bad press as this has often been mis-sold.
- None of the information on this thread should be taken as advice, it is very simply generic information. If you want tailored advice, please contact me or any qualified advisor.
Edited by vinnie83 on Friday 25th October 12:29
I have the lot, and so do the majority of my clients unless they are self-insured (i.e. genuinely wealthy).
I have had clients claim successfully, and never had a claim rejected in 14 years.
I have also had clients decline to take any cover, if they wish to remain a client I insist they sign a declaration that my advice/recommendation is not being followed and that they understand they will not be protected. This is not an easy thing to sign.
I, like you, also have numerous clients who think they are never going to die!
I understand why young single people don't feel the need for Life Insurance but Critical Illness is still a possible as is Redundancy.
I've had clients who have taken out mortgages of £2k+ a month but then claim to not be able to afford a £15 a month policy that would pay off the mortgage balance to allow their wife and kids to remain in the family home should the main earner kick the bucket.
I've seen people paying £80 a month to Pet Plan and refuse Life Insurance based on affordability! lol
I think there is still a kind of stigma attached to insurance products (think PPI & Endowments etc) and they think they are being sold something that they don't need, want or ask for. Whereas the truth is that it's a regulatory requirement to discuss these products....
I understand why young single people don't feel the need for Life Insurance but Critical Illness is still a possible as is Redundancy.
I've had clients who have taken out mortgages of £2k+ a month but then claim to not be able to afford a £15 a month policy that would pay off the mortgage balance to allow their wife and kids to remain in the family home should the main earner kick the bucket.
I've seen people paying £80 a month to Pet Plan and refuse Life Insurance based on affordability! lol
I think there is still a kind of stigma attached to insurance products (think PPI & Endowments etc) and they think they are being sold something that they don't need, want or ask for. Whereas the truth is that it's a regulatory requirement to discuss these products....
I'm not on the best wage by far, but this is definitely something I'm looking into at the minute and something I think is really a very good thing to have.
Vinnie, if this is a regular thing that you deal with and can advise on would you mind dropping me an email through my profile? Of course, anyone else that deals with this is welcome to drop an email also. Looking for all of the above!!
Vinnie, if this is a regular thing that you deal with and can advise on would you mind dropping me an email through my profile? Of course, anyone else that deals with this is welcome to drop an email also. Looking for all of the above!!
I dont have cover but this is due to my circumstances rather than no desire to have it.
My DIS is enough to pay off my liabilities and I dont have any dependents so its not important really. Anything thats left would go to my brother or my parents.
I cant get CIC because of pre existing conditions. Well, I could get it but its given such a huge weighting its not really worth it for me. The alternative would be to limit the cover but when I looked into this the cover was very limited indeed. I think its a great product for most people though. A colleague at work had a payout on his that cleared his mortgage when he was ill.
The area I do think about is redundancy/unemployment however at the moment Ive been with my employer long enough that redundancy would be a years salary at least which gives me about 18 months to find a job which should be doable.
My DIS is enough to pay off my liabilities and I dont have any dependents so its not important really. Anything thats left would go to my brother or my parents.
I cant get CIC because of pre existing conditions. Well, I could get it but its given such a huge weighting its not really worth it for me. The alternative would be to limit the cover but when I looked into this the cover was very limited indeed. I think its a great product for most people though. A colleague at work had a payout on his that cleared his mortgage when he was ill.
The area I do think about is redundancy/unemployment however at the moment Ive been with my employer long enough that redundancy would be a years salary at least which gives me about 18 months to find a job which should be doable.
In the last year alone, I have had 4 clients receive payouts on critical illness plans so no one can argue there not worth the paper theyre written on.
Everyone has a budget, and sometimes clients need to prioritise there expenditure, but life cover especially is vital. I'd hate to be on my death bed, knowing my loved ones were not provided for.
Everyone has a budget, and sometimes clients need to prioritise there expenditure, but life cover especially is vital. I'd hate to be on my death bed, knowing my loved ones were not provided for.
I think it's very easy to be over insured these days.
I don't insure things like my phone or take out warranties on 'stuff' and never have. At best it forces me to take care of my things and at worst I'll lose a few hundred quid or do without something for a bit. My view is that the insurance companies have spent considerable resources making sure the odds are in their favour so, statistically at least, I'm always going to be on the right side of the gamble. I also think of all the people around the world who manage quite well without being insured up to their eyeballs.
We've always put that money into a savings account that we keep in case of a problem and, if not required, gets spent on fun things that we try to enjoy while we're young and healthy enough to do so, such as travel.
However, recent tragic events (there's a thread elsewhere) mean I'm reconsidering this attitude at all levels. Put simply, we suddenly have a toddler to raise coupled with a 35% drop in income as I am now the sole provider. We won't have that spare cash we were putting aside for emergencies so the risk is more significant. That situation may be eased at some point but I'm taking a cautious approach on that.
So life insurance will be sorted asap and I'm considering pet insurance for the pooch for the first time.
Mortgage and income protection: I'm not yet convinced.
I don't insure things like my phone or take out warranties on 'stuff' and never have. At best it forces me to take care of my things and at worst I'll lose a few hundred quid or do without something for a bit. My view is that the insurance companies have spent considerable resources making sure the odds are in their favour so, statistically at least, I'm always going to be on the right side of the gamble. I also think of all the people around the world who manage quite well without being insured up to their eyeballs.
We've always put that money into a savings account that we keep in case of a problem and, if not required, gets spent on fun things that we try to enjoy while we're young and healthy enough to do so, such as travel.
However, recent tragic events (there's a thread elsewhere) mean I'm reconsidering this attitude at all levels. Put simply, we suddenly have a toddler to raise coupled with a 35% drop in income as I am now the sole provider. We won't have that spare cash we were putting aside for emergencies so the risk is more significant. That situation may be eased at some point but I'm taking a cautious approach on that.
So life insurance will be sorted asap and I'm considering pet insurance for the pooch for the first time.
Mortgage and income protection: I'm not yet convinced.
durbster said:
Mortgage and income protection: I'm not yet convinced.
You will never be convinced, if that's your view, until the day you need it.My wife's sister had a £108 per month Bupa Critical Illness policy I wrote for her about seven years ago. She had it for three years and called me up to cancel it as she didn't think she needed it. A year later she was diagnosed with a Brain Tumour. She survived and is still with us but she has had to give up her £50k a year job and she'll never work again. The onset of Epilepsy has mean't she has had her driving license revoked. Fortunately her £245k mortgage was paid off from the Bupa payment and she doesn't have to be concerned over her and her two kids losing their house.
Funnily enough, she now deems her CIC policy to be the best money she ever spent!
Long term lurker; old 'ID' didn't seem to work.
I have been looking into this very thing. Life insurance to cover the mortgage and critical illness to support the mrs and little one if worst was to happen. Beagle street and Aviva keep being around the best quotes that I get, what are your opinions on these or is their better providers?
I have been looking into this very thing. Life insurance to cover the mortgage and critical illness to support the mrs and little one if worst was to happen. Beagle street and Aviva keep being around the best quotes that I get, what are your opinions on these or is their better providers?
Sarnie said:
You will never be convinced, if that's your view, until the day you need it.
Er thanks, I'm well aware how insurance works. 
I just refuse to live my life based on the fear of "what if". They can consume you and everyone has to draw the line somewhere. For all the anecdotes you can offer, there are countless other people paying who will not need it.
If that wasn't true, BUPA would have gone bust.
durbster said:
Sarnie said:
You will never be convinced, if that's your view, until the day you need it.
Er thanks, I'm well aware how insurance works. I just refuse to live my life based on the fear of "what if". They can consume you and everyone has to draw the line somewhere. For all the anecdotes you can offer, there are countless other people paying who will not need it.
If that wasn't true, BUPA would have gone bust.
The whole point of insurance to remove the fear of "what if".
durbster said:
Er thanks, I'm well aware how insurance works.
I just refuse to live my life based on the fear of "what if". They can consume you and everyone has to draw the line somewhere. For all the anecdotes you can offer, there are countless other people paying who will not need it.
If that wasn't true, BUPA would have gone bust.
Of course it's true.I just refuse to live my life based on the fear of "what if". They can consume you and everyone has to draw the line somewhere. For all the anecdotes you can offer, there are countless other people paying who will not need it.
If that wasn't true, BUPA would have gone bust.
Most people will never need to claim on their cover but a lot of people will.
I have a similar outlook to you though. I don't insure my phone, I don't take out extended warranties etc. I wouldn't even take travel insurance out if my wife didn't make me. Mainly because in most cases, worst case scenario, I could afford to replace the item.
But, it's a fact that if I couldn't work again or was to die, my family couldn't afford to stay in our house. Their lives would suffer beyond just losing their Dad. Some people are happy with that risk, some aren't.
I don't have life insurance, it's not an appropriate product for everyone whatever sections of the industry might claim. (I do have a mortgage).
I am considering accident, sickness & unemployment cover. I used to have that tied to my previous mortgage, but in the light of some news about the health of someone I know that I received today which made me think "you never know what's around the corner" I'm seriously thinking about getting it again.
I am considering accident, sickness & unemployment cover. I used to have that tied to my previous mortgage, but in the light of some news about the health of someone I know that I received today which made me think "you never know what's around the corner" I'm seriously thinking about getting it again.
I have all the cover as part of my employment package (so just pay the tax on the premium). Never gave it much thought 10 years ago in my thirties, thought I would live forever and was fit and healthy ...didn't even bother with a pension til mid thirties
...then had a near fatal car crash in Jan 2008, 6 months in a wheelchair and 2 years off work...thankfully the CIB policy paid out and I was on 75% of my salary after the first 6 months
Now live with reduced mobility and value these kinds of products. I would think they are essential if you have dependants, even more so if self employed and not part of a larger organisation that can still pay your salary whilst you are off. Of course you have to trust the underwriter and read the small print
..usually the negative stories you hear are from people who signed up, then had a few months illness but their policy doesn't kick in for 3 months, so end up without a valid claim . You need to understand what you are paying for (as usual)
...then had a near fatal car crash in Jan 2008, 6 months in a wheelchair and 2 years off work...thankfully the CIB policy paid out and I was on 75% of my salary after the first 6 months
Now live with reduced mobility and value these kinds of products. I would think they are essential if you have dependants, even more so if self employed and not part of a larger organisation that can still pay your salary whilst you are off. Of course you have to trust the underwriter and read the small print
..usually the negative stories you hear are from people who signed up, then had a few months illness but their policy doesn't kick in for 3 months, so end up without a valid claim . You need to understand what you are paying for (as usual)
mrmr96 said:
How/Why do you think that?
They have just changed our contracts. Ok they could change them again but unlikely seeing as they had a lot of hassle to get them changed. They could also go bust but that's unlikely. Everything's about the risk you are prepared to take. I have enough savings to cover 6 months outgoings as well so I'm reasonably happy I'm covered.
Edit. I'm not saying its pointless, far from it. If I'd had critical illness before I got the condition that now stops me getting it I'd have been a lot better off than I am now. However I was unlucky and got it before I'd even thought of that
Edited by richtea78 on Monday 21st October 19:14
I have life cover only and I am a bit paranoid that it wont pay out if I die to be honest. I answered all the questions honestly, passed the medical so no special conditions and about two years ago reviewed my medical file and updated information.
But insurance companies are slippery and the sum they'd have to pay out quite large, so I am wary.
To give an example of a claim that a life insurer tried to wriggle out of: A woman had (I think) critical illness cover and had said on the application that she'd never had back trouble. She tried to claim and the insurer refused the claim because they found out she'd had an epidural during childbirth! The ombudsman ruled in the claimant's favour.
I have life cover. I did try and get some illness cover but it was quite tough to get high value but long deferment. Wanted 4k pm but 36 months deferred.
In the end I settled on a policy that suited but then they send a nurse. Took my BP and life company said it was too high suggested I speak to doctor. Went to doctor who told me nothing to worry about.
Ins co. refuse to accept doctors word and wanted it treated before they could start cover. Doctor refuses to treat as it is in what he considers normal range.
So round and round I go.
Or rather I've binned any chance of it as i now have a refusal on my record!!
In the end I settled on a policy that suited but then they send a nurse. Took my BP and life company said it was too high suggested I speak to doctor. Went to doctor who told me nothing to worry about.
Ins co. refuse to accept doctors word and wanted it treated before they could start cover. Doctor refuses to treat as it is in what he considers normal range.
So round and round I go.
Or rather I've binned any chance of it as i now have a refusal on my record!!
I took a small life and CI policy out in the wifes name to cover a car loan many moons ago for £6/month for a £30K lump sum and then we also had joint life and CI to cover the mortgage. I just did this as I thought it was the right thing to do 15 years ago.
Roll on to last year, Mrs B, aged 38, mother of 2 (9 and 12yrs old) is diagnosed with cancer. I didn't think it was covered but a chance phone call from the bank manager totally blew us away. Both policies were paid out in days (unfortunately I think that reflects the severity of her illness) and now Mrs B is back at work part time on light duties. We're not sure if she's going to be able to continue in her stressful job in the long term so having the mortgage paid off and a sump sum to put one of the kids through uni has certainly taken a bit of the strain away.
I'd be happier if I knew she was going to be okay in the long term but having some financial security is second best. Without the insurance we'd be thinking about buying a smaller house or me finding a higher paid job which would involve a house move and school upheaval.
Roll on to last year, Mrs B, aged 38, mother of 2 (9 and 12yrs old) is diagnosed with cancer. I didn't think it was covered but a chance phone call from the bank manager totally blew us away. Both policies were paid out in days (unfortunately I think that reflects the severity of her illness) and now Mrs B is back at work part time on light duties. We're not sure if she's going to be able to continue in her stressful job in the long term so having the mortgage paid off and a sump sum to put one of the kids through uni has certainly taken a bit of the strain away.
I'd be happier if I knew she was going to be okay in the long term but having some financial security is second best. Without the insurance we'd be thinking about buying a smaller house or me finding a higher paid job which would involve a house move and school upheaval.
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