Life Insurance? single or joint?

[Rusty1]

Hi
I'm wanting to sort out life insurance for me and my other half.

We now have a mortgage and i know i should have sorted this out before but i keep getting distracted/other excuses and i want to sort it.

Currently just want to get life cover done then possibly critical illness.

So should i go a joint policy or 2 single policies?
As when i looked on aviva it will only pay out if one of us dies,then that is the policy finished.

Anyone have a recommendations?

Thanks

[Sarnie]

Rusty1 said:

Hi
I'm wanting to sort out life insurance for me and my other half.

We now have a mortgage and i know i should have sorted this out before but i keep getting distracted/other excuses and i want to sort it.

Currently just want to get life cover done then possibly critical illness.

So should i go a joint policy or 2 single policies?
As when i looked on aviva it will only pay out if one of us dies,then that is the policy finished.

Anyone have a recommendations?

Thanks

Hi Rusty,

It's always best advice to have an individual policy each.

The benefits are that you get twice the cover e.g if you both got critically ill or died then each policy would pay out it's sum assured.

The disadvantage is that it might cost a few quid more than a joint policy e.g a joint might be £30 pm and two individual policies might be £35 in total.

You have mail by the way

[dalenorth]

Taking two single policies over a joint is the best idea, as the premium difference will be small. I would also advise having both policies written in trust.

PM me if you would like any quotes.

[Rusty1]

Cheers guys,

Sarnie, got your pm, cheers! yes same Adam!

Edited by Rusty1 on Wednesday 7th March 21:59

[scdan4]

Can you have 2 policies both in your name.

I have a policy that really is too small. It would not pay off the mortage. I would rather like to provide a bit more for my wife and child should i shuffle on unexpectedly from this mortal coil so they could party hard for a bit to ease my passing.

Is it possible, (or indeed advisable), to take out an additional policy - or start again with a far larger one?

Many thanks

Dan

[Sarnie]

scdan4 said:

Can you have 2 policies both in your name.

I have a policy that really is too small. It would not pay off the mortage. I would rather like to provide a bit more for my wife and child should i shuffle on unexpectedly from this mortal coil so they could party hard for a bit to ease my passing.

Is it possible, (or indeed advisable), to take out an additional policy - or start again with a far larger one?

Many thanks

Dan

As long as you pay the premiums, you can have as many policies as you want

[scdan4]

Are the lot with the stripey umbrella any good, as they come out top on moneysupermarket and include critical illness?

For the thirty a month it will cost am thinking it would be a good idea.

[Sarnie]

Did you get my email last night?

[scdan4]

Sarnie said:

Did you get my email last night?

yes folks, thanks i did get the emails.

I will dig out the details of my current policy and get back to you next week. Be nice to do it properly.

thanks

dan

[long time lurker]

Sarnie said:

As long as you pay the premiums, you can have as many policies as you want

Not true, we turn down lots of applications due to financial details , For example If a non wage earner wants £500k of cover they must provide evidence to support that level of cover otherwise we will decline the app.

(we do the same on business applications for directors and it can get tricky if a company is loosing money!! I see some interesting figures!!)

[Sarnie]

long time lurker said:

Not true, we turn down lots of applications due to financial details , For example If a non wage earner wants £500k of cover they must provide evidence to support that level of cover otherwise we will decline the app.

(we do the same on business applications for directors and it can get tricky if a company is loosing money!! I see some interesting figures!!)

I'm sure I said "as long as you can pay the premiums"..............

[Cheib]

My wife and I have separate policies and for different amounts of money as if either of us died it would have different financial implications.

I'd also consider instead of taking out one policy take out multiple policies i.e. say you want £300k of life cover take our four three £100k one's. Over time your needs will change and my taking out multiple policies you can lapse part of your cover very easily...for example if your life cover is to pay off your mortgage you can lapse it as your mortgage reduces. It's much cheaper to lapse a policy of say £100k than to cancel a policy of £300k and then take out another of £200k a few years down the road.

[Aviz]

Strange.. I have been considering this exact thing today. Decided that with a little one on the way, I need to get it sorted ! I think I'll look at 2 separate policies.

[cailean]

Do you have dependents (i.e. children who are dependent on your future income for their education and lives)? If no - you do not need life insurance! I know insurance salesmen will not agree with this....

[dalenorth]

Cailean,

Sorry but i do dissagree, we have seen many families that have suffered in a huge way by not having life or critical illness insurance in place. Think of how distressing it can be for a partner left behind with grief and all the debts to pay.

We are insurance brokers, but we only ever sell where there is a need

[Aviz]

cailean said:

Do you have dependents (i.e. children who are dependent on your future income for their education and lives)? If no - you do not need life insurance! I know insurance salesmen will not agree with this....

If I popped my clogs tomorrow, my partner would never be able to afford to keep the house. Why do you think it's just children that matter ?

[dalenorth]

Aviz,

I could not agree more, you have mail by the way!!