Very short term (1 month) life assurance

[Zigster]

Hi, all.

I’m changing jobs - leaving my current employer at the end of March, taking April off as a mini sabbatical, starting with my new employer at the end of April.

Of course, all benefits such as my DIS lump sum cease when my current employment ceases. I’ll get similar level of cover when my new employment starts. But that leaves a month where I will be without cover.

Is it possible to get very short term life cover for April? I’m late 40s, in good health with no pre-existing medical conditions, non smoker and minimal levels of alcohol, no risky pastimes. Any idea what insurers to approach, what sort of cost (say per £100k), and what sort of maximum coverage is likely to be possible? My existing coverage is approx £1 million which I’m guessing might be a little high for a very short term policy.

Thanks in advance.

[rsbmw]

You could just get a longer policy and then cancel it, or if its cheap enough just keep it?

[shakotan]

Zigster said:

Hi, all.

I’m changing jobs - leaving my current employer at the end of March, taking April off as a mini sabbatical, starting with my new employer at the end of April.

Of course, all benefits such as my DIS lump sum cease when my current employment ceases. I’ll get similar level of cover when my new employment starts. But that leaves a month where I will be without cover.

Is it possible to get very short term life cover for April? I’m late 40s, in good health with no pre-existing medical conditions, non smoker and minimal levels of alcohol, no risky pastimes. Any idea what insurers to approach, what sort of cost (say per £100k), and what sort of maximum coverage is likely to be possible? My existing coverage is approx £1 million which I’m guessing might be a little high for a very short term policy.

Thanks in advance.

I have £100k policy that costs about a fiver a month, surely just get something like that and just let it run its term?

[Defcon5]

Could you get your old employer to give you your sabbatical as unpaid leave rather than resigning earlier than needed?

Or just leave it and try not to die in that 4 weeks

[number2]

Very risk averse view... what are you planning to do in your month off?!

As has been said, take out a standard policy then cancel when you like.

Tbh, asking for one month of cover may raise a flag!

[dalenorth]

Yes, there’s no contacts on life cover so you can cancel at Will, however for many of our clients it can take months to get cover in place due to medicals, Drs reports etc so you might find it’s not possible.

Happy to talk it through and try and help you out if you pm me?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

I think it's a big mistake thinking that DIS cover is a replacement for life insurance. Life insurance covers you if you die. Doesn't matter how or when, so long as you die within the term of the policy. DIS covers you if you die in service. That's great for your car crash, heart attack or brain haemorrhage, but not so good if you're one of the many who die of cancer, or motor neuron disease, or loads of other things that kill you after a few years. Because by that time, you'll have been off work for ages and they'll have long since had to let you go. So you'll have nothing, because you won't be able to buy life insurance with a motor neuron disease diagnosis on your records.

DIS is great, a useful additional bonus for your loved ones, IN ADDITION to your life cover. But ffs, don't have it in place of your life cover.

[Wacky Racer]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I think it's a big mistake thinking that DIS cover is a replacement for life insurance. Life insurance covers you if you die. Doesn't matter how or when, so long as you die within the term of the policy. DIS covers you if you die in service. That's great for your car crash, heart attack or brain haemorrhage, but not so good if you're one of the many who die of cancer, or motor neuron disease, or loads of other things that kill you after a few years. Because by that time, you'll have been off work for ages and they'll have long since had to let you go. So you'll have nothing, because you won't be able to buy life insurance with a motor neuron disease diagnosis on your records.

DIS is great, a useful additional bonus for your loved ones, IN ADDITION to your life cover. But ffs, don't have it in place of your life cover.

100% this.

[Sarnie]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I think it's a big mistake thinking that DIS cover is a replacement for life insurance. Life insurance covers you if you die. Doesn't matter how or when, so long as you die within the term of the policy. DIS covers you if you die in service. That's great for your car crash, heart attack or brain haemorrhage, but not so good if you're one of the many who die of cancer, or motor neuron disease, or loads of other things that kill you after a few years. Because by that time, you'll have been off work for ages and they'll have long since had to let you go. So you'll have nothing, because you won't be able to buy life insurance with a motor neuron disease diagnosis on your records.

DIS is great, a useful additional bonus for your loved ones, IN ADDITION to your life cover. But ffs, don't have it in place of your life cover.

One billion per cent this^

The amount of clients that I have that think DIS is adequate is huge...…….people don't think about "Why is my employer happy to give me 5x salary DIS for free but an insurer would want £30pm"...….the answer is because it's not remotely the same cover or terms...……



Killed in a car crash? Yes.


Suffer from Cancer for years and pass away? No...….you'll have been let go loooong before you pass away...…….no longer employed - no DIS.



Anyone concerned enough to want 1 months cover between jobs, should in no way be relying on DIS to protect his family...…….

[anonymous-user]

Funny thing to worry about for a young healthy person.

[rossub]

Badda said:

Funny thing to worry about for a young healthy person.

Absolutely. The chances of someone in their 40s dying in one particular month would be tiny. Personally I really wouldn’t bother trying to get insurance for one month.

[williaa68]

If you do look to buy yourself some life cover (which sounds like a good idea) be aware that it is one of the last few products that pays (HUGE) commissions to the financial advisers writing it. That's absolutely fine if you are receiving the corresponding advice but if someone is just flogging you a £500k policy and pocketing a couple of grand in commission you may not think they have earned it. Look at the policy prices via Cavendish online if you need prices to benchmark against.

[66Elan]

williaa68 said:

If you do look to buy yourself some life cover (which sounds like a good idea) be aware that it is one of the last few products that pays (HUGE) commissions to the financial advisers writing it. That's absolutely fine if you are receiving the corresponding advice but if someone is just flogging you a £500k policy and pocketing a couple of grand in commission you may not think they have earned it. Look at the policy prices via Cavendish online if you need prices to benchmark against.

As he only requires short term cover the commission will be minimal. £500,000 life assurance for a 12 month term will generate less than £100 in commission.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

rossub said:

Badda said:

Funny thing to worry about for a young healthy person.

Absolutely. The chances of someone in their 40s dying in one particular month would be tiny. Personally I really wouldn’t bother trying to get insurance for one month.

But buying cover for the minimum term, say a year, would be a very low premium per month, and he only have to pay for the month, then stop and let the policy lapse. The chances are tiny, but so will the premium be. Might even be able to do something online.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Sarnie said:

The amount of clients that I have that think DIS is adequate is huge...…….people don't think about "Why is my employer happy to give me 5x salary DIS for free but an insurer would want £30pm"...….the answer is because it's not remotely the same cover or terms...……

Exactly. If an employer is buying DIS for all employees, with a group discount, it'll be cheap. It's cheap for a reason, because insurers don't have to charge much to make a decent profit. Why would that be....because they don't often pay out. You don't have to be a master of critical thinking to work it out.

Meanwhile, for very little outlay, the employer gets to look very generous and caring, because "I'm only on £20K a year, but if I die my wonderful employer will pay my spouse a whopping £80K/£100K."

Generous and caring until you're off for 6 months with cancer, then you're out on your ear matey, with sweet f.a. life cover. And to be fair, who can blame them for getting shot of you. They're running a business.

[Mr E]

Some points raised here that are valid and that is not considered.

Would anyone care to recommend appropriate further research around options

[Zigster]

Thanks for all the comments.

I quite like the idea of taking out a longer term policy then cancelling it. I certainly don’t want a permanent policy as I’m pretty over insured as it is so it would be a waste of money each month.

The risk of dying for the month is probably about 1 in 5,000, based on current life tables. So not a huge risk, I agree, but people buy lottery tickets each week on much worse odds and with much less at stake.

My experience of the employers I have worked for is that people aren’t given the boot when they’re on long-term sick leave. We’ve just had a secretary come back after three years following a cancer diagnosis, and she hadn’t even completed her probationary period. It might be different in other industries – perhaps the PHI coverage provided to us removes the incentive for the employer to get rid of us?

It’s a fair point about a month of cover raising a flag, but there is a clear evidence trail to support that I’m not selecting against the insurer (and selection is a key reason why employer-provided group policies tend to be cheaper than standalone life insurance).

I’ve found an insurer, Pulse, which seems to specialise in this sort of cover. Also, @dalenorth, I’ve PM’d you – thanks for the offer.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Zigster said:

My experience of the employers I have worked for is that people aren’t given the boot when they’re on long-term sick leave. We’ve just had a secretary come back after three years following a cancer diagnosis, and she hadn’t even completed her probationary period.

Wow! Was she on the books and being paid during that time? Or did they just say "hope it goes well, if you make it thru and want a job, call us and we'll always find a slot for you." If it's the latter, DIS wouldn't apply.

If they kept her on and paid her for 3 years, that's seriously impressive. I would hope to be given about 6 months off for serious illness, but after that, I'd fully expect to be out on my ear....and I've been here 30 years!!!!

[outnumbered]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

If they kept her on and paid her for 3 years, that's seriously impressive. I would hope to be given about 6 months off for serious illness, but after that, I'd fully expect to be out on my ear....and I've been here 30 years!!!!

Many companies use an insurance scheme to cover this sort of thing, so the employer isn't paying directly.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

outnumbered said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

If they kept her on and paid her for 3 years, that's seriously impressive. I would hope to be given about 6 months off for serious illness, but after that, I'd fully expect to be out on my ear....and I've been here 30 years!!!!

Many companies use an insurance scheme to cover this sort of thing, so the employer isn't paying directly.

So long as the insurer pays the employer so the employer keeps her employed, then that's fine. If the insurer pays the employee directly, then no DIS would apply.