Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not have life insurance?

37 replies

Scottishgirl85 · 10/11/2018 09:21

Married, both 33, 2 young children, both in good careers with large house and mortgage. Never had life insurance and for some reason in the last few days I am panicking that we should have it.
Do you have it and how much is it a month?
What would it provide if you were to be ill/pass away? Seems like a bit of a minefield...
I'm also worried as husband had testicular cancer 5 years ago, will the premiums be through the roof?
Thanks!

OP posts:
Whisky2014 · 10/11/2018 09:24

Yep YABU! Get it. I get mine through work as a benefit though so not entirely sure what it costs.

monkeysox · 10/11/2018 09:25

Yabu

Shaboohshoobah1 · 10/11/2018 09:26

Yes you should have it - definitely. What if the worst happens to one of you? Could you work and pay the mortgage alone? I suspect that the cancer might bump up the premiums, but having had that in his life already, you can surely understand the devastating effects if he had not got better? I can’t remember what we pay each month (£30 maybe?) but it covers all the rest of the mortgage, plus a lump sum of about £150,000 which would enable the remaining partner to not have to work for a while. The last thing you’d want to be worrying about is money if something terrible happens - and it does. I have two friends who have lost their husbands this year - both completely unexpectedly (heart attacks, both in their 40s) so it really does happen. Do it!

Jasperoonicle · 10/11/2018 09:27

Go now and get it! It is very foolish not to have especially with a mortgage.

Workreturner · 10/11/2018 09:28

Yabu

AlexaShutUp · 10/11/2018 09:28

I don't have life insurance as such, but I do get death in service benefit through my pension scheme, which would offer a pretty generous payout in the event of my death. I always felt that this would be enough because it would have covered our mortgage, but the mortgage is pretty much paid off now anyway.

MaverickSnoopy · 10/11/2018 09:33

We pay around £40/month (which is a bit more than we would otherwise as I need to shift some weight), but it pays out £250k which would clear our mortgage and leave about £50k over. Ideally we'd like a bigger sum but can't really afford a higher premium right now. DH also has death in service through his pension which is generous. Either way we'd be financially ok (a higher payment would make the family very comfortable for a long time which is our longer term aim).

Honestly, you need this. I mean you might not in practice, but the peace of mind is enormous.

Violetroselily · 10/11/2018 09:36

See an IFA with access to the whole market - they can advise you on what type and level of cover you need. Generally pure life insurance policies will pay a lump sum on death of the policyholder, but you can get policies which will pay a monthly amount instead of a lump sum

InDubiousBattle · 10/11/2018 09:37

Are you sure you don't have some included in your mortgage? Dp has death in service benefits same as pp. I'm SAHM and have life insurance, dp earns quite well but if I were to die childcare for our 2 dc would be very expensive. I used to have a small business and had a small amount of cover included in my insurance then, when I stopped working I upped it through them. I think your dh's cancer will effect both availability and cost of insurance, has he had his 5 years all clear yet? A friend of mine all so had testicular cancer in his early 30s and has struggled. You could get some though.

madnessIsay · 10/11/2018 09:38

does anyone have one of these in a trust form as i believe that any payment is included as part of your estate & subject to IHT?

Violetroselily · 10/11/2018 09:40

Also, whilst his diagnosis may affect the premium, he shouldn't have a problem obtaining a policy now that 5 years have passed (some insurers would decline before this point). An IFA can speak to underwriters before making an application to understand what sort of premium loading you'd be looking at.

Biker47 · 10/11/2018 09:41

I have death in service which is about 6 times my salary, then I pay less than £3 a month from my wages to add an additional £50k life insurance. I also pay £20 a month for critical illness cover, which I think is for £250k.

InDubiousBattle · 10/11/2018 09:42

Should have said, I think pay around £20 a month for £200k cover, this was for a 15 year long plan to take the kids to an age where they won't need childare (non smoker, took it out mid 30's).

fiadhflower · 10/11/2018 09:43

We got life insurance once we bought our house because I couldn’t cover the mortgage payments on my salary alone and still have enough to live comfortably, if anything happened to DH. My husband probably could have, but his lifestyle would have had to change too. And now we’re due a baby, we also have to factor in having to cover childcare cost.

I had to fill in extra forms and get a doctor to sign off my application because of my family medical history. It was fine and we pay about £30 a month for coverage of £500k - enough to clear the mortgage and still have more than £100k left over, if anything happened to either or both of us. We both also have critical illness cover/life insurance through work for free, but it’s for a much smaller sum (about £100k to £150k each).

I guess if you’d be fine without your partner’s income and visa versa, then it isn’t as much of a priority. But having some spare cash in the event of a death will make life easier (especially since the government has changed the rules for the widow’s pension/allowance. I say this from personal experience - one of my parents died when I was a child. You don’t want money problems while trying to deal with a loss like that)

Racecardriver · 10/11/2018 09:46

You may struggle to get affordable coverage for your husband but you may not need it. Life insurance is designed for people where a family does not have enough assets (or where each spouse dies not have enough earning potential) to support their children of one dies. Would your family be reliant on the state if one of you died? If yes then you really should get it, it’s socially irresponsible not to insure against that risk. If no then it is up to you whether you want to.

MemoryOfSleep · 10/11/2018 09:52

Depends. If one of you died would the other be able to afford the mortgage and other outgoings? If not, then definitely get it.

wombat99 · 10/11/2018 09:53

YABU. An IFA can help work out choices and how much premium you're willing to pay.

Look into critical illness insurance too. Mine paid out when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, so got about £300k and now mortgage-free, also £15k a year until DS finishes school.

Corrag · 10/11/2018 09:53

does anyone have one of these in a trust form as i believe that any payment is included as part of your estate & subject to IHT?

It depends how you've written the policy. On a single life policy (covering one person) the payment would form part of the estate (so could be subject to IHT). On a joint life policy (covering two people) the payment would go to the surviving life assured, so wouldn't be part of the estate.

madnessIsay · 10/11/2018 09:55

Not done it yet so will see an IFA but perhaps a joint policy is best. Thank you Corrag

Original poster
Scottishgirl85 · 10/11/2018 09:59

Thanks everyone, I have learned a lot already. I need to check as I think my work may offer something. Selling our house would probably keep the surviving partner going for a good long time, but I wouldn't want to have to sell it as we see it as our children's inheritance. We're actually just over the six year mark since his diagnosis. It was the worst few years of our lives and I think I have a real fear of addressing it again and thinking about death, so have been burying my head in the sand. Sounds like it might be good to see an IFA. We also don't have a Will... I think the thought of death scares me that much I've decided in the past just to ignore it! You've given me the kick up the ass that I need! Thank you!

OP posts:
ChoudeBruxelles · 10/11/2018 10:02

What would happen if you died. Would the other person be able to manage on one income.

We pay quite a lot each month but that covers critical illness as well as death. Dying is actually quite rare but becoming ill is far more likely.

ChoudeBruxelles · 10/11/2018 10:03

It’s some kind of free will month in November. Go and get one done

InDubiousBattle · 10/11/2018 10:14

I know it's frightening and no one really want to think about it but please do. My mum died uninsured (either privately or through work)and the financial pressure of losing an earner in a two earner household is massive (I know how cold that sounds- sorry obviously it wasn't our main consideration at the time)Even just the funeral was very expensive. I was an older teenager and dad managed to hang onto the family home until I finished uni when it had to be sold. I can only imagine how much more difficult it would have been had me and my sister been little.

sahknowme · 10/11/2018 10:15

Enough to pay the mortgage. My salary would cover living expenses if we had the house paid off.

BarbaraofSevillle · 10/11/2018 10:18

In your circumstances it sounds like you do need something if the worst happened to one of you, because the surviving spouse would be alone with a mortgage and 2 DC. So expenses like childcare could go up, while income goes down. But not necessarily life insurance, especially if it is going to be very expensive for your DH.

Only you know if either of you could manage financially on your own, but it's first worth looking at death benefits from pensions and then whether these need topping up.

You say that you see your house as your children's inheritence, but in reality, you're likely to live until they are at least 50/60 anyway, and by then you'd hope that they'd sorted themselves out financially. Or the value could go to pay for your care in later life.

If the worst happened, downsizing could be a legitimate route to releasing some money to live on. You might look at only insuring you, if it is too expensive for your DH, or just get quotes, they might not be as bad as you fear if you shop around (sorry don't know anything about long term survivability of testicular cancer).

Swipe left for the next trending thread