To hate the comment about "why dont you have life insurance"?

[partinor]

Yes if a partner dies when the family rely on their income, there will be a major impact on the finances of the household. And yes, life insurance would solve at least that impact.
BUT not everyone can get life insurance that covers everything. A LOT of people are born as children with illnesses that can have an impact on life expectancy, and so these will often not be covered by life insurance. With some conditions, it may be that you can not get any life insurance. Or the costs may be too high.
And when I was young and took out life insurance policies routinely excluded causes of death such as suicide or risky behaviour.
But easier to just blame the individuals.

I recently got declined for health insurance as I had PND. It was the only thing it could have been, I’m a healthy, non smoking, single parent. But life insurance was denied.

While working both my and dh employers had life insurance policies included in our employment package. Our mortgage had a life insurance policy attached. Our pensions are joint. No additional policies necessary for us.

Ours is included in our employment package also, so we have never bought any

I am not saying that people should in any way be dissuaded from taking out life insurance. It’s something I remind people of often, on here and IRL. But I don’t ask if fellow wids received it. That’s just rude. (The old Mn classic “did you mean to be so rude?” helped when people asked me that.) And frankly, a surviving parent/kids left without financial support are already struggling with their emotions over that. They don’t need others pointing and laughing.

There are other compounding factors too, with life insurance. One is that the ‘standard’ is often too low. It provides for paying off mortgage, or 4 times salary. Well, as several of my friends discovered, you can’t eat a house. And amidst the trauma of bereavement it is very hard to downsize, even when the house market is moving.
Also, some life cover pays out early, for example if the person has cancer. We had to do this, because we couldn’t afford me caring for Dh1 when he couldn’t work anymore. We thought he’d recover at that point, after more chemo, and then it was a major concern of his that part of the money I needed was already gone. But a new insurer wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole at that point. And then I got in debt between then and when he died, trying to cover food and bills. When there was a bit of delay in getting the rest of the lump sum I was days away from needing to use a food bank - would have had to much sooner actually, without supportive family and friends. And we were relatively well paid graduates with what had seemed a good level of life insurance - serious illness, caring responsibilities and then early death and funeral costs changed all that so quickly. And if I hadn’t managed to set up a flexible business I could do around the kids (one didn’t manage to return to full time education for several terms) it would have decimated my families financial stability forever. So I don’t judge people who have lost that same financial stability. They have more than enough to contend with.

Get married if you have children with someone (unless they’re abusive etc...), make wills and take out what life insurance you can afford, as early as you can.

We looked at life insurance for dp years ago but it was prohibitive.

He had type 1 diabetes and was over 40.

He has death in service benefit (he is terminally ill) but don’t know how long that will last. Feeling is they are going to get rid of him before he dies on them.

I don't agree that you "need" life insurance and it is foolish not have it. I don't have any type of insurance (I don't drive).

People have different preferences for risk. None are better or worse.

Insurance is expensive. There are shiny offices in London to pay for, high salaries, insurers' profits, various commissions. The amount you pay vs the chance of it happening is a lot. I would guess the EV is below 50%.

Then you have the hassle of arranging it all, checking deals, reading all the small print, complying with the policy.

If they are willing to insure it at an affordable price, it is unlikely to happen so I will take my chances.

You dont have home insurance winebottle? Not even contents insurance? You can afford to lose everything and start again?

@winebottles presume you don’t have any children? Or a mortgage? And you’ve got 10,000s stashed in savings? Then you don’t need it..... but you do if your not in that fortunate position.

I got one would not want to go straight back to work if my DH died, I would want to be able to spend time with my children, not worrying about my mortgage payments, debts, etc.

Years ago I used to work arranging mortgages, and there was a particular church whose members refused to arrange life assurance because they believed in sinful. Some of the less strict members would agree to take out insurance for the man but refuse to ensure the woman, if it was a husband and wife. That always made me

My husband and I are well insured and have been since our early 20s but then it was easy because we were in good health and had no family history, at that stage, of any serious illnesses. Would be a lot harder now in our 40s.

If you have a mortgage you have to have buildings insurance as a condition of the mortgage

Winebottle I have paid c. £150 for buildings and contents insurance per year for the last 5 years- I’ve experienced two underfloor pipe leaks, totalling costs of over £13k each, both times picked up by the insurer. more fool you one day if you have no security on anything

No. I don't have home insurance and I do have children.

There is so much uncertainty in life that worrying about unlikely things and insuring against them is not going to save you. What if you DH gambles away your life insurance payout?

I prefer to not worry about unlikely things. If something bad happens, life will go on.

Many term policies cut off at 80 or 85. I've tried to get insurance recently as I will be retiring soon and will lose my death in service benefit. The cost is ridiculous! I have no medical conditions, am healthy, fit for my age and live an active life. To get cover for another 30 years would cost me a lot! I've already got money set aside for a funeral, and some other savings. My DH will get a reasonable pension from me so I don't actually see the need now.

If you have death in service or some form of life insurance with your employer, you only benefit from that as long as you're an employee. People rarely work for the same employer for life now - if your next employer doesn't offer death in service etc, you're then several years down the line - all these policies get more expensive with age.

Also, from my experience, death in service was 3 or 4 times my salary. Given that our mortgage is 3 x our joint salaries, DIS wouldn't pay off the mortgage & funeral let alone living expenses if my H or I were to die.

The only insurance I’ve ever had is car insurance and what a joke that is. Annual premium was more than what I paid for my £1200 car!
Had mobile phone insurance once. Never used it.
Obviously I takenout travel insurance if going abroad, but that’s it.
It would never occur to me to get anything else. I don’t know much about it but I don’t think it’s an issue for me because of my circumstances.

I sometimes think I should get my kitchen appliances insured for breakdown though.

To those on the thread who have asked who these people are asking why you don’t have life insurance, I assume OP is referring to someone asking this to a poster on another (now deleted) thread when she said she became reliant on a baby bank after her husband died when she was pregnant.

The only insurance I’ve ever had is car insurance and what a joke that is. Annual premium was more than what I paid for my £1200 car!

Are you having a laugh? You do understand that it covers against you Causing an accident and damaging someone else’s car which could be worth more than that, injuries, etc etc?!

I'm clearly about to ask something stupid but how do they make any money? I can see how car and home insurance is profitable as the premiums you pay generally cover payouts if you add them all up
And claims are rare (relatively speaking) ... I've never claimed, for example.

Everybody dies though? They will have to pay out will whereas a car insurance policy is banking on you not claiming?

Thanks grubby, I did wonder.

I’m “lucky” to have no dependents although I do have a mortgage. So if I die the flat gets sold. Sometimes employers offer death in service but not all in my sector. I can’t get life insurance so I don’t know what I’d do if o had a parter and kids.

Everybody dies though? They will have to pay out will whereas a car insurance policy is banking on you not claiming?

If you don’t die in the set timeframe “you” get nothing.

Ahhh yes sorry I then read the full thread. I think my life insurance goes to 85 or so. Not sure but I remember thinking I'll def be dead by then. I see some only cover mortgages etc ... thanks

We were completely fucked over by the insurances, covers and the NHS, because of a misdiagnosis.

I was advised to sue after my DH's death but I was in no fit state to. I'd had to fight for everything for five years.

We were also one of the unlucky lot, whose Endowment policy wasn't fit for purpose.

Between all that it's put me off getting insurance.

I've never had contents insurance. I've had my own home since I was 17, I'm 51 now and it would have been a massive waste of money.

I'm pricing round for buildings insurance, but because the property is joint owned the price is ridiculous.

The people who say this like to believe bad things only happen to lazy, feckless people. They're the same people who think that rape victims were wearing too short a skirt, that domestic violence victims are to blame for putting up with it, people using food banks had enough to live on but spent all their money on flat screen TVs, etc. They sleep safe in the knowledge that nothing bad will ever happen to them.

We've been trying to get LI for DH. He had a serious but acute MH episode 25 years ago. Successfully treated, no hint of an episode since. Premiums for him are £44 pm which we are paying but my Goodness it was a tough call at that level.

@Ucangourownwoo yes I get that, doesn’t make it any less of a kick in the teeth though. Over 3 years I have paid roughly £4400 in car insurance for a £1200 car. If it got written off now I’d be lucky if they gave me £500