Aibu to be pissed parents have no life insurance

[pregnantforever]

Parents are in their 50s although my dad has the health of a 70year old. They don't take care of themselves and my dad moans every day about how awful his health is but rarely does anything about it.
He makes stupid decisions that are unsafe. Hes self employed and works lots of hours (manual job) with no need to (mortgage free, own their own car, have savings ect). He seems to almost brag about it. Last week sat saying he had had to work in the dark all day in a house where there was no light or electric, in the freezing cold with leaking water everywhere. We all pointed out that he had done this by choice, he's self employed and it's not worth risking his life for, he could have waited until the next day when some of those issues were sorted out but he didn't want to. We said we thought he was irresponsible and he walked off in a big mood.
I told my mum I hoped they had good life insurance if he was going to carry on making stupid decisions like that because she will be left growing old by herself, and she said they had none, and that there was no point in getting any because it would be expensive and their house was paid off anyway.
I don't think owning a house means much. If one of them needs care they will be up shit creek without a paddle. They both insist they want to stay in that house and never go into a care home ect, and my brother won't have anything to do with looking after them, he's not inclined like that. I have a spinal cord injury and don't want all of the burden of taking care of them or one of them being forced to sell up to pay for their care. Surely if they had life insurance then that would at least cover some costs should one of them take a turn? Or do I just need to keep my nose out massively and not worry? I've never asked anything about it before so had no idea they didn't have it.

I expect the rates are extremely high

Life insurance is designed to pay off mortgage, they don't need it.
Life insurance will pay out a lump sum when you die for the amount covered. It does not need to pay off a mortgage. It's simply an amount of money and can be used to pay funeral costs or provide an income for the remaining spouse.

Critical illness insurance can be very costly when older (I know as we both have it). It only pays out for certain diagnosed conditions. It won't pay out if the DF hurts his back and can't work for example. It usually pays out for things such as heart attacks, malignant cancer, kidney failure etc.

Income protection which pays out for accident or illness can be useful in OP DPs situation as her DF is self employed. However, payout is usually limited to 1-2 years.

Batsarecool I think everyone on this thread knows that about life insurance. But for anyone now in their fifties, it did used to be sold as a sum to pay off your mortgage.
Just as lucozade used to be sold as a drink to have when you are ill, although of course you can drink it any time.
So unsurprising if that is still how some people in their fifties see it.

I remember when critical illness cover started to be sold as a policy, The early policies were terrible. Expensive and they only paid out for limited conditions and only for a year or two. I worked out 5 years of saving the premiums would give me the same lump sum as a pay out. So of course I did not touch it.
The internet brought prices way down, but by then I was diagnosed with a genetic illness that was previously undiagnosed, and no one would sell me a policy now.

Because only the very young and healthy can get life insurance.

Nonsense!! Husband is in 70s. We have life insurance!

If they needed care and had no money it would be paid for by the government. We don’t have life insurance. We have a couple of pensions and our mortgage is paid off. We also have a rental property. I don’t see the need for any. We are late forties.

I don't agree that everyone in their 50s see's it that way. I know people older than me who have life insurance without mortgages. And on this thread we still have people staring as a fact that you don't need life insurance if you don't have a mortgage. You might still need it to help your dependants when you have gone irrespective of your home ownership.

My DM took out one of those over 50 life insurance policies so we would have money to pay for her funeral and she was retired.

It's not too late for the OPs DPs to consider whether they have the finances for bereavement/illness/accident etc and look at whether any of the different insurances would be beneficial to either of them.

People keep posting as if life insurance companies are not out to make a profit.
If you have life insurance when you are older, it is either very expensive, or you took it out a very very long time ago and inflation will mean that the sum insured for is now way way smaller than original.

BatsareCool You are missing my point. Life insurance policies when we were young were sold to pay off mortgages.
Sure policies are now sold to the over 50s for relatively small lump sums, to pay off funeral costs. These are expensive, and personally I think a waste of money.

I know my DM paid in less than the over 50s life policy paid out. Ironically we could have easily covered her funeral anyway but she didn't want to burden us with that.

Insurance is always a gamble. Sometimes the individual 'gains' but for the majority they won't otherwise the company would go out of business.

However I would rather live a long healthy life and the insurance company 'wins' but if shit happens at least my DH (or myself if reversed) will not have to worry about money. That's the same for all insurances. You are paying them to cover the shit times which you really hope won't happen but unfortunately they sometimes do.

I've only got a little insurance, enough for funeral cover. Only me now, husband died. Life Insurance is usually to cover loss of income to keep surviving partner going. For me pension is in place of that. As for needing to pay for care in old age, I didn't know you could take out insurance for that. Just against death or serious injury/illness. Usually life insurance ends when a person reaches a quite old age doesn't it? It must be terribly expensive if it doesn't. I do own the house which, if it's the same as with my mother, the Stay will snatch to pay for my care if I have Dementia as the Government don't regard dementia as an illness!

It’s their choice how they live their lives. No-one knows what the future holds. I feel it’s very unkind how you feel about your parents decisions. It’s good that they own their own home so if in the future either one or both of them need care in a care home then it would help pay for their care. But before that if they need care at home then they would be assessed by social services as to their needs and any financial costs it would incur. However with people living longer then I presume that that will be a long time in the future. Again these decisions are their choice and not yours. Life insurance is not always the best place to put money into especially that they now own their house. Be kinder to your parents because they won’t be there for you forever.

If you have life insurance when you are older, it is either very expensive, or you took it out a very very long time ago and inflation will mean that the sum insured for is now way way smaller than original.

The policy insuring my husband was taken out in his mid-30s. It's index-linked, so the payments are rising in line with inflation, if we choose them to, and so will the payout, if any.

The insurance company took the gamble that a healthy non-smoker is likely to reach 60. In this day and age, that's a good bet. Most will.

BatsareCool Sure some people get more back. But in general they are a very poor financial product. Which is why they are so heavily advertised. Companies must make a lot from them. I am happier to try and build up some savings instead.

perfectstorm Forgive me, I don't see 60 as older. I agree, a healthy non smoker is unlikely to die before 60.

The "Stay"? State!

@HotpotLawyer We offered my grandfather's body to science. Science said they were over-provided and didn't want it.

If his health is poor, how do you expect him to pass a medical for health insurance? I do think you are being very judgemental; even though they are your parents they are not yours to boss around. Look they are both in their 50's, they own their own house, care is usually paid for if your savings run out ... what on earth are you fussing about? Well, it's pretty obvious isn't it...

BatsAreCool. I agree, with you -It's not too late for the OPs DPs to consider whether they have the finances for bereavement/illness/accident etc and look at whether any of the different insurances would be beneficial to either of them.

Although they say they never want to go into care, they are still relatively young. They wouldn't be likely to need this kind of adjustment for perhaps 20 years. If something horrible happened I'm sure they would do whatever had to be done to sort out the problem. I know a lady in her 60s who is in good physical health and has had a blood clot on her brain which has now left her with no short-term memory. She is happy in herself, but cannot be left alone. Her husband died of cancer a few years ago and her children are parents of school-age children. She still lives at home, has permanent care with her all the time provided by the NHS. So you see, the terrible events you are imagining may never ever happen. It may be best to cross these bridges when you get to them. Your parents may prefer to save the money than pay it into an insurance policy. Even though the Over 50s policies sound good these days and aren't very expensive. There's also the equity release option if they needed to take money from their home. It doesn't mean taking the whole value of the house. It is good they own it so be grateful for that, it's a big asset.
One thing I would do, and everyone could think about it, is to set up the Power of Attorney arrangements for in case anyone, your mother, father, you, husband, lose capacity to deal with your/their affairs. Once it is set in place it can be put into operation if the need arises. It is so much better than suddenly not being able to look after someone because you do not have this authority. Setting it up does not mean putting it in action, it just means getting prepared. see:
www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

The over 50s policies are shit value for money.

Personally as someone who is 57 I have every intention of using my limited money to enjoy myself while I still can.

And no way would I think of granting power of attorney in my fifties!! Christ sake.

clairemcnam you can lodge LPA without it being active. You can either have it active straight away or only when you lose capacity. DH and I have one for each other.

Waiting until you actually need it is often too late. Obviously if you don't want anyone to take over your affairs then don't get one.

clairemcnam. Not entirely sure which insurance policy you are referring to, but in case it's relevant, I looked into those 50 and over ones because I thought you'd end up paying more than you would get back so it's better to save, and found that there was one which paid out whatever had been paid over the insured sum. Sorry, forgotten which. They should make the money by investing what you send each month, so they aren't out of pocket doing this. Still agree - If you put the money into savings your savings will accrue interest. However, you might die before you expect..... also the average person (whoever?) can't stop themselves digging into their savings, so they say.

I understand how it works. And I understand you need to do it before things get critical. But fifties is still young.

clairemcnam you are just considering things like long term chronic conditions for LPA where you have time to put it in place.

However, lots of things such as a stroke could render you without capacity without any notice. Personally for a small fee for me it's peace of mind that we both have that covered.