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Original poster

how much do you pay for life insurance?

31 replies

charliegal · 13/12/2007 15:15

Am doing a desperate revamp of our finances. DP and I are each paying around £50 a month for life insurance, I realise now this is way too much (curses on the IFA who sold it to us). What are you paying? Is it easy to switch? I have crohn's deisease and also have had depression in the past, not sure if that will make things harder.

OP posts:
Original poster
charliegal · 13/12/2007 15:35

bump

OP posts:
Original poster
charliegal · 13/12/2007 15:44

bump

OP posts:
WackyRacer · 13/12/2007 15:45

You're paying how much?

What on earth does that cover? At the very least accident and sickness as well as death I would hope!

DH and I have a joint policy, £70k worth of cover, payable upon the death of either of us. For this we pay £11.41 a month

3madboys · 13/12/2007 15:50

yep dp and i have joint cover, £120k worth of cover when one of us dies etc, he has had probs with depression in the past and i have asthma etc, but we pay £20 per month.

Original poster
charliegal · 13/12/2007 15:54

Yeah, right, can you believe it, I feel like a right twat!

OP posts:
Pickie · 13/12/2007 15:57

pl do read the small print as we used to pay £11ish per month and it turned out we would only be paid out if DH was a passenger in a car!

mum2oliver · 13/12/2007 21:19

You really do get what you pay for.It really depends what you need from it.There are so many different things to cover.We are covered for loads.If my dh is sick or becomes too ill to work,if he dies etc-lots of things.Its down to the individual.I pay £55 per month.

Pickie · 14/12/2007 08:56

I pay £9.00 a month for life insurance (140K on death)

DH was 7 times that amount as he has had nasty accident and some of the injuries rocketed the premium but luckily his employer took it out for him.

We both have critical ilness which is £45 per month each. Lots of money but we have been there done that and money is the least of your worries at that moment BUT you need it as otherwise normal life couldnt continue (think mortgage, care etc..)and that would be another problem which you will not want to deal with at that time

Never thought about these things till we needed it.

onlyjoking9329 · 14/12/2007 09:14

we pay £16 per month each, when we set it all up i was at work and steve was SAHD, they wanted me to have more cover than Steve but we said we needed equal cover for both of us.
i suppose it's a bloody good job we did it that way really.

ninedragons · 14/12/2007 09:36

We pay about US$2,000 a year for US$1.25m payout. I think we probably could have got cheaper cover if we'd shopped around but I found out I was pregnant, saw someone get hit by a taxi and completely flipped out about what I would do with a baby and no husband.

We do, however, live in a country that would make an Occupational Health and Safety officer drop his or her load. I have seen people using welding torches with their faces protected by torn-up bits of cardboard boxes. Indeed I have just reported the taxi driver who drove me home to the police. He fell asleep at the last set of traffic lights (the one right by the primary school and swarming with small children ), and then nodded off again while he was waiting for my receipt to print out. Hope the police find him before he kills a cyclist or pedestrian.

But yeah, anywhere else we might be considered over-insured.

Oblomov · 14/12/2007 09:45

Many companies quote the minimum, yeah right it will be £7.12 or £11.41 per month if you have ..................
Never had anything wrong with you.....
EVER
I have had diabetes for over 30 years and most companies won't even insure me.
To cover our mortgage, I have to pay £25.41 per month.
Dh with diverticulitus, pays a bit less, but similar.
£50 is WAY WAY too much.
Shop around.

saythatagain · 14/12/2007 09:51

Mine is about £52 per month and dh around £47 IIRC. It's critical illness cover and yes, it seems like an awfull lot but I try not to think about it. As somepone posted earlier, you get what you pay for IMO too.

PestohohohoMonster · 14/12/2007 10:00

Remember, the cost of life cover depends not only on your medical history, but also your age and the type of life cover it is (ie, whole life, with-profits, term assurance etc etc) You ought to find out what it is you've got and what it is you need really. You can't just make sweeping generalisations about how much your cover is costing you. Also, like others have said, some policies include other types of benefits such as a savings element.
Do your homework first. You can't compare your cover with anyone else's as you need to compare like with like from the insurance companies. A financial advisor would be able to help you with this.

ISawSantaKissingKerrysNorks · 14/12/2007 10:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PestohohohoMonster · 14/12/2007 10:08

When you fill out the application forms, you might not initially need to do anything else. However, insurance companies might need a doctors report (depending on the answers to your questions), in which case they will tell you what to do. Sometimes, the doctors have to supply the report based on your medical records, and other times they might need you to actually have a fresh medical check. It will depend.

ISawSantaKissingKerrysNorks · 14/12/2007 10:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PestohohohoMonster · 14/12/2007 10:15

I would have thought so, but the insurance company would be able to confirm that for you. TBH the insurance companies make it as easy as possible for you to take out cover, as it is not in their interests to make it more difficult than necessary.
But, be very careful, as there is something called 'non-disclosure', which means that you must include any relevant medical details on your form, because, if you don't and then one of these turns out to be a factor in your death, the insurance company won't pay out, citing 'non-disclosure'. So if in doubt, include as much information as possible. The insurance company will then decide if it needs any further info from the doctor relating to anything mentioned on the form.

Oblomov · 14/12/2007 10:15

Isawsanta, many don't even bother with an 'exam'.

ISawSantaKissingKerrysNorks · 14/12/2007 10:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

onlyjoking9329 · 14/12/2007 10:21

tis true everyone does die, they make their money out of those who live longer.
OJ

PestohohohoMonster · 14/12/2007 10:24

No, some cover is 'term' assurance. This is the cheapest form of life cover. It is pure life cover only and will only pay out if you die within the term of the policy. Therefore, if you get to the end of the term (policy expiry date) alive, you get nothing.
You can also get policies which incorporate a savings element (they obv cost more as you are paying life cover, plus savings). They will either pay out a certain amount in the event of your death during the policy term, or, will pay at the end of the term, if you survive till then.
Another form of life insurance, is Whole Life, this pays out only when you die.

There are other variations on these 3, but these are the main 3 types of life cover, and a financial advisor would be able to work through with you, what would be the best to suit your needs.

BigGitHoHoHoDad · 14/12/2007 15:56

I would get your paperwork out and have a look at what you have got, then come back on here.
With Crohn's any life assurance you have may be more expensive and that may be why you are paying £50 a month now.
Depression should not be too much of an issue it depends on it's term and whether you are or were on medication etc. I have just got life cover for someone who is Bi polar and it was not rated a huge amount.

VanillaPumpkin · 14/12/2007 16:01

Only read OP
DH and I have individual policies paying £200k each on death. Mine is £10.41 a month inc insurance and his is £14 something a month. He is three years older than me. That is with Legal and General. We were paying £25 for a joint policy that paid out £200k for either of us so have doubled our cover if you see what I mean. Our IFA was great!

Original poster
charliegal · 18/12/2007 21:26

I did check and the amount I quoted in my op is for term assurance and critical illness. It's the critical illness that is so expensive..ooh in a quandary about whether to keep it or just go for the cheaper life insurance aspect. Any thoughts on cover for critical illness? it the sort of thing where they make sure they never have to pay out?

OP posts:
Lubyloo · 18/12/2007 21:35

Rather than critical illness cover it may be more cost effective to look at income protection cover.

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