Mortage/critical illness cover??

[aGalChangedHerName]

We are in the process of switching our mortage through a financial advisor. Getting a much better rate with C&G.

He is reccommending critical illness cover along with life assurance in one policy. We have never had it as the cost has always put DH off (oh and he is invincable too) but i am 37 and he is 45.

So i worry that as we get older is is likely/probable that one of us could get sick and be unable to return to work etc etc.

So is it a must to have this cover? How many of you have it? And thoe who don't,do you worry about getting ill etc?

Thanks

that seems really high. He shouldn' t be pressurizing you like that. You are so right not to rush into it - especially as they should have got a full medical history from you both before getting the quote, as mine did.

Financial advisers apparently make fat fees from selling critical illness cover.

Ours keeps nagging us to buy it, but like your dh I'm suspicious and we're opting to pay as much as we can off the mortgage.

Have a look on moneysavingexpert.com to see what's written there - Martin Lewis usually gives very good advice.

It's like all insurance, if you need to claim and it pays up you'll be glad you had it, but you could save a lot in premiums if you don't and you "self insure" by saving the money in a high interest account or paying it off the mortgage.

I've just cancelled our Bupa insurance because the premiums had risen to £134 a month for all of us.

That was on the basis of Martin Lewis advice that private healthcare is a luxury, not essential.

But if one of us ends up on a long NHS waiting list for something, then no doubt we'll regret it - that's the risk.

I am paying an equivalent amount off the mortgage every month though and we could draw on that in an emergency.

We have life/critical illness cover. We took it out in 2001 and pay £110 per month, based on the £250k we borrowed. The amount it would pay out reduces in line with the balance outstanding on the mortgage. Our broker looked to see if we could get it any cheaper about 18 months ago, but could only save us a tenner a month. Our policy is with Norwich Union.

aGal, are you and/or dh permanent employees? Check the employee benefits your company offers. You might be insuring against something that the company insurance already covers.

For example, my dh and my company will pay out 4x our annual salary if we die in service. Also, if we have paid sick leave up to 3 months. If we are unable to work due to long term sickness or disability, the company policy also pays out.

Of course, if you/dh lose your job, then you will have to re-look at the insurance situation but at least you save on double insurance in the meantime.

I am not a fan of critical illness or income protection. They are incredibly expensive for the amount of cover they provide IF they pay out to begin with. If you buy them, always look at the fine print and get a trusted financial advisor to walk you through the nuances of different policies.

I would tend to agree with your dh. He is already aware of the pre-existing illness get-out clause. Other things include the actual definition of the illness. I for one will always check the cancer definition - there are many stages of cancer, right from pre-cancerous cells to malignant metastatic cancer (where the cancer has moved from the original site and has spread around the body). It is not much use if the diagnosis of cancer is metastatic to trigger pay out because you are already likely to be at the end stage. You want it to pay out on diagnosis of cancer at a much earlier stage. Use this as a test for your financial advisor. If he cannot understand this or appreciate its significance, he is not in a position to advise you properly. You need a doctor on top of that to understand the fine print.

Thanks again all

It just occured to me that we haven't seen a policy/filled out a medical questionnaire etc and he has given us a quote for critical illness cover???

Does anyone think that's strange?

TBH i would rather pay the money we save on critical illness into the mortgage and reduce it quicker.

He hasn't even asked what cover we have in place atm. I am not filled with confidence now. The mortgage deal does sound good but don't like the sound of the rest of his ideas.

I have to say that I totally disagree with people who say that it is not necessary. How will your DH survive if you die? How will you support yourself if your DH dies? What will happen to your home if illness means that you or your DH can't work. My friends DH died from cancer 2 years ago, their critical illness cover linked to the mortgage paid off their mortgage, his death in service award from work gave her a lump sum. It means that she can be a SAHM with few money worries and concentrate on bringing up her children rather than worrying how to pay the bills.

We have both life assurance and critical illness cover. It means that I can stay in the family home if god forbid something happens to my DH and it means that if something happens to me DH can cut back his hours at work and take a lower paid job and can afford proper childcare and support for our children so that he can work.

You never know what is round the corner and illness can hit us when we least expect it and even if we think that we are the healthiest people around.