@BigFatLiar
I was surprised to learn you can take out a policy on anyone’s life, you don’t need to have their authority!!! If I wanted to take out a policy on my friends life or the bloke that works at the garage, I could! Bizarre.
I'm not sure this is true.
I think you can insure yourself and close family eg children. Insuring others needs 'insurable interest' ie you are at a financial loss on their death. Technically you may require their consent.
Not to say you can't actually get a policy if you ask but on pay out the insurer may reject the claim as invalid. Not sure if the rules are more relaxed but in the past technically co-habiting couples couldn't insure each other other than for joint expenses (mortgage etc).
If it was a joint policy then she ought simply to have cancelled it and taken out a new one, perhaps there's a problem with the rates on a new policy and she thinks this is cheaper.
This absolutely isn't true. You are correct :)
You cannot take out an insurance on behalf of someone unless you have leading power of attorney.
The only thing you can do, is take a funeral plan out on behalf of someone, as not all funeral plan providers are regulated. (Yet.)
Going off some other posters, you don't have to have any finances ties, or any reason to take a policy. If you apply for a policy and are accepted, that's it.
- If the policy isn't written into a trust, EITHER party of the policy can cancel the policy.
- you won't get any of the premiums back.
- unless there is a 'split policy benefit' on the cover, which rarely happens, as the people who take the policy out don't ever ask for it, then you cannot 'take over' a policy, as it's been specifically underwritten for the pair of you. You will need to cancel the policy and apply for a new one.
- you can have multiple life insurance policies, just not with the same provider. Lots of people do this for inheritance tax reasons, as well as big mortgages etc.
- all policies that are life assurance have a terminal illness benefit on them. Whether life or joint. So if one of the people on the cover was to be given a year or less to live, they can claim the money themselves. THIS IS DIFFERENT TO CRITICAL ILLNESS COVER.
Lastly, I don't know why a solicitor is involved in this. Are they married?
There's no reason for a solicitor to be involved in this. The policy can be easily cancelled, as long as it's just a big standard life assurance policy.
If the policy has been written into a trust, you may need authorisation from all trustees / policy holders.
Hope this helps. OP if you want to PM me feel free.
I've been working in the life insurance industry for 7 years.