Life-insurance - do you have it sorted or is it on the to-do list? Share your thoughts and ask Aviva's expert your questions - £150 high street voucher to be won - ANSWERS BACK

[AnnMumsnet]

We've been asked by the team at Aviva to find out if life insurance is ticked off your list of things to do, lurking at the bottom, or is something you keep meaning to get around to but never quite manage it? If you sorted it, why? If you're yet to do so, why not?

Aviva says "As parents we instinctively do everything we can to protect our children. We cover them in sun tan lotion, make them brush their teeth and take steps to keep them safe on the move. Yet, despite our best intentions, when it comes to financial matters, such as sorting out life insurance, other things often take priority. If the unthinkable happened, life insurance can help protect what matters most to your loved ones. That's why we want to make it easier for you to find out answers to your pressing questions."

If you have a question about life-insurance post your questions on the thread and we'll choose some for *Aviva's expert, Louise (see image), to answer. Her responses will be posted on this thread by 18 November.

About Louise: "Louise has worked for Aviva for 24 years and, after gaining a wealth of experience across the insurance business, is now Distribution Director. She is also responsible for the marketing and communication strategy for protection. Louise is extremely passionate about families protecting themselves financially and is a dynamic spokesperson in the national press on the subject.

Aviva's free new parent life cover initiative, which has helped more families become financially protected, is Louises brain-child. She was also instrumental in developing an emotionally engaging approach for Avivas life insurance TV advertising campaign, which created considerable interest, debate and praise.

Louise's contribution to raising awareness levels of protection and challenging customer behaviours has been recognised through a number of key industry accolades. Louise is married with 5-year-old twins and lives in Yorkshire."

So please share your thoughts below - have a look at their info on their special pages on Mumsnet - everyone who adds a comment or a question below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £150 high street voucher.

thanks and good luck

PS Please note your comments, anon of course, may be used by Aviva on MN and possibly elsewhere.

[gloriafloria]

We've both got death in service at work and I've also got mortgage protection life insurance but dh couldn't get this due to health probs. I do feel we are under insured and either one of us would struggle if left on our own. I've been reminded recently, following the very sudden death of a family friend, of the importance of planning for the unthinkable . Making a will is now a priority for us along with reviewing life assurance.

[janekirk]

I have life insurance attached to my company pension.

[ataraxia]

Like others, I have coverage through work but doubt I would get a policy otherwise. Maybe that would change if I had kids.

[Littlecherublegs]

We don't have life insurance though through our pension schemes we would have 'Death in Service' payments.
Saying that, now we have a DS it is something we need to have a think about and possibly something we need to purchase.
Wills and pension payments / beneficiaries are also things we need to consider.

[Babcia]

I wouldn't get it through Aviva- I specifically opted out of our company pension plan because it was through them. I wouldn't trust them as far as I can throw them with my money. They massively mismanaged a policy my parents had with them, so they can whistle for it.

[custardo]

life insurnce 3x salary at work

[Steffanoid]

me and my dp both have life insurance policies, they will cover the mortgage if one of us dies, he's got his pension and death in service grant too, I dont think we'd have really considered life insurance if it weren't for it being explained when we took a mortgage

[Ragwort]

Yes, both have life insurance, costs around £75 a month each, we are self-employed so essential that we have this. However, may review the amount of life cover we need now that our DS is older, initially the thought was enough to ensure a nanny or similar if one of us died so that child-care would be covered. We have no mortgage. We both have pensions, not very good ones though!

[Ragwort]

Meant to add, my DH's own father died very young leaving a widow and five young children, he had no life insurance and DH always remembers how difficult it was financially - in addition to the sadness of losing his father of course. . That has made him incredibly prudent in all our financial arrangements.

To contrast - my own dad also died young but had fantastic cover (through his work) which gave me an 'allowance' right until I left university, plus support for my mother until she re-married.

[mumsbe]

Its ony to do list but i cant really afford it or understand it. Whatkind of insurance do i need if i want a lump sum pay out to my children?

[Orange01]

My husband and I have joint life insurance and separate life insurance from before we were married, we have critical illness cover and death in service cover through work.........honestly we are worth more dead !!!!!!

[VikingLady]

DH and I both took out the Post Office's free life insurance offer for new parents, but that ran out when DD turned one. We have none now and really need to get this sorted. It is so expensive though! I cannot find any policy that is ongoing for a lower monthly fee, only fixed term policies.

[whattodoo]

My DP has cover through his employer.

I have cover through 2 endowment policies, but probably not sufficient.

We really should get proper advice about what I'd best for us in terms of product and amount.

A question - does it matter that we aren't married? Our wedding is next year so would it make sense to wait until after then? We have a DD.

[moonbells]

I have cover via my employer and in addition we have mirror life policies which we set up when we did the last remortgage. Stupid cost - DH is all of 3y older than me and has to pay twice as much.

[MegBusset]

DH and I have decreasing term cover to pay off our mortgage. We sorted it out soon after the DC were born. I also have death in service benefit through work.

We haven't got critical illness cover though as there are so many exemptions and it seems very unlikely that the insurance company would ever pay out. In fact the whole insurance thing seems like a bit of a scam really.

[ScariestFairyByFar]

i have to hope I die at work or DD will be reliant on my parents for everything lucky they have money

[Flatasawitchestit]

We aren't home owners yet but didn't even have basic life insurance even though we've 3 young children. It was just one of those to do jobs that never got done.

Then my dad died suddenly. He didn't have life insurance either. Sorting out all of his and my mums paperwork and the sheer hassle and lack of money that was available to help my mum was one of the most stressful and upsetting things ever. When you're grieving for someone close to you, money is just something you don't want to have to worry about. Still 10months on its causing my mum financial difficulties, that's why not long after my dad died we had a financial advisor come around and sort out our finances and get life insurance. I'd never want my children to deal with the things I've had to.

[Bambi75]

Yes - we've got life insurance, critical illness cover and other financial instruments in place to ensure whatever happens at any time we're covered. I'm covered as a stay at home mum to ensure we have the costs of childcare taken care of if anything happens to me so my husband can continue working. My husband is covered so that if anything happens to him our mortgage is instantly paid off and things like school fees and other day to day expenditures are totally covered.

My husband is a wealth management consultant and deals with this sort of stuff everyday for his clients so we're lucky in that we know that the policies we've got in place to protect us are 100 per cent robust.

I do think that if you're thinking about taking out life insurance, critical illness cover etc its absolutely critical you seek the right sort of advice because a lot of these policies have exclusions and other terms that if you don't understand, then you could really be caught out when it comes to paying out. Id even go so far as to say avoid high street IFAs and seek specialist advice. This is the sort of thing you don't want to get wrong.

[lottytheladybird]

We have life insurance. I made sure we had life insurance sorted out soon after our first child was born. It's nice to know that it's there in case of anything.

[48th]

We have sufficient that if either died the mortgage wold be cleared with 150,000 left over and 1800 monthly until children are 21. We are covered separately so there is a much bigger lump sum and double monthly payments if we bth died. Have friends in pace to take on the parenting so wanted o cover their expenses as wlk as leaving money to te children.

We don't have critical illness, dh doesn't really need it for a couple of good reasons.

[sealight123]

Truthfully, Life insurance is something that always crops up with me and my partner but it always falls down the priority list....we know we need it, to ensure that if anything happened to us (touch wood, nothing will) that our family is secure and taken care off, but you always think you have all the time in the world. Thinking I might check out some now and check with my workplace if there are any options for me through them as well. eeeps

[Badvoc]

My dh is covered through work (very good package) and I have private life insurance (with aviva!!) currently Until my youngest dc is 18.
We also have mortgage cover so if anything happens the house is also paid off.
We have wills and have appointed guardians.
Awful to have to think about, but I lost my beloved dad in July very suddenly and unexpectedly and - believe me - even as adult children it was so much easier that dad had a will, that he made his wishes clear and that he had taken out an insurance plan to lay for funeral expenses (also with aviva)
I cannot praise aviva enough actually. My brother phoned them, explained my dad had passed away, they requested his death cert and within 2 weeks my mum had the money in her bank account - which was much better than a cheque and having to pay it in etc.
It's very difficult. It's something none of us want to think about but something we all need to do.

[petalsandstars]

We never bothered with life cover until the dcs arrived and now we have cover to pay off the mortgage outstanding. Plus other death in service benefits. If we both went then the house can be sold for the proceeds to go to the children or in trust for their guardian to support them.

[Dontbugmemalone]

My DH has life insurance from his home country but I don't.

Does it make a difference if you're a stay at home parent?
Is it really worth paying for?
It's one of the things I keep thinking about but never get round to sorting it out.