Insurance

[Justcallmesarah]

Hello,

No idea which thread to put this on so apologies.

At the ripe age of 36 I find myself in a situation where I am single, I have no children (aware I'm on Mumsnet, just love the everyday situations people seek help with from here) and unfortunately although I have some savings I won't be able to get on the property ladder on my own. I recently started looking into life insurance and health insurance, as if I ever got ill how would I pay my rent?

The insurance world is a bit of a minefield but can anyone offer advice, I'm looking out for future me and what kind of insurance would be best if I got ill and as I would have no one to turn to.

They all seem to take care of loved ones and family when somebody passes away or gets ill. I just kinda need to figure out how to take care of myself😂

You really should not be looking for advice like this from random people on the internet. Your best advice is an independent financial adviser who is not getting any commission from selling a policy. I've never had this type of insurance but my understanding is it can be fraught with difficulties.

Some employers offer cover simply as part of an employment benefits package.

Thanks for your comments. I am merely using this as a sounding board to gain knowledge and research. Just thinking there must be something in the insurance market for people in a similar situation 🤷

I think insurance is meant to cover mortgage payments of you become ill. If you rent they you would apply for benefits to cover housing and essentials?

It could be worth looking at critical illness cover and redundancy cover. These will often protect you by paying some or all of your salary should you fall ill with a serious illness and be unable to work.

Health insurance tends to be where you get private health care at a cost, but wouldn't help with the rent if you fell ill. It's also quite expensive IMO (the UK large company I work for offer this at a discounted rate to employees)

It's not limited to mortgage payments- you can insure against critical illness and it's up to you what you use the payments for. It can be expensive and the exclusions can be surprising so it needs very careful consideration as to whether it's worth it- and as Green Tulips says housing benefit will cover rent.

I didn't think housing benefits covered private rent so will look into that further. Thanks for all the comments, found income protection insurance too so going to see if that would suit, little mini mid life crisis 😂

Health insurance tends to be where you get private health care at a cost

I don't think in the UK health insurance really is worth it. It's expensive, will exclude any pre-existing conditions and will exclude any chronic conditions. I do have it as it's subsided through a group policy and I have used it but really only for jumping the NHS queue for relatively minor issues.

I didn't think housing benefits covered private rent

It's called Local Housing Allowance if you rent privately.

Yes I don't think health insurance is right for me. I've just got to thinking that if anything ever happened I would be f*** as I've no family here, no partner and not on any benefits so I would really struggle.

Has to be people in similar positions.

Will have a proper look tomorrow and thanks again all😘

Critical illness pays out for certain health conditions but you really need professional advice to get a policy that provides what you need. Eg I have critical illness insurance. It covers for specific cancers, but not all. It covers heart bypass surgery but not angioplasty so if I had a heart attack and had stents put in I wouldn't be covered. I think it works best if you have good sick pay at work and then this would kick in if you were long term sick.

An independent broker might be the best person to advise.

It depends what you want, insurance that covers an agreed sum (mortgage or lump sum payout) in the event of a set of defined illnesses is called critical illness cover. It's not very expensive and generally covers things like cancer (we were quoted £16/month). You can get income protection as well, but that is generally more expensive, and will only pay out for a set period. My wife was quoted £160/month to cover £1,500/month for 6 months commencing after 2 months. If you imagine that you pay that for 10 years before needing it you've paid £16k and can get a maximum of £9,000 back. We decided it wasn't worth it in the end.

You might get more traffic if you got MNHQ to move this to a more appropriate board - money matters or general chat. Click on "report" on your OP and ask them to move it.

www.moneysavingexpert.com is an independent consumer saviour. Explains it all, and tracks best deals. Has been my go-to for everything since divorce.

Income Protection = Insurance that pays out a set monthly benefit after work sick pay ends for a set period or through to retirement. Up to 60% of your gross income. The right policy pays out if you are unable to do your job due to an accident or illness (as long as you've been truthful on your application form).

Best speak to a Protection adviser to arrange. Most don't charge a fee, and you can find them in most recommended mortgage brokers.