Do I need life insurance?

DannyW

DannyW

DannyW

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Joined
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England
Hi folks

5 years ago I worked for a company who provided full sick pay, AXA PPP health care and life insurance/death in service

When I took my mortgage out at that time I didn't bother with any kind of protection at all.

I now work for a different company, my wage is virtually double but I do not have any of these benefits. They don't even pay sick until 5 years of service.

I have recently re-mortgaged and I am considering some kind of plan but still somewhat undecided. I have no wife or kids and usually save £500-1000 per month.

The only broker I know strongly recommends it - But I have also seen how much commission he earns for every plan he sells, so of course he is going to recommend it.

Any advise?
 
If you've not got a wife or kids then it's not vital. One benefit would be that some policies pay out if you get a terminal illness.

Some mortgage lenders insist on it.
 
Companies dont have to pay sick pay i.e. paying you your full salary if you are off but I imagine the OP will be able to claim statutory sick pay.
 
DannyW said:
Hi folks

5 years ago I worked for a company who provided full sick pay, AXA PPP health care and life insurance/death in service

When I took my mortgage out at that time I didn't bother with any kind of protection at all.

I now work for a different company, my wage is virtually double but I do not have any of these benefits. They don't even pay sick until 5 years of service.

I have recently re-mortgaged and I am considering some kind of plan but still somewhat undecided. I have no wife or kids and usually save £500-1000 per month.

The only broker I know strongly recommends it - But I have also seen how much commission he earns for every plan he sells, so of course he is going to recommend it.

Any advise?
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Yes, you do. You know you could just happen to get your legs broken with a baseball bat.

We offer "protection" from broken legs (with baseball bats)

:D
 
Found companies on search engines. For just £10 a month they will pay out £1000 per month in the unlikely event of anything
 
DannyW said:
Found companies on search engines. For just £10 a month they will pay out £1000 per month in the unlikely event of anything
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea for some piece of mind, I wonder if you would have issues getting the money out of them though if the poop hit the fan?
 
I get full sick pay from my company, By I use income protection which would pay me out 1500pm if I was made redundant for instance thoughts through Legal and Gen, I'm also lucky I get private medical insurance through work, But I'd say life insurance is pretty pointless if you don't have any family, Or get a very small policy just to cover funeral cost so you could at least have a decent burial.
 
It's already been mentioned in post #2, but check with your mortgage provider - some insist on it.

I got mine via research on moneysavingexpert. Cavendish to be precise.
 
As you have no wife or kids you might think that no life insurance is doable but what about critical illness? Guy I work with was diagnosed with leukaemia last year. All better now but having his mortgage cleared was probably a big stress relief and he's now part time while his stamina builds and he's enjoying extra days off which the rest of us partly take the mickey and partly are jealous of when he comes in on a Wednesday and says happy Friday

FluffySheep
 
booyaka said:
that's rubbish - they will recommend the cheapest and most suitable premium unless they are totally bent.
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The guy was well recommended but just wanted to heap insurance on us.

Life/critical illness/income protection were all pushed hard. There was cash back with one of policies which he took a chunk of too before passing the rest on to us.

This was a few years ago but just felt the chap didn't really do anything we couldn't have done and wasn't convinced it was value for money.
 
Minstadave said:
Some mortgage lenders insist on it.
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No they don't, its not the 1990's any more.


OP - You don't NEED life insurance unless you want to leave the actual property debt free to anyone if you die. More sensible consideration would be critical illness cover and PHI. PHI is generally the thing you should first consider - Much better value for premium vs potential pay out. If you can afford both then its a good idea. Most critical illness policies come with life cover anyway. With PHI it is important to look for a policy which pays to retirement, rather than the cheaper "income insurance" policies which are poor value, usually only paying up to 2 years.

There is also the argument of getting the life cover whilst you are younger as it's cheaper, although personally I am not a fan of having something you don't need. Most advisors with your best interests in mind will not recommend life cover to a single person with no kids unless you are wanting to leave the property behind debt free.

Most providers of decent policies can only be accessed by an advisor rather than via direct sites / aggregators. If you want to trust me I can give you some details of a firm I used when I re-did all mine recently. (n.b I work in the FS industry but this firm is in no way affiliated to me or anyone I know).
 
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My wife works at an insurance broker, and if your broker is getting a lot of commission then he is overcharging a lot. Money from personal lines insurance isn't that great, the profit comes from businesses/events etc.

My wife takes a lot of pride in her job and it's not who pays the best commission, it's who provides the best cover at the best price.

Seeing as my wife or I will not get any financial benefit from sharing the company try http://meadons.co.uk/
 
My dad at 55 years old felt a bit of reflux that wouldnt go away

Went to the doctor who refered him for an ultrasound, turned out he had diffuse large b cell non hodgkin lymphoma, a year later and multiple chemotherapies later we are now on clinical trials to try and cure him.

3 months before the diagnosis he took out a life insurance policy that would completely pay off the mortgage and any bills/debts for the family upon his death, although we hope he stays with us for many years he is glad he took out the policy now.. because if he is given the terminal diagnosis he can then claim the policy and enjoy his last few months without financial worry.

Life insurance is imperative if you have children imho.
 
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