So I’ve reached the ripe old age of 46 and with two kids I have suddenly found myself getting rather serious and grown-up about my families financial security.

But at £60 a month is combined critical illness and life cover something that most would deem as much too expensive, and just live for the moment … or is it a must ?

Depends on your financial situation really.
Are you looking for the cover to pay off mortgage or just receive a lump sum ?

Essentially to pay off the mortgage

Read the policy very carefully. They may not cover much for critical illness or they can cover loads… I decided (late 30’s ) better off to just save a bit etc.

What level of cover for that amount ?

I think it depends on how much you left to pay, whether you already receive life cover at work etc.

Btw I’m a similar age and I do have it.

To my mind it’s worth it , I’m a year older than you with 12 + 6 year old boys and pay £68 a month. The peace of mind that my funeral costs , mortgage paid and lump sum my family would receive if the worst were to happen makes it so.
I knew someone who needed help and didn’t have anything in place which has led to their family struggling another mate who’s younger than me has recently had a tumorous kidney removed and is recovering for 3 months before chemo can start on the secondaries he also has . When I spoke to him he mentioned he’d cancelled his critical illness cover so still has to cover his mortgage payment. It’s one less thing to worry about to me.

I pay £50pm for £50,000 life cover ..
I’m older than you and have one or two health issues which are covered by the policy ..
I think it is money well spent .

Yeah I think I’m of the similar opinion , the annoyance is that my initial cover quote by Aviva was going to be £40 per month but because I ruptured my quadricep six weeks ago which led to the investigation for a DVT which proved negative. And my current umbilical hernia repair operation….Its suddenly risen to £60 per month.

A friend of mine is in the business and she has analysed the Aviva policy and she says it is by far the best on the market

I pay £90 a month to cover my wife and I. Remember if your wife dies then you may (depending on circumstances) have to give up work – so in my case at least it was worth covering both of us. Also bear in mind, individual policies are barely more expensive than a joint policy, but with individual policies if you both die then it pays both lump sums (i.e. double a joint policy).

There was some good advice on moneysavingexpert.com

Ours is a joint policy, bumped up by some pre cancerous cells mrscarlos had removed a few years ago coupled with her horrendous family history.

I pay £13 a month and it pays off the mortgage + 10%.

Other half should be ok mortgage free + lump sum

Does anyone take out unemployment cover as well? Is it worth it?

They set out a defined list of illnesses that they insure against.

I spent 5 weeks in intensive care, ventillated, unable to move anything except for my eyes, was unresponsive to ‘external stimuli’ but still got nothing at all from my critical illness cover.

Have a look through existing policies first, e.g. pension (might pay out early), mortgage endowment, etc, then decide

Aviva here too, IIRC were 60 odd quid for both of us, pays rest of mortgage plus 150k if something was to happen.

Be careful, lots of policies only cover the mortgage amount outstanding, so if the worst happened a year from mortgage completion, that’s all you get.

I’m restructuring our cover with me and my wife having separate policies.

The issue with joint policies is if anything happens later in your relationship or say one of you dies much younger than expected the other person my be left needing to get life cover again.

If they are then that bit older or have developed an illness that makes premiums expensive or even cover impossible to obtain them they/you are screwed.

Imo buy a large cover amount each, the largest you can afford and it possible a third decreasing term policy to cover the mortgage.

Critical illness can be invaluable but as mentioned above what defines a critical illness varies from policy to policy. It is expensive though.

Many places of work offer critical illness as an optional employee benefit for a very good price and usually without underwriting. Ditto life cover.

I’m covered at work for 10 times salary for a few quid a month for the life element.

It goes without saying for Christ sake don’t lie in the proposal – particularly about the use of tobacco (often worded to include ecigs these days), weight, drinking etc. The last thing you want us your loved ones to have issues at point of claim.

So, in summary: a life policy each for your and partner, level term, and for as much cover as you can afford.

A decreasing term policy in joint names for the mortgage if affordable.

Critical illness if affordable.

Note I’m not a financial adviser and nothing I’ve put off to be construed as financial/insurance advice. Everything offered is in my personal opinion in response to the op.

I used to have it when i had a mortgage, good idea above re separate policies.

Sadly i know a few people who have needed it but they had good jobs and it was covered in their salary packages. As witn nyinsurance you are buying peace of mind.

I’m govsmacked that anyone could get to the age of 46 and two kids and not already have life cover of some sort. What do you expect/want to happen to your children if you get run over on the way to work tomorrow? Deeply irresponsible imo.

I self insure to some extent. Being self employed my pension options are limited so I have various pots such as stocks and shares isa and btl that I pay into. Nominally this will be my pension but if something happens to me they could be cashed in and if nothing happens I get the benefit. Seems better to me than insurance where I either get nothing or I die

Aye, we have seperate policies as above.

I’m govsmacked that anyone could get to the age of 46 and two kids and not already have life cover of some sort. What do you expect/want to happen to your children if you get run over on the way to work tomorrow? Deeply irresponsible imo.

There are lots of people in this country who couldn’t afford it tbh, whether they want to or not.

Seems better to me than insurance where I either get nothing or I die

Life insurance is a known amount though, investments are not.

I like to know that if something happens to me Mrs D will get at least £x and that amount should be sufficient for get to get her life back together, look after babybgoode etc.

Life insurance also pays out quickly, you need probate to be able to sell someone’s shares.

Any investments/savings are a ‘bonus’ on top of this.

Of course personal circumstances dictate what is the best option for any particular individual but life insurance imo should form part of a person’s protection portfolio.

m govsmacked that anyone could get to the age of 46 and two kids and not already have life cover of some sort. What do you expect/want to happen to your children if you get run over on the way to work tomorrow? Deeply irresponsible imo.

Stabilise your smacking gov matey – shock horror some people have kids a lot later in life than others

For this I deeply apologise to you and your easily shockable gov

OP shop around for quotes and look at basic life insurance and life+critical. Also understand what critical cover will pay out for and when then decide if its worth it

FWIW i had term life only .. all expired now (it ran to just after 50, as I bought it when in my 30’s i think it was £75pm for 500k)

Thanks all for taking the time to reply

I’m happy with the Aviiva product and will get that live today.

Firstly

the annoyance is that my initial cover quote by Aviva was going to be £40 per month but because I ruptured my quadricep six weeks ago which led to the investigation for a DVT which proved negative. And my current umbilical hernia repair operation….Its suddenly risen to £60 per month

Query/Fight this.

When I did mine and the Mrs they tried to bump hers up from original quote because she had a boob scan thingy that showed “abnormal” cell… Letter from Doctor and all was negative/fine and we got it at original quote

Secondly

I see it CI/LC as hopefully a fantastic waste of money … I sincerely hope the Mrs and I never have to use it.

Good luck

I’m doing exactly that Ro5ey

The extra £20 increase because of a routine op and a muscoskeletal injury is a tad harsh – the subsequent tests ( all neg) should now be re reviewed.

Thanks and yes let’s hope none of us have to use this..

It fills me with dread the thought that my wife would have to worry about money or losing our home if I became ill or died. I can’t imagine losing your partner then losing the home you built together as well, and maybe more.
When we got our new home CI cover was horrendously expensive as my wife had a minor stroke a few years ago. We could keep the level term CI/LI combined cover from our last mortgage (£53k) and took out a decreasing term LI cover for the mortgage (£105k). As I earn way more than her and pay the mortgage/bills this works out ok. If she gets a critical illness we would get half the mortgage paid off, if I did we would get the same but my workplace has much better sickness and HR policies – at worst we could sell our house and move into something smaller (would have a £230k house with £50k remaining on mortgage so wouldn’t have to downsize too much).
If she dies I get mortgage paid off plus £53k plus whatever her work pays out, if I die she gets the same plus £85k from my work so she’s have a mortgage free house and £138k on top which I would hope would set her up for a long time.

fyi, and hopefully not already posted, your contract of employment MIGHT have a death in service benefit so I’d check that.

I used to have it but stopped as soon as I paid off my mortgage but the exclusions really we’ed me off. I once had an investigation for an unknown abdominal condition in my 20s (turns out I get IBS as a reaction to walnuts) but the insurance exclusions wouldn’t cover any abdominal condition. Likewise, my wife had a minor benign breast lump removed – they wanted to exclude any breast condition including cancer. If you have had any medical condition, they’ll try to wriggle out

I see it CI/LC as hopefully a fantastic waste of money … I sincerely hope the Mrs and I never have to use it.

Interested in your thinking here. Personally a few quid a month (relatively speaking) to know that Mrs D will get a few hundred thousand and be able to continue living in the family home and look after the boy should the worst happen is worth every single penny as far as I’m concerned.

£40 p/m – £480 p/y. Christ I spend more than that on my phone contract and that doesn’t give me piece of mind!!

Last time I looked into this the quotes ranged from hundreds to thousands per month.

The boy at my mortgage co reckoned he could beat this.

Went through all the details with him “errr I’m unable to quote”

So I guess that your gov can remain smacked.

I just stick many monies away every month to many places. Wife has access( legally) and instructions for all.

Oh and watch out for the Beagle Street type stunt where the premiums increase over time.

Yes cover starts in year 1 at a few quid a month but by year thirty could be £100’s p/m.

Stick to a reputable life office and get level term/level premium cover as a rule.

Decreasing term needs to be bought for the length of time remaining on the mortgage but will only pay of the mortgage.

Being self employed my pension options are limited

Not really – you could get a SIPP, which is the same as what I have and I’m an employed person.

Worth checking your death in service benefits at work too, if you have them, 4x my salary here.

Christ, between that and the life cover, Mrs Nobeer is better off with me boxed up!

I have no cover. I prefer to be worth more to MrsTJ alive than dead!

Seriously tho – I have no kids and Mrs TJ does get my NHS pension if I die

Bear in mind death in service only covers you if working.

i.e. you could get ill, be sick a long time and work bin you off before you die, meaning no death in service benefit.

We covered ourselves after becoming parents, and seeing how a friend of PMistressJ’s was covered after her husband was struck down with a rare and incurable form of cancer.

Through various groups it became apparent said friend was unusual in being to keep her house after her husband died; many other young Mums were not so fortunate.

Last time I looked into this the quotes ranged from hundreds to thousands per month.

You sure that was Critical Illness? CI cover is really very narrow so is quite affordable. If you are looking at something broader, like Permanent Health Insurance (also called Income Protection) then it costs a lot more but is actually closer to what a lot of people would like to have.

Big believer in Critical illness insurance. I took it out in my mid 20’s and ended up getting testicular cancer in my mid 30’s. Got a payout and was able to move into a bigger house as a result. I was very close to cancelling the payments as it seemed to be £60 per month going into nothing. Thank goodness i didn’t.

Coming up for 5 years clear now so will be looking to start another policy soon but i fully expect any policy to exclude cancer and probably high monthly payments. Still piece of mind should something else happen.