# "Whole of Life" - Life Assurance



## Luna (10 Feb 2008)

Looking for some advice on Canada Life "Whole of Life" (unit linked) life assurance. When I was sold my mortgage a few years back I took out this type of life assurance, which includes critical illness cover. At the time I would not have known a whole lot about the various types of life assurance. The premium is reviewed every 10yrs up until approx 55 yrs of age, with subsequent reviews then taking place every 5yrs. After doing some research on the internet recently, it looks like this type of Life Assurance is not really popular because as you get older the premium gets so expensive that it becomes un-affordable. Given that I'm almost 8yrs paying premiums into this policy, should I try switch to a Term policy OR should I continue with my current Whole of Life Policy ? The cash-in value of the policy would be approx 1100 euro.


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## RS2K (10 Feb 2008)

What was the premium? Index linked? it's a tough call btw, and you may need professional help.


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## PM1234 (10 Feb 2008)

Do you need critical cover? Are the conditions of the critical cover covered under any private insurance policy you hold e.g VHI? Is the policy solely to cover your mortgage? Do you have dependants? If so do you have any other life assurance in place? 

It might be a good idea to get quotes for other types of policies and terms to get a more accurate comparison of the costs of the premiums over the term of the policy (with and without indexation).


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## mercman (10 Feb 2008)

I have a Whole of Life Policy (a few of them) with different life companies, and the review element is based on the performance of the funds applicable to the investment of the Policy and not the Policy Holder. My policies are alive for the past 15 / 20 years and despite stock markets all over the place have not been reviewed upwards and I also have MS (in remission).


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## RS2K (11 Feb 2008)

Reviews on u/l whole of life policies can also be effected by changes in the charging structure, and /or increases in death/S.I. benefit costings.

It's not straightforward at all.


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## Luna (11 Feb 2008)

Thanks for the inputs folks. My personal situation is that I'm married with 2 young children. The initial reason for the Life Assurance was to cover my mortgage which was 150k euro (so my Life Assurance is currently for 150k euro). I plan on paying off the mortgage in full later this year. I have VHI plan B health insurance & have death in service benefit in work of 2x salary (which would be worth approx 100k euro). The whole of life policy I have is not index linked & the current premiun is 45 euro per month - the 10 year premium review is due next year & from speaking to Canada Life I expect that the premium will increase to approx 75 euro per month (for the next 10yrs). Critical illness cover appealed to me originally because although VHI would pay for the majority of health procedures, it would not provide a lump sum in the event I could not work again due to illness. My plan once I paid off the mortgage was to increase the level of life cover from 150k euro to 400k euro. I don't have any other Life Assurance policies & my wife currently does not have Life Assurance or death in service benefit. I just wanted to understand what people's thoughts were on "Whole of Life" policies before I proceeded any further with this. Also, does anyone have any recommendations on where I can find a genuine Independent Financial advisor i.e. an advisor that won't be aligned to specific products & therefore try to push these products (for commision reasons) ?


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## G123 (11 Feb 2008)

The problem with this type of insurance is that it's difficult to work out exactly what you are being charged for the protection or what future charges are likely to be. In my opinion, if you need to protect your family until say, kids leave college, I would shop around for a Term Policy that guarantees cover for the period required. This will give you a good idea of what the premium is likely to be into the future.


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## PM1234 (12 Feb 2008)

Its a difficult call and your call really. The type of life cover you take out depends on personal circumstances and affordability. You want and have critical cover. You're aware the premiums will be reviewed and will increase along with your age. You don't know by how much the premiums will increase and it may be substantially.

Its usually recommended that life cover and mortgage protection are kept separately but in your case this won't apply (from next year).    

The excess sum of €1100 may cover some of the difference in the increased premiums either now or in the future but when you increase the sum assured this probably won't last very long. 

You might want to ask for a breakdown of your premium to see how much is going towards each element of your policy ie life cover, critical illness, savings and fees. This might help you decide when doing a comparison with different types of policies.

Maybe take a look in the key posts (at the top of the insurance thread) for recommendations.


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