Life Insurance Term / Age / Renew ?

[RSMike]

Hi,

looking for advice on simple term life cover

Current dual policy with IL

Started in 2002 for 20 year term, Life cover 100K

At start of policy Male Non smoker age 40, Female smoker age 41

Cover ends 2022 when we are age 60/61

Current premium €65.90/month

Assuming we are still here, don't believe we will want to be looking for a new term policy at age 60, should we wind up this policy now and start a new one with a new 20 or 30 year term while premiums are higher but still reasonable?

Cheers

 

[NorthDrum]

Out of curiosity Why did you take the life cover out in the first place and why did you originally choose this term? (mortgage?)

Are you just thinking of getting new life cover for the sake of it or is 100k suitable to your needs?

Im not being smart but there can be differant answers to your question based on your own specific financial circumstances.

Whats more important when you are 60 is that you are healthy enough to even get the life assurance (people get denied or declined cover in certain circumstances). Convertible Term Assurance is an option (this allows you to convert your life policy to either a longer term policy or a whole of life policy at any stage during the life of the policy without requirements for medical information, premiums will go up but you are guaranteed to get cover, as a general rule the premium can be 10% more expensive then level term assurance, but you cannot change the amount of cover you have).

Whatever you do, do not cancel your existing policy until you have a new one in place (I assume you want to always have cover so this is just prudent).

Based on the details you provided you are looking at around premiums of €50 per month for 28 year term with same cover (did a quick quote). Just to confirm, are you 40 now or is it you were 40 at start of policy? I assumed you gave your current age etc. Same quote assuming you are 47 next birthday and partner 48 next comes to €88 or so. These figures arent guaranteed, I am just giving you an indication of what premium you would be looking at.

Assuming you are 40 now, Are you sure that you werent rated (higher premium based on Illness or family history!) or that you dont have convertible term on the policy or perhaps its a whole of life policy (with original 20 year quote)? Perhaps you used to smoke and had to pay a higher premium as a result?

 

[RSMike]

Out of curiosity Why did you take the life cover out in the first place and why did you originally choose this term? (mortgage?)

Are you just thinking of getting new life cover for the sake of it or is 100k suitable to your needs?

Im not being smart but there can be differant answers to your question based on your own specific financial circumstances.

Originally many years before this, we were convinced to go with an IL Lifesaver ( combined life & savings account), also with a mortgage had a lifetime living cover plan attached to our mortgage protection.

In retrospect both products were not good value especially the lifesaver and put me off combined insurance products.

Since then I decided to keep things simple, thats the reason I went for simple Life insurance at age 40 in 2002, not much thought went into the term at the time and in retrospect maybe a longer term would have been appropriate.

I no longer attempt to mix

(1) Life Insurance

(2) Savings

(3) Medical/Health/Disabilty Insurance

We are adequately covered on 2 & 3, no mortgage, no kids, so the 100K life insurance is just an extra financial cushion in the event of death.

Whats more important when you are 60 is that you are healthy enough to even get the life assurance (people get denied or declined cover in certain circumstances). Convertible Term Assurance is an option (this allows you to convert your life policy to either a longer term policy or a whole of life policy at any stage during the life of the policy without requirements for medical information, premiums will go up but you are guaranteed to get cover, as a general rule the premium can be 10% more expensive then level term assurance, but you cannot change the amount of cover you have).

Whatever you do, do not cancel your existing policy until you have a new one in place (I assume you want to always have cover so this is just prudent).

ok, yes maybe I should consider converting to a longer term or whole of life.

Based on the details you provided you are looking at around premiums of €50 per month for 28 year term with same cover (did a quick quote). Just to confirm, are you 40 now or is it you were 40 at start of policy? I assumed you gave your current age etc. Same quote assuming you are 47 next birthday and partner 48 next comes to €88 or so. These figures arent guaranteed, I am just giving you an indication of what premium you would be looking at.

Assuming you are 40 now, Are you sure that you werent rated (higher premium based on Illness or family history!) or that you dont have convertible term on the policy or perhaps its a whole of life policy (with original 20 year quote)? Perhaps you used to smoke and had to pay a higher premium as a result?

Sorry, original post unclear, was 40 in 2002, 47 next birthday.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[StevieC]

Hi Rsmike

The first thing I would do is check if your existing policy has a continuation option on it, as it would allow you to get the same cover again at rates applicable to your age now over a new term without the need for medical information.

If you dont have this option on your existing policy, I'd advise you to do a google search for life assurance/insurance as there are many online brokerages offering good deals on the internet that are not available elsewhere.

If a whole of life policy appeals to you. Eagle Star offer a guaranteed whole of life product at competitive prices. This policy does not have reviewable premiums unlike many other whole of life policies and is the best price wise for this type of product at the moment.

Regards

Stephen

 

[NorthDrum]

Sorry, original post unclear, was 40 in 2002, 47 next birthday.

Thanks for the advice.

No Probs, then you are looking at around €88 for term assurance for 28 Years.

You would be looking at in or around €230 per month for a whole of Life policy (whole of life quote).

As StevieC said you could contact a Broker to Discuss Whole of Life Policy or you could take out a Term Assurance policy with a conversion option (which allows you take out a whole of life policy at a later date without requiring medical evidence).