Life / Critical Illness / Other Insurance

J

jbourke

Guest
Hi,

I am sure that variations of this question have been asked many times, and I know that the typical answer is that it varies according to your circumstances, but I am currently in the process of moving my mortgage and life insurance and would welcome people's opinion as to what is a reasonable level of cover and what is primarily profit for the bank.

Our circumstances:
  • My wife and I are both early 30's
  • No children, although this will hopefully change over the next couple of years
  • Both are reasonably high earners in our own right - €60K+ each, and could possibly afford the mortgage individually
  • No major family health issues, though father in law did have a bypass
  • Typically we have gone for decreasing term life cover only in the past
Options are in order of cost:
  • Life Cover - decreasing term
  • Life Cover - level term
  • Life Cover & Accelerated Specified Illness Cover - i.e. SIC Reduces life cover
  • Life Cover & Independant Specified Illness Cover - i.e. SIC does not reduce life cover
  • Other options such as:
    • Vital Care Cover (I read as second payment if you are incapicated)
    • Hospital Cash
    • Accident Cash
Thanks again....
 
If you have VHI (or equiv.), and mortgage protection, with no dependants, and good incomes, do you really need additional life cover or a S.I. policy now?

Maybe PHI is the way to go? The tax relief helps greatly.

I'd suggest you seek out and employ a good authorised advisor to do a full needs analysis. Think beyond the banks.

p.s. It all changes if/when kids arrive btw.
 
I would generally be inclined to go for the cheapest form of decreasing term cover for mortgage protection life assurance purposes and keep other more general life assurance/insurance separate. I would also talk to a good independent intermediary who can do a proper fact find/financial review and recommed a range of options fitting the specific individual needs of myself and my family.
 
Thanks guys... even in writing the question I was coming to that answer myself in my own mind. The PHI is interesting - can anyone point me at vendors in Ireland (a web earch pointed mainly at the UK)?
 
Friends First and Irish Life. It's not a straighforward area though.

Get proper advice. Not from FF or ILAC either.
 
One of the difficulties here is that it's difficult to get a recommended of a good independent advisor. I tried before and didn't get any strong leads.

It's a peculiarity of a finance-based website that it's easier to find a plumber or an architect than it is a good financial advisor.
 
RS2K said:
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It isn't particularly difficult to become registered and merely being registered isn't testament to one's relative knowledge or capabilities.

Most trades and professions have some sort of regulatory framework, voluntary or statutory, in which members are required to operate. Within this, there are good and bad practitioners and, no doubt, a range of competencies in-between.

To suggest that all registered advisors possess equal competency by virtue of being registered is unrealistic.
 
A personal recommendation is the best route or go see two advisors (not matter what status) and make your own mind up.
 

You are 100% correct on that.
 
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