Archive for October, 2009
Time To Reconsider Your Protection Insurance
Posted by admin in Critical Illness, Life Insurance on October 26, 2009
Summary:
This is the second of two associated articles about Accident insurance cover and other interrelated types of personal cover. If you find this article helpful you may like to read Health Insurance Dont Break The Bank.
Check up to see whether your employer supplies accident cover for you? Quite a few companies do without the employee realising or remembering. Subsequently if you need this form of insurance cover, it is well worth checking it out. Also remember that accident insurance may be combined with your life cover.
If you do already have life insurance cover and have the funds to top up your insurances, then it may be better to contemplate a fairly small extra premium to purchase something like an income payment protection cover, which would mean that you’d receive a monthly income whilst off work or even until retirement.
Income protection policies have be put together to supply you with an amount of money each month, whilst you are not able to work as the result of an illness or accident. They’re designed to pay out until you reach retirement age. There are other alternative insurances which come under the name of Accident and Sickness Insurance, that will pay out for a set period and some of these also contain cover for unemployment.
The FSA keep a careful eye on the way in which the public purchase general insurance covers and have said ”There is a chance that clients buying protection insurance may not comprehend the limitations.” If you want to find the cheapect critical illness insurance, take a look online.
Plus, it was emphasized that they were uneasey about the low amount of claims on these policies which could be the effect of expensive pricing and a lack of competition. In another Financial Standards Agency review, this one based on “cold calling” selling procedures, the regulator was critical of the extremely poor sales standards for various policies and cautioned that the benefits of accident insurance were “from time to time overstated”.
The low rate of claims, talked about above, indicates the amount of money settled in claims, against that received in premiums is by and large low. For that reason, it’s doubtful that pure accident cover would profit you very much. It would appear to be much better then, to use an insurance product that includes disability or death insurance within a really all-inclusive life cover.
Not everyone realizes that many of the ordinary credit cards, such as Virgin Money, Egg, Natwest,Halifax All In One, Capital One and Barclay card to name a few, offer “travel accident” cover of up to £150,000, that insures you for death or accident which occurs while in transit which is paid for using their card.
When you have some time to spare, it’s a good idea to sit down and sort out just what you have in the way of insurance policies. As is apparent, some, in fact a lot of, types of insurance cover have various benefits and it may be a good time see just what cover you do have and make sure that recent changes in your life haven’t changed your insurance cover requirements.
You’ll get all the aid you need by going on-line and finding an independent financial advisor, you can weigh up your own needs, verify any doubts you have concerning present insurance covers and generally explore a very broad market to find just the right policy for you and your family.
Points To think About When Shopping For Critical Illness Cover
Posted by admin in Critical Illness, Life Insurance on October 20, 2009
Summary
Some of those with critical illness insurance plans do not really understand how these plans opperate. There are arguments for more stringent guidelines on the presentation of such insurance cover. Consumers need plenty of information on insurance which best suit their individual needs.
The main financial regulating body made known its apprehensions a few years ago that hundreds of thousands ofpeople with insurance did not appreciate what their policies covered. Those worries are still valid.
The the Financial Services Authority, the city regulator commentated that data indicated that insurance providers, including supermarkets, financial advisers, banks and insurersoften made no effort to understand if the insurance was appropriate and inadequate information was presented to customers of how the plans work. While most firms were working to adhere to higher standards, others continued to offer an inadequate service.
In the event that a stroke, heart attack, canceror other specified life-threatening illnesses strike, critical illness cover,insurance pays out a lump sum. Almost without exception, it is people who are concerned about repaying mortgage, debts and loans if they become unable to continue working, who buy these cheapest mortgage life policies.
There are two kinds: where the monthly premiums increase over the years and those with a guaranteed fixed monthly premium. Figures from the ABI prove that, all together, there are more than of five million plans covering twelve million customers. An average life insurance quote will pay out £65,000.
These “protection” plans have proved controversial. While the ploicies can bevery useful, these “protection” insurance arrangements have proved controversial and financial commentators observe that not many people make claims. There are no figures available on the number of claims made vis-à-vis the total money spent on the policies. The city regulator, the FSA, review did reveal, however, that on average, 24% of the claims made are declined.
In one situation recently a insurance holder was found to have with cancer but medical specialists could not identify which one. The customer was told it was unlikely the cancer consultants would know for certain until he was six feet under.
Until a diagnosis was available, the life insurance company would not pay out. The claimant’s financial advisers appealed realising that should he die, the policy would pay out a life insurance policy worth twenty five thousand pounds rather than the critical illness plan which was worth eighty five thousand pounds as only one policy was planned to pay out. The argument with the insurer caused infinitely more stress to the plan holders.
After a very public argument, the insurance company agreed with the client’s legal team and paid out on the policy for critical illness.
A spokesman from the Consumers’ Association, said it thinks the situation is much more serious than the Financial Services Authority claims and that sales of critical illness plans are at the centre of a far-reaching mis-selling scandal.
John Beer, principal policy adviser, says commission-hungry advisors, finance companies and brokers, saw an opportunity to make a big pay off. He said the Consumers’ Association had said the mis-selling was seen with payment protection insurance and would be replicated in the critical illness business.
His comments are on the back of complaints in amongst Members of Parliament regarding the mis-selling of critical illness policies. Edward Blank, the MP, says the Financial Services Authority’s study proves that there is a significant risk that insurance are being sold to clients who fail to understand what they are buying or who don’t even need them. The MP wants rule changes that would limit sales of critical illnes policies to financial advisers working under especially strict FSA guidelines.