... I had received a couple of letters from my Insurance company which is Legal and General Assurance, informing me there may be a shortfall at the end of the policy term. It gave you average growth rates of 4, 6 and 8%. On their figures, the worst scenario I could expect would be an £18,600 ... Read review
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The Mortgage Endowement Dilemma.
Advantages: O.K. if you use it as a means of saving Disadvantages: If you thought it would pay of your mortgage, chances are it will not.
...my Insurance company which is Legal and General Assurance, informing me there may be a shortfall at the end of the policy term. It gave you average growth rates of 4, 6 and 8%. On their figures, the worst scenario I could expect would be an £18,600 shortfall at a 4% growth rate,(not pennies you must admit).
Having looked into the matter further, I found that Endowements were growing at a lower rate that 4% thus meaning the figure could ... ...General and asked for a personal forecast at the "true" current growth rate. What I recieved was just a copy of the rates I already had, plus the surrender value of my policy. It did not enlighten me to the final projected shortfall figure.
Of course I complained, but was told that they only had to give figures in line with ligislation. The final correspondence I received, for the first time, said that it was advisable to ... more
After the recent publicity there has been regarding Endowment Policies linked to Mortgages, I decided to look further into the matter, although us holders of this type of policy were told not to panic. I kept thinking that I did not want to still have a mortgage during my retirement years and the information I had been fed was not conclusive.
I know we can not forsee the future, but the majority of people with an Endowement Policy expected to have their Mortgage cleared at the end of the term. I had received a couple of letters from my Insurance company which is Legal and General Assurance, informing me there may be a shortfall at the end of the policy term. It gave you average growth rates of 4, 6 and 8%. On their figures, the worst scenario I could expect would be an £18,600 shortfall at a 4% growth rate,(not pennies you must admit).
Having looked into the matter further, I found that Endowements were growing at a lower rate that 4% thus meaning the figure could be much higher.
I contacted Legal and General and asked for a personal forecast at the "true" current growth rate. What I recieved was just a copy of the rates I already had, plus the surrender value of my policy. It did not enlighten me to the final projected shortfall figure.
Of course I complained, but was told that they only had to give figures in line with ligislation. The final correspondence I received, for the first time, said that it was advisable to take measures to counteract any shortfall there might be, (of course, one of their savings plans).
I decided it was now time to change my Endowement Morgage to a Repayment, after all, was it worth throwing any more money away in interest only. I contacted my Mortgage lender, (Nat West Home Loans). They were very helpful and advised me my Mortgage can be changed to Repayment without cost to me. Of course the monthly payments went up,but not drastically, and at least I would have peace of mind.
I considered cashing in my Endowement and paying the surrender value off my Mortgage to reduce the payments. After phoning round for Life Insurance to cover the Mortgage value, I found that the premiums would be almost as much as the Endowement Premiums with no remuneration at completion. The best option was to continue with the Endowement as a means of Life Cover and savings. At least this way I would get the termination value of the Policy and instead of paying it towards the mortgage it would be mine.
Of course, finding the extra money is a pain, but at least I will not have a morgage when I'm 70, (if I make it). I do think, that instead of these Insurance Companies telling folk, "not to worry", they should be more straightforward and honest as to what people can expect at the end of their mortgage term.
This was the best option for me personally, but if you are in the same situation, it may be worth your while looking into it.
Advantages: fast quotes - helpful staff - easy to read paperwork Disadvantages: hidden costs and loadings to premiums - time to process - poor knowledge of medical underwriting
...of quotes came back and Legal and General were the cheapest and I was happy that they were a company I had heard of before, even if it was via a Dave Gorman programme! They quoted £7.79 per month and I was a happy bunny. I duly printed off the application forms and quote and proceeded to answer 5 pages of questions relating to my family medical history to how much I drink and smoke not forgetting to include any pre-existing medical conditions. The ... ...and nothing was forthcoming from Legal & General so I called them. They had no record of my application but the staff were helpful and the phones were answered quickly. They took my details, said they would check with underwriting and call back that day - which they did to inform me that due to my "blood pressure problem" I would have to be medically underwritten and that they would be writing to my doctor in due course. I started to get concerned ...
ladyboymondaytofriday 26.03.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd
Advantages: Cheap premiums - for my level of cover Disadvantages: None
...a month from anyone.
Legal and General quickly stood out as not only one of the cheapest monthly premiums, but it also stood out as the most famous name in my shortlist. I’m not saying “famous = reputable”, necessarily, but it did help me to make my decision.
The application process was incredibly easy, and all of it was carried out online.
I had to sign a form which arrived in the post as part of the final agreement, but other than that it all ... ...the service I received from Legal and General.
*** Ethical considerations ***
I always have a problem with big financial institutions, i.e. excluding mutual organisations, and had expected a company like Legal and General to be not very impressive on the ethical stakes. When I looked into it, they did relatively well on this score. Legal and General apparently has invested in the Indonesian logging (hardwood) industry – not something I wish to ...
rsmith 20.01.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd
Advantages: Better to know in advance that you may have a problem Disadvantages: Not necessarily the whole picture.
I have recently received a rather upsetting letter from my endowment provider informing me of a "potential" shortfall in my maturity value.
I contacted L&G directly on a dedicated helpline and was told they could not actually give me advice but could only give me factual information. Whilst very friendly, I felt I needed more information.
I contacted various Independent Financial Advisers and met up with one who sounded very professional.
He gave ... ...shortfall. TRUE, due to recent market conditions, expected investment returns are likely to be lower than those achieved historically.
TRUE, the rates used for the projections at the time were fairly ambitious in light of current market conditions.
TRUE, the adviser that sold me the policy did earn a lot of commission.
FALSE, my policy is a bad one. The Insurance Companies at the time were told by their regulator what projection rates to use. ...
Crayzee 13.09.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd
Advantages: cheapest I could find Disadvantages: have to die to get the money !
Although Legal & General provide a range of financial products and services, this review is specifically concerned with life assurance as that is the area in whjch I have personal experience of dealing with them.
WHY INSURE
I remember, when first married, being quite reluctant to 'waste' money on life assurance, when there was so much we needed for the home. However my husband insisted on it so we took out just enough on his life only (the breadwinner) ... ...out of these.
WHY LEGAL & GENERAL
Quite simply, every time I have searched for life assurance, whether for myself or others, Legal and General are consistenty the cheapest.
They are an established reputable company.
ADDITIONAL INFO
Premiums are affected by age, existing state of health, whether a recent smoker, amount assured, and length of term chosen. Examples of actual monthly premiums Female 55 £50.000 assured 10 year term - £14
Male 30 ...
hunnieoo7 12.02.2006 (16.02.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd
Advantages: An excellent level of cover provided. Disadvantages: Completing the very detailed health questionaire...can't be helped though!
I have just taken out a combined life and critical illness policy to support my mortgage and am very pleased to say I am paying a very reasonable monthly premium and receiving excellent comprehensive cover from what I personally feel is one of the best products on the market. I have the confidence that if myself or my partner is unfortunate enough to be suffer a critical illness or god forbid the worse happens, a non decreasing tax free lump sum ...
PINKLADYRLE 08.08.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd
Competitiveness of APR
Product package
Efficiency of service
Value for money
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Advantages: Company well known to me Disadvantages: I have yet to make a claim
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LEGAL AND GENERAL
I first came across Legal & General when they sponsored the ITV weather a few years ago. Then I was into Sian Lloyd, the gorgeous weather girl ...
Advantages: None Disadvantages: Do not help when you need it most
My husband became self-employed about 8 years ago and with the onset of him going it alone, this meant that we would loose the H.S.A. cover his employer gave him. A fellow IT contractor put my hubby in touch with this gentleman who arranges cover for fellow IT self-employed bods.
Amongst all the other policies we took out to safeguard our future and that of my children, was one for private health care. We were told to go for LEGAL AND GENERALASSURANCESOCIETY for their health care plan.
This policy appeared to be family friendly and as long as you are not over 74 years of age, then they will give you cover. Legal and general have been around for more years than I care to remember so we thought yeah ok, we can trust them.
We checked the website out, which is www.legal-and-general.co.uk and the company seemed quite genuine ...
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