Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd

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) to cover the mortgage and no more.

As it turned out I was widowed early and with three children to bring up, was very grateful to him for his prudence.The mortgage was paid and I was well aware of the need to get my life covered to protect the children should something happen to me.

I would now always recommend a decent amount of life cover and have made sure my children, all now adults, have enough cover to safeguard their own families should the worst happen.

WHY TERM ASSURANCE
There are 3 main types of assurance that pay out on death.

Whole of LIfe ---
With this you have to pay for the whole of the life of the person insured. There is no end date except death.The sum insured is often quite poor because of the certainty that one day it will be paid out (unless the policy is redeemed before death, when there would be no surrender value).
These policies often get forgotten about with the passing of time and as the proposer becomes elderly.

Endowment----
This can be used alongside an interest only mortgage as a means of repayment, or can stand alone as a savings plan that also has an element of life assurance.
The 'savings' aspect has been exposed as poor of late.
The insurance sum is very small for the premiums paid because of the dual nature of these plans.

Term Assurance ---
Your life is insured for a set amount for a given term (number of years). The premiums are fixed at the outset. There is no redemption value except on death so when the term agreed at outset ends, there is nothing to show for all those premiums paid.
You can get quite a large sum of insurance for relatively small premiums.

In my opinion term insurance is the simplest and best deal, 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 £100,000 assured 20 year term - £7

Male 26 £100.000 assured 20 year term - £10 (has a pre-existing medical condition)

It is worth noting that , even though the premiums quoted online and over the phone when dealing with Legal & General directly are competetive, it is sometimes possible to shave a good few pence more a month off these figures by using an insurance broker eg Lifesearch etc.