When I finally took the plunge and bought my own place my mortgage provider kindly provided a quote based on what is known as Fixed Level Term Assurance - this effectively meant that I paid a fixed premium every month for 25 years and if I died they would pay off a fixed amount of £200,000 that would clear any outstanding mortgage debt. At age 29 with high mortgage payments the monthly premium of £14.50 was simply too much and I decided to do some investigation work to try and reduce this amount and if possible incorporate some critical illness cover (but that is another story).
My first port of call was the internet where I made a note of a few insurers and then did an online quote via a broker. I input my details which without going into excessive details are:
Personal: 29, Male, smoker in good health with above average blood pressure but nothing to worry about.
Cover: £200,000 Fixed - 25 year term - fixed premiums
A list 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 forms were completed and posted in early November 2005 as I wanted the cover to start on 1st December 2005.
2 weeks passed 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 and spoke to the medical underwriter who appeared on a different planet. He had no idea what I was talking about when I went through the questionnaire. He kept saying "hypertension is dangerous for us to insure" like a mechanic looking at a dodgy motor and kicking the tyre - I felt at deaths door by the time our conversation ended.
Nothing was then heard from Legal & General until a week before Christmas. They wrote to advise that they couldn't honour their original quote due to my medical condition and that a medical loading would be applied and they would cover me for £11.65 a month. Due to the need for cover which I had lied to my mortgage provider about I accepted and sent the forms back.
Three weeks later a new policy document dropped through my letterbox. It was easy to understand and explained every aspect of the policy. Nothing could have made the subject clearer.
The booklet also set out the other range of life insurance they offer - decreasing term assurance - where you pay a fixed premium but the level of cover decreases over the term.
Renewable term assurance where you have guaranteed premiums regardless of your age when you come to renew the policy in 20 years time.
I thankfully haven't had to claim - I wouldn't be writing otherwise but overall I'm happy with the policy I have. I would have liked it cheaper and before I moved into my house but everything is sorted now. Whenever I have had to call Legal & General I have only been in a queue for 5 minutes maximum and the staff try to be as helpful as possible. Legal & General are also a huge company so the chances of them being unable to meet any huge expense caused by my death isn't likely!
I would use them again if I needed to increase my life insurance but not until I had shopped around just to check current premiums.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
As bobbybroom suggested, you should have gone to an IFA.
i have a condition that makes it difficult for me to get cover (Diabetes).
Through an IFA, I applied for a number of plans with diffent Companies so that once underwritten, i was able to choose the one that was loaded the least.
It turned out that the company that was cheapest on the original list loaded substantially more. i eventually found an acceptable offer from a Company that was 4th on the original list.
Comapnies treat various conditions differently so it's definitely worth shopping around with the help of an IFA. btw, he didn't charge a fee and was paid via commission.
bobbybroom 30.03.2006 16:42
nice review. i am sure you can do better with the quote though. I suggest you go to an ifa and ask for a policy from Brightgrey. They will be much better suited to you but you can't buy direct. I can't say it will be cheaper though!
cokemusic2009 27.03.2006 16:18
Once again, another great review, hope to read more from you soon, and hope you check out some of my reviews sometime! - Alun
Mar 26th, 2006
very helpful by (83%):
helpful by (15%):
somewhat helpful by (2%):
