I’m Gay Can I Have Life Insurance?

7 December 2009, 1:36 pm

You will probably want life assurance if you wish to insure your income or your health should you become sick and unfit to work – something which is predominatly essential for a single person or people with children, as well as a same-sex partner.

Besides there are episodes, like buying a house, when life insurance might be necessary.

Insurance companies may wish to be informed of the fact that you are gay. They will require you to complete an application document which will involve details on whether your partner is in the homosexual category.

The question might not be instant but the company will later on post out an intrusive questionnaire on your daily life.

It would be tempting not to disclose information or to give fake details but this would just make your insurance invalid and is therefore a thoroughly silly idea. In addition, this could give rise to considerable complications when going to other companies.

Once the application form has been completed, you might then be requested to endure a medical test to discover wether you are Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive. There are no  predetermined policy on testing and companies are quite random in their selection procedure.

If your blood test for HIV proves positive, it will be difficult to buy commodities associated with cheap life cover. Purely having the blood test alone can end in a rejection of insurance cover by some insurance companies, even though the test is negative.

Even having passed all the tests satisfactorily a few companies will nonetheless double or treble your monthly payments. Many companies will insist on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)  testing for gay men who want income protection or critlical illness incurance cover even though neither would pay out for an Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) related claim.

Richard Meyer, of Jamesons & Co, a Insurance Broker based in Liverpool, says: ‘it’s  distasteful knowing the mortgage life insurance company can claim rights to some of your blood.” Unsurprisingly the test can be disconcerting.

He recommends that you have the test on your own  terms before involving  an insurer. To stop insurers having access to areas of your medical records, most people suggest having STD treatment or drugs at anonymous treatment centres which are to be found in almost every town or city. The National Aids Helpline or the Henry Jacobs Trust might be able to assist you in locating a suitable one.

There is at present an agreement between The Association of British Insurers  and BMA whereby doctors should not be asked to give information on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and negative Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)  tests. Different proposals would make the risk assessment undertaken by insurance more modern by ensuring that protected sexual behaviour, rather than sexuality, is the decisive factor.

However it might be quite a while before new rules are fully employed, gay candidates can usually nevertheless attain the life cover they want even in the present system. Independent insurance brokers, specialising in gay finance could normally find insurance cover without any need for testing and on nearly the same stipulations that pertain to gay applicants.

If you are gay and looking for a good deal, shopping on-line, via MSN, Yahoo or Google can also generate some of the less expensive quotes.

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Insurers Coming Clean With Protection Insurance

1 October 2009, 3:04 pm

Summary
Will Protection Insurance become more popular? The Insurance Companies are now taking the right steps. We hope they will be successful. Read this article to find out what is now happening in the insurance market.

Few professional financial advisors wouldn’t disagree that protection insurance cover should be the core of most family’s financial planning whether it be safeguarding against the detriment of premature death, accident, long term illness or (particularly now with the arrival of the credit crunch), cover for unemployment.

Life insurance cover is rightly the bed rock of financial planning whether it be used to cover your mortgage or supply a tax free lump sum for your dependants in the event of your demise. Sadly, some other forms of protection cover have a less desirable status. Payment Protection insurance has a reputation for being miss-sold and critical illness insurance has historically suffered from extensive policy exclusions which permitted the insurers to reject a high number of claims, even if they appear valid.

But last month a glimmer of light appeared when Friends Provident reported its 1st half figures on the resulteffect of claims on its critical illness and life insurance cover. These numbers appear to imply that at last the question of unintended disclosure of health particulars when the policy application is done, is being resolved.

A little while ago critical illnesscover claims were being routinely turned down on the merest hint that the client had left out any slight medical condition – even a sore throat or a foot infection! In line with the figures presented by Friends Provident, their claim rejections have reduced sharply from 6.5% last year to 1.7% in the last six months.

Why is this? Scottish Provident, Scottish Equitable, Axa, Friends Provident, Norwich Union and LV  have initiated a collection of amendments calculated to reduce their refusal rates. They begin with an extremely clear explanation of the magnitude of complete medical disclosure right down to when they last saw their Doctor no matter how minor the reason. And some insurers such as Axa get a medically trained person to ring each applicant to discuss their medical history in detail. Then when the insurance cover goes on risk, some insurers are reminding the policyholders of the importance of full health disclosure and allowing them the option of adding or correcting the details on their application.

If the new details are assessed as increasing the insurance companies risk, then the insurance company will inevitably put up the monthly premium – but that is without doubt far better than paying the previous payment for many years and then having a claim refused.

The insurance companies should have taken path a long time ago as their softly, softly attitude has dented the consumer’s assessment of protection insurance. Nonetheless there is an absolute need for protection insurance so let us pray that it gets the reputation its so rightly warrants. 

If you want to find the cheapest life cover, we suggest you go online – just search for quotes for cheap life insurance. All the best offers are there!

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Insurance Industry Relies On Pick And Mix

18 September 2009, 3:21 pm

Summary
The choice given by protection insurance list of options and the firms who are chiefs in this type of  Life insurance Quotes. This article exemplifies how the consumer can benefit

 Protection insurance menus which provide clients the opportunity to pick ‘n mixlife and health cover in a fully comprehensive policy have been available for over 2 decades. Sadly the initial policies did not seem to be very appealing to clients although the concept was right. Administrative savings, a single set of paperwork and direct debit were appreciated by both the insurer and the consumer. Nevertheless the benefits offered by these options were counterbalanced by the disadvantages.

The array of policies offered by the main pioneers,  Standard Life, weren’t competitive. Independent financial advisers investigated major providers to form protective deals for the clients, which drastically undercut the premiums found in protection menus. The industry has now progresses and an avalanche of new protection menus have been launched which have won the supportof of most of the mediators.

Standard Life was the 1st to develop a winning blueprint when it reintroduced it’s Self Assurance options. They were soon followed by Friends Provient, Legal and General, Liverpool Victoria Life, Scottish Equitable Protect, Skandia Life and others are expected to pursue their lead soon.

Three essential features are found in most protection options. Critical illness insurance cover lists a number of stated critical illnesses for which the insurance companies would settle a lump sum. The lower price option, term assurance, settles a lump sum if you die within a given period and nothing thereafter. The final option is income insurance, which offers a regular income if illness or long term disability impedes you from working. The menu may offer you redundancy cover, which is often restricted to eighteen months or two years and may also be limited to the pay out of a mortgage. The principle appeal is the flexibility of the policies. Such as different levels of insurance cover can be organised for separate component parts, so should you make a claim on 1 part the others will still stay in force. No added medical evidence will be needed before major living events, like having a baby, getting married or moving house. These added benefits are called ‘Guaranteed Insurability Options’.

Different components of insurance may be supplemented after the conclusion of a short questionnaire and you will still benefit from the typical policy discounts.

An example of the benefits sourced from a protection option is illustrated by a a young man and his wife who went for Legal and General’s Protection Choices menu for mortgage protection insurance. They are paying a jointly held policy of £32.03 a month for separate life policies and critical illnesses, which have been done on a joint life basis. At the start they have cover of £112,750 which lowers as their 24 year homeowner loan is paid off. Life assurance cover would be paid out if 1 of them dies and the insurance is ended, but the one surviving will still benefit from critical illness insurance Life insurance cover will be upheld for both partnerseven if one becomes ill and the policy will pay out on first to die.

If the couple had bought a standard compare life insurance policy with Legal and General they would only get a pay out on their 1st claim. While with their Protection Choices insurance policy they are offered 2 possible settlements costing only eight pounds more. Even if employees are sometimes provided with income protection with their job they can also insure their mortgage in a similar way. Furthermore they might want to take out extra critical illnessinsurance and life insurance not combined with their mortgage. Legal and General’s  protection menu enables them to do this in a cost effective and straightforward way. The new options based insurance policies enable you to save money although you can research around for individual insurance products and only save a few pence.

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Over Fifties Life Insurance Cover You May pay more Than You Get Out

14 September 2009, 5:14 pm

Summary
This article airs the problems with the over fifties plans that do not ask any medical questions but are they worth buying? Carry on reading for more information.

The over fifties life insurance plans are selling like hot cakes. 

 and are regularly promoted by well known stars like Jerry Hall and Michael Douglas. Consumers who purchase these life insurance plans may be paying much more in than their beneficiaries will get out.

Promising a settlement on the policyholder’s death, premiums start from about six pounds growing to about 62 pounds. Sold to consumers between 50 and 80 the settlement depends on the premium paid, age and gender when the policy begins.

Ominously, no questions about their health are asked.  Some policies stop after a certain amount of time, but are valid until the insurance holder dies. In other insurance plans the payment is made until the client passes away, however insurance holders may pay more in than they get out depending upon when they pass away.

Referring to advertisements for 50 plus from LV, Karl Simms of independent financial advisers Investment box says ‘I can’t understand Michael Parkinsonsanctioning this style of product. He is a quality act, but the same cannot be said for this policy.’

The Chairman of 50 plus from LV, Mark Combs defends  Frost’s role, saying he is only making people conscious of the plans existence , for which there is substantial demand .He states, ‘The draw is their affordability because of their low premiums and the guaranteed acceptance process.’

Still, you could get an improved deal with a different insurer buying regular plan on  equivalent terms ‘consumers could get three or four times as much for their money from an ordinary life plan, in return for replying to a few questions.’ Says George Meakins of Hillmont financial services.

Not asking any health questions forces much dearer fees as these policies attract clients with pre-existing illnesses who may die before the insurer has covered its cost. Companies also freeze any settlement for the first one or two years to  protect themselves. A reimbursement of the payments made is more often than not refunded if a policyholder passes away of natural causes in this time.

The Manager of financial services at Direct Line, Jonathan Smith, admits that the price may be less for ordinary cheap life insurance cover but generally by the time you reach your 50’s, many have suffered some kind of ill health, consequently why consumers favour the over 50’s plans. Policyholders’paying in more than they ever get backis one area he doesn’t concur with. ‘When we put together our plan we decided to put a cap on the premiums,’ he states, meaning once the insurance holders have paid the sum assured their payments cease.

Most over-fifties plans do ultimately have cut off points, but many policyholders have paid more than they should before this time. Premiums usually cease at ninety with the LV plans and the post office running them for a set duration.

The main reason people purchase these policies is to pay burial costs. Yet, the eventual pay out may not be enough. A pre-payment policy could be a better alternative with Swan Hill and District Funerals supplying three packages costing between 2,699 pounds and 3,339 pounds. This particular type of plan can be taken out for 3 years.

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Insurance Companies Take Positive Steps To Improve Protection Insurance

1 September 2009, 1:01 pm

Summary
This article explains how Financial Protection Insurance may possibly turn out to be more popular
with the insurers at long last making constructive steps that should with any luck be successful.

A lot of trained  financial advisors would be of the same opinion that Protection Insurance is necessary  to a good number of families, either as a  precaution in the event of cover for an accident, loss of employment (especially in the present economic climate), prolonged illness or premature death.

Life Insurance Cover is the basis of all financial assurance for cover for a mortgage or to ensure a lump sum that is not taxable, in the eventuality of death.  Sadly, a percentage of other Life Insurance policies, do not do not have equivalent sound qualities and have been branded as being miss-sold.  furthermore, based on what we know, critical illness insurance has suffered as a result of shocking omissions from insurance policies making it feasible for insurance companies to reject many claims, as genuine as they may be.

In spite of this, some faith was reinstated when  Legal and General gave details on the conclusion of claims on Critical Illness Cover on their half yearly statistics. 

Critical Illness claims were being rejected because customers did not reveal their complete health background.  As a result Norwich Union  says that in the last 6 months the number of rejected claims has fallen substantially from 5.7 per cent in the last year, to 2.3%.

Why?  We think, not simply Aviva but all life insurance companies, because of destructive publicity, have been placed in a situation whereby they must diminish the amount of claims that are rejected. Does this prove how powerful the media can be?  Debateable perhaps – you may think we are doubtful but we think there are other factors that encouraged the insurers to make adjustments.  More recently, as a consequence of bad press, sales of Critical Illness policies  have fallen which in turn has visibly affected the insurance company’s profit. This is more likely to have been the catalyst to promote change!

Norwich Union, Scottish Provident, Axa and Friends Provident have introduced some prominent changes specially designed to reduce their rejection rates. To begin with, they outline plainly that all medical disclosure, however insignificant a visit to a Doctor may have been, must be revealed.  Scottish Provident, among others will get a medically trained person to telephone every candidate to go through all the particulars of their medical history.  If the policy then goes on risk, some policyholders are being told that it is vital that they provide full medical disclosure and they are allowed to add or correct any information on their application.

The Life Insurance Company may then re-assess the risk and if it is believed to be increased the monthly premium will likely be increased – which looks more sensible and eventually more satisfactory than paying the original premium then having a claim rejected because of non-disclosure of medical records.

This process should have been put into operation by the Insurance Companies a long time ago as the public’s perception of Protection Insurance has eroded by their somewhat strange approach. On a positive note, there is an obvious and essential need for protection insurance so we can hope that it manages to re-build trust and then the popularity it justly deserves.

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Is Critical Illness Insurance Just the Job?

27 August 2009, 3:15 pm

A small number of people are insured against serious illness even though it may appear unexpectedly. Legal and General, the income protection provider, has carried out research that say that only 4.2 per cent of the country’s work force possess critical illness insurance, even though they will get a large sum if they have cancer, a heart attack or suffer a stroke.

18 per cent of the population consider the cover to be too dear, the analysis reveals, which give reasons for the low take up.

Would-be customers are also puzzled by the phraseology of policies and the disparity between constant health insurance and critical illness cover.

A working party put together by the Association of British Insurers, is a present re-evaluating the  phrasing of policies. The situation might become even more confusing if the working party choose to decrease the number of illnesses defined as a critical illness.

Standard Life have introduced a new plan called Elixia 123, which it proclaims reduces the price of critical illness cover by around 25 per cent and sometimes by upto 50 per cent.

This will be achieved by permitting clients to select the illnesses for which they want insurance. There are three groups of risk. Category one. Invasive cancer, strokes and heart attacks. The plan will only pay out if the illness leads to major life style changes or is life threatening.

Group two. Conditionsthat dramatically affect life style but do not have much impact on life expectancy. Motor neurone disease, Alzheimer’s and blindness  are incorporated in this group.

Group 3. Illnesses that are harrowing but have a modest effect on life expectation. Life style changes may possibly be involved. This group protects minor heart attacks and strokes, less serious types of cancer and open heart surgery.

You can pick a blend of groups and your monthly payment is calculated accordingly. If you are unable to meet the expense of all of the categories you might just select group one  to insure you for life threatening events. You could then receive a total settlement if you are diagnosed with a group 1 event and nothing in categories 2 and 3.

Perhaps you are more apprehensive about long termdisability, in which case you might go for a full payment under category two and a lower percentage for one and three. Clients Consumers who desire full insurance can pick the full 100 per cent benefit no matter which category their condition is featured in.

Some people may not understand

Critical illness cover is not that expensive so it is wise to go for a comprehensive plan, which will give you complete protection.

Moria Jennings, the distribution development manager at PruHealth, is concerned about how the terms are defined. She emphasises that consumers must understand exactly what they are buying. Such as, when is a condition defined as major? The first and the third groups need explaining before purchasing cover as there is not much difference between them in her view. Problems can happen later if the customer has not fully comprehended the terms of the insurance policy when they Susan Pilks.

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Hello world!

25 August 2009, 4:38 pm

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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