Advice on financial advice

O Wise Org,

A financial advisor that I've used in the past phoned me and asked if I'd like a 'financial check-up'. So I went to see him last week. It was a new guy at this company who I hadn't met before. We went though a few things and he's emailed me to say that he thinks that I need to be paying £160 a month on more life insurance and critical illness cover. Now, this sounds like a helluva lot to me and my instinct is to say 'no f***ing way'.

I already have around £200,000 life cover from my employer and £45,000 of critical illness cover.

Here's what he's suggesting:

The addition of £250,000 level term life assurance on my life over 25 years for family protection purposes.
The addition of £100,000 critical illness cover on my life over 25 years.
Monthly cost for these plans (including the original plan) is £128.29.
Mrs Wyrdness: Family Income Benefit £25,000 pa for the balance of an initial 25 year term for family protection purposes.
Stand alone Critical Illness Benefit £100,000 over 25 years.
Monthly cost for Mrs Wyrdness’s plans is £32.30.

So does this sound like far more than I might need? He's going to phone me tomorrow and I'm not sure what to say to him about it. I suspect that he's thinking of big fat commission cheques for selling me all of this cover.

im no expert at all but IMO sounds like your already covered quite well no?

£128.29 a month quite a lot of money for something you may never see?

I personally would think I was covered enough with what you have and just tell the IFA id thought about it and decided against it this time. thanks but no thanks type thing. but only you know your circumstances

[Stu]

Take a f***ing hike!

[Gazza77]

Originally Posted by Stu

Take a f***ing hike!

+1

[punyXpress]

The life & illness cover with your employer - who's the beneficiary, you or them?
Also, in these tricky times, how certain is your employment with them?

[Stu]

let me elaborate/clear up some misunderstandings.
If my Joint life cover for £200k/£250K (I forget) is £35pm where are they getting £128 from sounds vastly overpriced even including Critical Illness.
I'm taking a wild guess that your £200K life cover is 4 times earnings so why would you need as much as £25K a year taxfree when 2 of you can live off £50K of taxable earnings now? Did he say what incapacity benefits you would be entitled to if an event where to occur to be claimimg off any of these policies?

[timwilky]

I have £100,000 of critical illness and a low cost life insurance that together cost about £70/month. the life insurance was to give the wife a guaranteed £20,000/year over a 20 year term. 10 years still to go on that. So based on what I pay I think they are trying to charge too much


Considering I also have death in service worth £250,000 as well on my pension the wife will be a very merry widow should I snuff it.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by wyrdness

I suspect that he's thinking of big fat commission cheques for selling me all of this cover.

I suspect that is his motive as well. Is he an independant advisor or is he trying to pedal his companies products ?

Go and see somebody else and get a 2nd opinion.

[Biker Biggles]

Do you have any kids?If not Id suggest you really dont need a high level of cover for life insurance,and the critical illness thing is very contraversial.Im very suspicious of it,looked into it years ago and wouldnt touch it with a barge pole.
Id look at alternatives too.Like using the money to pay off any debt you have,or putting it into savings or investments.In hard times liquid assets can be more valueable than monthly outgoings into things like this.

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

Do you have any kids?If not Id suggest you really dont need a high level of cover for life insurance,and the critical illness thing is very contraversial.Im very suspicious of it,looked into it years ago and wouldnt touch it with a barge pole.
Id look at alternatives too.Like using the money to pay off any debt you have,or putting it into savings or investments.In hard times liquid assets can be more valueable than monthly outgoings into things like this.

We've got a small baby and no debt. I'm currently putting as much money as I can into savings, as we'll need a house soon. Like most people, I'm waiting for house prices to bottom out before buying.