Income/life insurance!

[big_head]

What do members here pay for personal insurance monthly?

I am currently reviewing our insurance (myself and wife) and increasing certain cover. I am doing it all through a broker, who is great.

My monthly premiums will be increasing to $275.....Is this ballpark what others pay or do i need a reality check?!!

 

[Angel]

Um, how old are you, are you a smoker? Do you play dangerous sports? What pre-existing conditions do you have? What amount of cover did you take out????

Was this for one person or two? What is your occupation? What did your parents/grandparents die from?

Sorry, but we cant compare this kind of matter.

 

[big_head]

More talking about the $ amount per month...not the cover included.

What do other members spend per year on personal insurances?

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

More talking about the $ amount per month...not the cover included.

What do other members spend per year on personal insurances?

Angel's questions regarding smoking, lifestyle, health and family health history are highly relevant to answering your question. Smokers pay a massive premium compared to non-smokers, as do people who skydive or have a family history of heart desease or cancer.

Simply asking what others pay (even if they're the same age) won't give you an answer even remotely releveant to your circumstances.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

What do members here pay for personal insurance monthly?

I am currently reviewing our insurance (myself and wife) and increasing certain cover. I am doing it all through a broker, who is great.

My monthly premiums will be increasing to $275.....Is this ballpark what others pay or do i need a reality check?!!

Hi big_head, it doesn't matter what premiums other people pay. There is no such thing as a 'ballpark' insurance premium and absolutely no connection between their or your situations. All insurance applications are judged based on information provided and an appropriate premium is then quoted for that individual.

If you are happy with your broker, why are you questioning their recommendation?

 

[big_head]

Understand all the points discussed above, and i am happy with the advice i have received.

Just curious what others paid on their insurances. Disregard!

 

[china]

Your premium on income protection will depend on how much you insure yourself for.

For example, if you want income protection of 150k per year, you obviously need to pay more than if you want income protection of 80k per year.

The premium also depends on your health, age, type of job, etc.

I had previously looked at income protection up to 150k per year and they wanted to charge me about 5k per year but these days as I have accumulated about 1.6m in the bank, I have decided to forego income protection insurance.

I have life insurance (payable on my death) built into my first state super but am not sure what to do with it as I have no dependents. I am thinking of nominating some charity as a beneficiary. On this life insurance, I think my super fund takes about 30 dollars per month out of my super as the premium.

 

[wildrahil]

try about $500 or $600 a year for about 600k worth of cover through my super fund ,i think most super funds are a fair bit cheaper for insurance

 

[DaveM]

try about $500 or $600 a year for about 600k worth of cover through my super fund ,i think most super funds are a fair bit cheaper for insurance

And the money/payouts are trapped inside the super fund, and are typically restricted to cover virtually nothing at all, and at best cover 2 years worth of income.

 

[jingo]

And the money/payouts are trapped inside the super fund, and are typically restricted to cover virtually nothing at all, and at best cover 2 years worth of income.

Dave,

Can you elaborate on how the money is trapped in the fund?

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

Dave,

Can you elaborate on how the money is trapped in the fund?

Income protection can be purchased by a super fund. If you make a claim however, the income will be paid to the fund, not to you. The super fund may determine that they accumulate that income rather than distribute it to you when you need it.

It's nice to know that you'd get lots of money when the fund does go into pension phase, but it kind of defeats the purpose of income protection in the meantime.

Industry funds and others get around this because their life policies only cover you for up to 2 years. Most super funds can pay out under these 'emergency' circumstances. They generally can't pay out indefinitely however.

Life insurance isn't an issue in a super fund because the circumstances under which the insurer pays are compatible with the super fund paying you (if you've got a terminal illness) or your estate (if you die).

The reason I think people should get advice from a financial adviser on topics like super and personal insurance is because it's not a simple topic. It is easy to completely screw it up and not get the result you expected.

 

[china]

The reason I think people should get advice from a financial adviser on topics like super and personal insurance is because it's not a simple topic. It is easy to completely screw it up and not get the result you expected.

As I understand it, a far more important reason to choose a good adviser or insurance broker is that when it comes time to claim on your income protection insurance, this broker/adviser should help you. It is easy to pay premiums but much much harder trying to get money out of insurance companies.

 

[Aaron_C]

As I understand it, a far more important reason to choose a good adviser or insurance broker is that when it comes time to claim on your income protection insurance, this broker/adviser should help you. It is easy to pay premiums but much much harder trying to get money out of insurance companies.

Which is why getting good advice on which insurer to have in the beginning is so important. I am seeing a financial planner for this one definitely - no point working hard and getting screwed over when it comes to make a claim.

 

[china]

Which is why getting good advice on which insurer to have in the beginning is so important. I am seeing a financial planner for this one definitely - no point working hard and getting screwed over when it comes to make a claim.

A few years ago, I was planning to get some income protection insurance as I did not have much cash in the bank back then.

I was going to go with a solo practitioner broker but then decided against it because I thought that if in five years time, I suddenly had to make a claim and needed the broker's help with the claim, the broker may well have disappeared for a whole host of reasons. And if I am in the unfortunate state of needing to make a claim, then I don't want to be wasting time and energy in tracking down the broker.

Then I thought that I would purchase the income protection insurance via the commonwealth bank financial planner.I thought that the commonwealth bank will always be around if I need their help to make a claim. However, I found him too smarmy and too eager to push his affiliated products on to me.

So to this date, I still have not secured income insurance but am feeling less need to since I have accumulated far more cash in bank in the intervening few years. I would have insured myself for about 120k per year but currently generate about 70k in bank interest per year from savings.

 

[devank]

I was going to go with a solo practitioner broker but then decided against it because I thought that if in five years time, I suddenly had to make a claim and needed the broker's help with the claim, the broker may well have disappeared for a whole host of reasons.

I thought the broker's job is complete once the insurance is bought! There after we deal with the insurance company directly.

Does income protection kick in if you can't work because of you need to take care of a family member?

 

[Shaneelastic]

I thought the broker's job is complete once the insurance is bought! There after we deal with the insurance company directly.

Does income protection kick in if you can't work because of you need to take care of a family member?

depends on what type of insurance contract you have

 

[wylie]

Two comments I would add -

We have hubby's income protection insurance through a broker. The company will not deal directly with us, but if the broker "disappeared" we would be able to push this aspect. For now, it is good to call the broker and have him find out what we need to know.

A friend who used to work in the insurance industry sold herself the "rolls royce" of policies and has been "on claim" for more than 15 years. Other people I know (friends of hers, also in the industry) bought cheaper policies which ran out after a couple of years.

One company sent her friend a video tape showing her sitting in her dining room, hinting they were watching her closely. Both women have had people following them, and sitting outside watching. These companies make policy holders jump through major hoops to continue claiming, and rightly so, seeing that they may be paying out for many, many years.

One of her friends got sick of jumping through hoops and accepted a payout. My friend has been offered several payouts, but refused each one. She will be paid until age 65.

 

[Aaron_C]

I was going to go with a solo practitioner broker but then decided against it because I thought that if in five years time, I suddenly had to make a claim and needed the broker's help with the claim, the broker may well have disappeared for a whole host of reasons. And if I am in the unfortunate state of needing to make a claim, then I don't want to be wasting time and energy in tracking down the broker.

Haha, not all brokers are part timers China Just gotta trust someone one day buddy!

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

I was going to go with a solo practitioner broker but then decided against it because I thought that if in five years time, I suddenly had to make a claim and needed the broker's help with the claim, the broker may well have disappeared for a whole host of reasons. And if I am in the unfortunate state of needing to make a claim, then I don't want to be wasting time and energy in tracking down the broker.

Even a sole practitioner is building a business asset which can be bought and sold. When most brokers of various descriptions exit the industry, they do tend to sell their asset and thus someone else in the industry purchases it, even if it's their dealer group (which is quite common).

The result is that it's unlikely that you'd be left completely out cold. The new business owner does also have to notify you of their taking over the management of your portfolio.

 

[china]

Even a sole practitioner is building a business asset which can be bought and sold. When most brokers of various descriptions exit the industry, they do tend to sell their asset and thus someone else in the industry purchases it, even if it's their dealer group (which is quite common).

The result is that it's unlikely that you'd be left completely out cold. The new business owner does also have to notify you of their taking over the management of your portfolio.

So what would be the advantage of going through a sole practitioner rather than one belonging to a large group or institution?

With the one belonging to a large group/institution, I still get personal service with the one person as well as having the backing of the group/institution should the individual disappear. The sole practitioner may not have physical premises and once gone, how to track down?