Zurich life insurance

MasterKZG

Does anybody have any life insurance with Eagle Star/Zurich.

We got a quote for a 30year policy of €125 per month :eek::eek:, valuing myself and my partner at €178K each (that the cost of the apartment btw).

It include the serious illness cover as well.

We both healthy and in early 30s....

Is this norm quote or are we being ripped off?????

Trampas

what are the other assurance companies quoting?

MasterKZG

One gave me a quote of €86

Another one for €157

MasterKZG

And forgot to metion that im unemployed and have a medical card so would i need the illness cover????:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Pablo Sanchez

MasterKZG wrote: »

And forgot to metion that im unemployed and have a medical card so would i need the illness cover????:rolleyes::rolleyes:

The illness cover is to provide a lump sum in the event that you contract one of the listed serious illnesses on your policy, the lump sum could go to paying off/twords the mortgage as you may well be unable to work in the event of you being ill.

The medical card is to pay for medical treatment and as such does not provide you with any financial relief if you are ill.

I don't understand.

You got a 'cheaper' quote and a 'dearer' quote and you are singling out one company name for ridicule.

Why don't you just go for the €86?

eagle_i

Hi MKZG,
You are not being ripped off! Just to explain Life Assurance and Serious Illness Cover are two very different things:
Life Assurance: Pays out a lump sum in the event of the life assured's death.
Serious Illness: Pays out a lump sum in the event of diagnosis of a specified illness, (a list of illnesses covered is provided by the product provider).

You can purchase a policy with a combination of these kinds of protection, in general serious illness cover is expensive. Also when adding the Serious Cover to a policy it can be done in one of two ways:
1. StandAlone Serious Illness Cover: The cover is independent of the life assurance element of the policy, in the event of a serious illness claim the life assurance element of the policy will continue (provided premiums are paid) and will pay out on death.
2. Accelerated Serious Illness Cover: The cover is linked to the life assurance element of the policy, in the event of a serious illness claim the life assurance is reduced by the associated serious illness pay out
(e.g. No. (i): Life cover = €178,000 + Acc. Ser. Ill = €178,000: Ser. Ill. Claim €178,000 pay out. Balance of life assurance cover = €0)
(e.g. No. (ii): Life cover = €178,000 + Acc. Ser. Ill = €100,000: Ser. Ill. Claim €100,000 pay out. Balance of Life assurance cover = €78,000)
In example (i) above, the policy ends as there is no balance left on the life assurance cover. In example (ii) the policy will continue to cover for reduced amount of €78,000 (provided premiums continue to be paid) which will become payable on death.

Obviously the standalone basis is more expensive than the accelerated basis. Other factors determine the outcome of your premium such as:
Gender (males pay more than females - yes sexist I know!), Age, Smoker/Non-Smkr (Smoking can really affect a premium almost doubling it...not just bad for your health but finances too!), High Risk Occupations and Hobbies and Health (suffering or ever suffered from ashtma, hypertension, diabetes etc....).

Some other things which have a bearing on the premium is the basis of the policy, Single Life, Joint Life or Dual Life:
Single Life - covering just one person.
Joint Life - covering two people, generally payable on first death. Policy ends on payment of the death claim.
Dual Life - covering two people, if both die at the same time the policy pays out on the double (ie. €178,000 x 2), or if one dies the €178,000 (x 1) is paid out and the policy continues to cover the survivor (assuming premiums continue to be paid) till he/she dies and then the second sum assured/life cover is paid out.

Reading your post I am assuming this is in connection with a mortgage to purchase an apartment or you are reviewing your current life policy which you effected when purchasing your apartment? If this is correct and it is in connection with a mortgage you do not need to effect a policy with serious illness cover, a lending institution only require a policy covering you in the event of death = Life Assurance policy. Serious Illness is an optional extra.

The cheapest way of covering your mortgage is by way of a Mortgage Protection Policy (aka Decreasing Term Assurance). This type of policy is designed to reduce the amount of life cover in line with your mortgage capital and interest repayments. It is not suitable for those who are currently paying interest only on their mortgage, if this is the case you need a Level Term Assurance policy, a Mortgage Protection policy can be effected once you are out of the interest only period (this will mean a new application and underwriting, unless you opt for a Conversion Option/Guaranteed Insurability when taking out the level term policy, this will allow you to convert the policy to another policy without further medical questions).

My advice is google discount life assurance, there are a number of brokers offering online discounted premiums. With some the discount works by refunding you a portion of the commission earned (offering up to 70% or more of off your first years premium), you may have to pay the first years premium up front to get the refund back within a month or so after effecting the policy or, if you pay on the drip (ie. monthly by direct debit) you will receive the discount in the 13th month (ie. one month after the first anniversary of the policy).

Sorry for the long winded answer and I hope it has not added to your confusion. As I said have a look online they all have explain the various options and you can run the quote yourself online and see the value.

Best of luck.

Drumpot

MasterKZG wrote: »

And forgot to metion that im unemployed and have a medical card so would i need the illness cover????:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Mortgage Protection of 178k life and Criticall Illness on 2 non smokers (32 next birthday) for 30 years comes to €72.67 . .

PM me if you would like a quote for yourself. .

amdublin

Drumpot wrote: »

Mortgage Protection of 178k life and Criticall Illness on 2 non smokers (32 next birthday) for 30 years comes to €72.67 . .

PM me if you would like a quote for yourself. .

Mortgage Protection is decreasing.
What specifically was the OP's quote for?
Decreasing? Level Term? Whole of Life?

If it was for Level it seems reasonable to me, considering including SIC.

OP:
Impossible to compare quotes on the limited information your provided.
Compare Like with Like: Are you sure the €125 quote versus the €86 quote was for the same type of product with the same benefits???

amdublin

Drumpot wrote: »

Mortgage Protection of 178k life and Criticall Illness on 2 non smokers (32 next birthday) for 30 years comes to €72.67 . .

Maybe they are both smokers? (or one smoker)
This would push the price way up.

Drumpot

amdublin wrote: »

Maybe they are both smokers? (or one smoker)
This would push the price way up.

You indeed are correct, but I thought since Eaglei already explained in depth more information about the policy, I would just throw out a quote to show that there are alternatives . .

Like I said, the OP can PM me (or alternatively provide more information) and I (and others) can give them quotes or advice. I think we would need more information to give appropriate advice..

Payton

Ive shopped around too and most are coming in with roughly that figure €125pm , we are both in our 40's non smokers. but id be intrested if someone came across something cheaper or extra benifits.:P

Drumpot

on the verge wrote: »

Ive shopped around too and most are coming in with roughly that figure €125pm , we are both in our 40's non smokers. but id be intrested if someone came across something cheaper or extra benifits.:P

Details needed to do a quote for you (and you can compare it to what you have :

• What kind of Insurance - Mortgage Protection, Term Assurance, Whole of Life
• What benefits - Life cover, Criticall Illness (accident benefit etc)
• What Term - Specified or whole of Life
• Date of Births
• Smoker Status - Non Smoker

JellybeanJen

I've been searching for ages for a forum to answer my questions but this seems to be the closest. Sorry if this brings you off topic but i'm hoping someone can help.

My partner has obtained a mortgage at last after a year trying but this is on the conditions of obtaining suitable life insurance.

He has now been refused. Haven't been told why yet but he had testicular cancer nearly 4 years ago but is in remission over 3 years. He also smokes.

Has anyone come across anything similar? Is there any particular company who would deal with this type of quote?

Please help, in a state of desperation here!!!!

eagle_i

JellybeanJen wrote: »

I've been searching for ages for a forum to answer my questions but this seems to be the closest. Sorry if this brings you off topic but i'm hoping someone can help.

My partner has obtained a mortgage at last after a year trying but this is on the conditions of obtaining suitable life insurance.

He has now been refused. Haven't been told why yet but he had testicular cancer nearly 4 years ago but is in remission over 3 years. He also smokes.

Has anyone come across anything similar? Is there any particular company who would deal with this type of quote?

Please help, in a state of desperation here!!!!

Hi Jen,
You need to take this in a few steps:
1. Contact the mortgage provider and explain the situation - no need to go into medical details. Your bf needs to advise them that he has been refused cover due to a previous medical condition.
The mortgage lender has seen this before and you are not unusal in any way. The lender usually agrees to proceed without the life insurance by way of signing an indemnity form, which usually states that in the event of death the mortgage will be cleared by your estate. If the mortgage is a joint application then the second applicant must also sign this indemnity. It's not a perfect solution but it helps to get over this initial hurdle.

If your bf has other life assurance in place then give the details to your lender, they maybe willing to accept that life policy. Please note if the policy is pension related the lender cannot take an assingment on that type of policy.

2. With regard to the refusal, you need to request the reason for the refusal from the insurance company, they will not give that detail direct to your bf, but will forward it to his doctor. Once your doctor has the refusal details he can make a judgement of the insurance company's findings. It could be a case of a misunderstanding of the nature of the medical history and your doctor is in a position to correct this. If you doctor disagrees with the insurance company's findings then he will need to put that in writing to the Insurance Company's Chief Medical Officer with a request to reviewing their underwriting of your bf.

Don't panic, all is not lost. Perhaps a little more red tape to get through but all is not lost! If you find your lender not playing ball, so long as you have a firm offer (ie. a letter of offer) you can apply to other lenders to see what terms they will offer.

I hope this is of some help to you.

Good luck.

Drumpot

Some good advice there from eagle_i . .

JellybeanJen, On top of this, just be aware that some companies may accept an application from people who can be declined elsewhere.

I checked with one company regarding the medical condition you mentioned and they said in some cases it can be ordinary rates. Now, this is based on very limited information so I wouldnt want you getting your hopes up . .

I would contact the insurance company like Eagle_i suggested, get the details to your doctor and find out why he was declined . . If its the case that your doctor thinks you should of gotten cover you could always look elsewhere . . Either way you could always try differant Life companies . . You can either apply to a couple or contact a broker/financial advisor who can give you an idea about whether or not its even worth your while applying . .

eagle_i

Thanks Drumpot, I agree the option to apply to other providers is always there, however, the new insurance company will always request the underwriting details from the declining company in addition to doctor and specialist reports - as you and I know doctor and especially specialist reports takes time to be completed and returned back to insurance companies.

In my view and experience it is best to seek the reason for refusal from the declining company and get the advice of the GP as to whether the reasons behind the decline are warranted. If not warranted, a case will have to be put by the GP to the Chief Medical Officer(CMO), this will have to be done whether it is a new application or the current application.

The fact he has received a refusal and even if it is overturned by going through his GP, any new life application in the future he will have to disclose this fact. It is therefore best to clear the issue with the initial company (where possible) as they will be asked by future insurance companies to provide details of the refusal along with all the medical information they recieved. If the insurance company continues to up hold the decline, then apply to other insurers, if dealing with an adviser he/she will usually make approaches to other insurers outlining the medical detail to see what is the attitude toward such a case.

Sorry if the above is coming across as lecturing, it is 2.15am and I am going to bed! Drumpot is correct regarding other life applications, just in my view you need to exhaust all avenues with the initial company before moving on to a new one. Anyway good night!!

BTW Jen, any chance you could up date us on how things work out, I'd be very interested in your experience both with the insurer and the mortgage lender.

Drumpot

eagle_i wrote: »

Thanks Drumpot, I agree the option to apply to other providers is always there, however, the new insurance company will always request the underwriting details from the declining company in addition to doctor and specialist reports - as you and I know doctor and especially specialist reports takes time to be completed and returned back to insurance companies.

In my view and experience it is best to seek the reason for refusal from the declining company and get the advice of the GP as to whether the reasons behind the decline are warranted. If not warranted, a case will have to be put by the GP to the Chief Medical Officer(CMO), this will have to be done whether it is a new application or the current application.

The fact he has received a refusal and even if it is overturned by going through his GP, any new life application in the future he will have to disclose this fact. It is therefore best to clear the issue with the initial company (where possible) as they will be asked by future insurance companies to provide details of the refusal along with all the medical information they recieved. If the insurance company continues to up hold the decline, then apply to other insurers, if dealing with an adviser he/she will usually make approaches to other insurers outlining the medical detail to see what is the attitude toward such a case.

Sorry if the above is coming across as lecturing, it is 2.15am and I am going to bed! Drumpot is correct regarding other life applications, just in my view you need to exhaust all avenues with the initial company before moving on to a new one. Anyway good night!!

BTW Jen, any chance you could up date us on how things work out, I'd be very interested in your experience both with the insurer and the mortgage lender.

Agreed . .

I was just trying to let poster know that getting a decline in one place does not guarantee a decline in another . .

And I too would love to know how their application/progress is coming . .

broker2008

Drumpot is right. Just because one company declines doesn't mean that another will do the same. There are companies that could give you ordinary rates without having to put you through the mill again as they will receive all the dr's reports from the original company.

Give Drumpot (or another broker that knows what they are talkingabout) a call to discuss further as it sounds like he has found a source for you.