Have I been mis-sold a life assurance policy?

Heighway61

I took out whole of life policy in 2009. Company recently rang me to say that as part of the terms and conditions they are entitled to revisit the policy at the ten-year anniversary and instigate a new policy based upon today's circumstances.

I wasn't aware of this until the call and wasn't told at the time of the sale. I think this clause is a defining part of the policy and that I should have be told upfront and not left to discover (or not) this major clause buried in the terms and conditions.

This is a serious problem for me as I an now suffering from cancer and other chronic health conditions and instinctively know without asking what this will mean for my life assurance.

Have the company played me well or do I have any comeback in this situation?

Liam D Ferguson

Is the policy coming to an end after ten years with the option to renew (known as a Conversion Option or Convertible Term)? Or is it a Reviewable Whole of Life policy that will continue for the rest of your life, but subject to reviews of premium along the way?

Either way, you should be able to keep your cover going regardless of your current health, albeit at an increased premium.

In order to prove mis-selling, you would need to prove a negative, i.e. prove that the review clause wasn't explained to you. Have you kept copies of all correspondence from the time?

Heighway61

Liam D Ferguson wrote: »

Is the policy coming to an end after ten years with the option to renew (known as a Conversion Option or Convertible Term)? Or is it a Reviewable Whole of Life policy that will continue for the rest of your life, but subject to reviews of premium along the way?

Either way, you should be able to keep your cover going regardless of your current health, albeit at an increased premium.

In order to prove mis-selling, you would need to prove a negative, i.e. prove that the review clause wasn't explained to you. Have you kept copies of all correspondence from the time?

It's a continuing Reviewable Whole of Life subject to reviews.

I have read a little about these types of policies, on here and other places, and the premium increases are prohibitive (trippled or quadrupled often) for me. I'm unable to work with the illness and savings are just about gone.

I am paying €240pm for €195k cover due to medical conditions at the time and family history. I wanted the mortgage covered.

Documentation is a problem. Everything was done in my sitting room. Then we moved house and I can't find the policy document itself.

I guess the house will go with me.

Liam D Ferguson

I really don't like this type of policy and have disliked them for years. http://fergablog.blogspot.com/2011/02/reviewable-me-whole-of-life.html But things may not be as bad as you fear.

The main thing to remember is that the review next year does NOT take account of your current health. In fact, the insurance company won't be asking for updated details of your health in carrying out the review. That's not what the review is based on.

Also - depending on how the policy was set up from the start and the performance of the fund to which it's linked (which should have been good for the past 9 years) the increase required to keep the cover at its current level may not be as steep as you fear.

You say the cover is €195,000. Has it been €195,000 since the start? Has your mortgage balance reduced below this in the meantime? At the review, instead of increasing your premium, you could look into reducing the cover to the level of what's currenly outstanding on the mortgage.

Finally, ask the insurance company if there's an option to convert this policy into a term insurance policy. Post back here what they say. There might be a Plan B.

A complaint might be difficult to pursue if you have no documentation. I'd imagine the insurance company would say that the details were explained to you. But then they'd have to produce evidence that they DID explain it to you.

Henry Ford III

What type of intermediary (if any) advised you on this?