life insurance

[jato]

Hi all, I reckon i'm getting fleeced by my insurance co... 15 years ago (42 yo) took out a policy for 150k, 32 dollars a month premium , inflation or 3% adjustment built into both. now with a bit of age i expect a few changes in the premium on top of the inflation but today the insured amount has grown to 232k and the premium is $162 a month - so policy value has gone up 55% but the premium has gone up 500%. how does this compare to others in their mid to late fiftys?

[sidecar bob]

Yep, getting screwed over.
I only carry it to cover property debt, once that's cleared away I will be letting the insurance go, as I have other systems in place for retirement income.

[BMWST?]

its not life insurance its death insurance.In my opinion you only need a large life insurance policy when you are first married,huge mortgagae and just starting a family.If you were to die your family would receive at least a lump sume to cover all the debys at that time with a bit left over...As life goes on ,mortgage reduces and the family grows there is no longer the need to have a large policy.I have been letting my cover reduce by refusing to let the ins company keep increasing my premiums,i hold the premium at the the same level and let the cover reduce

[jato]

I agree about the diminishing need for insurance once your finances/affairs are sorted but for peace of mind i like the idea of say 50 - 75 k to help out family send me off and sort out any loose ends. I'm likely going to cancel the existing policy but would be keen to know if there is such a thing as reasonably priced insurance with another company (the broker i have been using is full of it so he's toast too).

[Oakie]

Hi all, I reckon i'm getting fleeced by my insurance co... 15 years ago (42 yo) took out a policy for 150k, 32 dollars a month premium , inflation or 3% adjustment built into both. now with a bit of age i expect a few changes in the premium on top of the inflation but today the insured amount has grown to 232k and the premium is $162 a month - so policy value has gone up 55% but the premium has gone up 500%. how does this compare to others in their mid to late fiftys?

Did they tell you the coverage was increasing? My policy does that (Westpac) but they write each year and tell me it's going up and the effect on the premium then give me the option to increase or not. I've just got it to cover our ever decreasing mortgage so I just tell them not to increase it.

[F5 Dave]

Mine has just taken another hike and we are talking about reducing it considerably. We do have Trauma cover as well, as that could be more inconvenient than death. I'm considerably more expensive than my wife, I'm 50ish but we have pre teens to consider.

[jato]

Did they tell you the coverage was increasing? My policy does that (Westpac) but they write each year and tell me it's going up and the effect on the premium then give me the option to increase or not. I've just got it to cover our ever decreasing mortgage so I just tell them not to increase it.

yes, i have been getting a notice every year " we are making adjustments as per ... ... " so its slowly been getting more of a rip-off . I phoned them a couple of weeks back with a view to cutting it back by 70% or so but they (amp) still wanted around 120 a month

[Oakie]

It is pretty much the model. Sell it cheap when they're young and gradually increase the premiums to the point where they cant afford it after they retire . Then you get to keep the premiums and not pay out when they have no choice but cancel.

[thehovel]

Insurance co's never lose. This years premiums are last years costs plus our profit.

[Blackbird]

Pretty much what's already been said. Once the kids left home and the mortgage cleared, we canned life insurance and our future provisions were through investments and my company superannuation payout. The company also provided medical cover but once I retired, it was cranked up to astronomic levels by the insurance provider. As my wife and I were in reasonable health, we figured that a combination of our accumulated funds and ACC would be the most effective option. My wife's hip replacement in February was done on the public health system after only a 3 month wait and carried out at a private hospital in Auckland so no complaints there!

[sidecar bob]

I must be doing it all back to front.
My propertey loans are ten times what they were when i got married.

[jato]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/116...mv1KUSjA91BKeo
So it's a lucrative business to be in - check out the obscene profit (after tax not counting the 30 million commission they paid).

[F5 Dave]

Well today we decided we would cancel ours tomorrow. All it gives you is money if the worst happens. And that is valid, but we're in the lucky situation that there is some family money that can be accessed if needs be so why pay for extra?

This won't suit everyone but it's worth thinking about.