Life assurance v health insurance

Folks,

Appreciate any views on this:

I am a 27 yr old male non-smoker, no mortgage and no dependants.

I have a life assurance/critical illness policy since 2000 with Acorn Life, costing €65 pm, with death benefit of €115,000. I also have an Income Continuance plan whcih costs €27pm, and because of my public sector pension, a death in service benefit should I kick the bucket early. However, I have no Health Insurance with VHI etc.

I have come to the conclusion that I am wasting my money with the above life assurance policy. I can cash it in now for about €1000, whcih is far less than I have paid in, but I consider it better to stop throwing good money after bad. With the money saved from this, I think I could take out a suitable VHI/Bupa policy, and still have some money left to save - maybe in Quinn Life's freeway tracker units. I think that my income continuance, with death in service benefit, means I do not have any need for life assurance - even should I have children in the next few years, provided that i have protection on any future mortgage, and health insurance would seem to be more beneficial in my case.

Anyone any comments on this - especially any angles that I am missing?

Don't like the sound of your Acorn Life policy at all - as you describe it it seems to be an mishmash of savings, critical illness and life cover.

1) Experience on this site and elsewhere tends to support the view that these all-in-one products do none of the constituent things particularly well. In this regard I'd have a look at the critical illness element which is likely to be highly restrictive and I'm not aware (though open to correction) of Acorn Life being one of the great fund management companies of the world.

2) It's almost impossible to tell what you're being charged for any of the individual aspects of this policy (or even the proportion of your premium being invested) so, call me cynical, but I bet you're paying top dollar and getting very little.

3) The fact you've already put €3900 "into" this policy should not influence your decision as to whether to cancel it. The premiums you've paid are a sunk cost. If it's a bad policy that doesn't suit you then paying €780 a year ad infinitum won't suddenly make it any good.

4) Single people with no dependants do not need life assurance. Selling it to them should be prima facie evidence of mis-selling.

5) Everybody in this country needs private health insurance. It's a shame but that's the situation we're in. I know that some people can't afford it but that does not mean that they do not need it.

If I were you? I'd cancel the Acorn Life policy and get myself some private health cover. Then and only then would I consider another investment vehicle but I'd read every inch of the small print to ensure that it was suitable and transparent.

Thanks Oysterman,

That was exactly the 2nd opinion I was looking for! Have already sent the letter cancelling the policy and will follow up with health insurance ASAP.

Thanks. Hope you never need the health cover and that you hit on the best investment ever.

Hi Ollyk1,

The death in service gratuity is between 1 and 1.5 times salary paid to my 'personal representative'. In addition, there is a spouses' and children's scheme which, should i pass on, is half my pension if I have already retired, or, if I die before retirement age, half the amount I would have been paid if i had continued to actual retirment age. Extra allowances are paid on top of this for children.

Cant see anything about a larger death gratuity if Im married with kids if i die.

All in all, I would say any potential other halves plus juniors would be pretty well looked after, as they would have a mortgage free house aswell. And if I had more cover, I would only be giving someone a good excuse to hasten my demise!!!

I would be inclined to agree with Oysterman in his initial reply, the life assurence policy is just a waste of money and health insurence would be a better bet, investing/saving the difference.

The important thing is to take stock of the policies that you have and cancel / change as necessary.

I have much experience with Acorn Life and i would like to warn everyone not to do business with them. They did my parents out of 18 GRAND. True story. We are suffering badly now and there is no way for us to get our money back that has been wrongfully taken from us. I dont know what to do...This is a terrible situation.
Take my advice and don't end up like my family- we have no money now.

Agree with Oystermans first post.

On a side note, if you are looking to save, I recommend you dont use an insurance company saving product. The charging structure on these products is high compared to going to a bank or credit union and getting a normal special interest saving account/30 day account.

General rule of thumb, use insurance companies for insurance and saving institutions for savings.



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