Endowment Life Insurance
Advice on insurance please?
My friend and I are aged 48 and 55 and remortgaging our house. I have heard bad reports on endowments. What kind of insurance should we take out and could it include life insurance? We will be paying interest only for two years to get back on our feet having consolidated other debts. We hope to upgrade house in next couple of years, and I know in Scotland (Highlands) prices are going up, so although our house will be worth a lot when one of us retires, how do we make sure that a) in the event of death, the mortgage will get cleared and provide a capital sum? Sorry for sounding vague, but I know nothing except we have to be insured.
Oh and thanks!
You have about 6 separate (and distinct) problems that need to be resolved. Each of which has a number of options.
These are:
1.the refinance of a mortgage.
2. existing debt to be refinanced/consolidated
3. Life insurance unrelated to the mortgage
4. Life insurance as a requirement for a mortgage (presumed)
5. Retiring planning.
6. survivorship planning/estate planning.
Although you certainly CAN choose to have your problem answered here, based on the answers I have read so far – you will be much better off taking your problem to a professional.
I wanted to answer your question for you, but to be honest and direct, it would take several hours just to get enough information from you to address the rather complex situation you have presented.
I personally don’t have any working knowledge of the local laws in effect for Scotland, which is another consideration.
To repeat, your situation is complex enoiugh to warrant the expense of hiring a financial planner to address each issue.
This may be rather obvious, but unless you have a working budget, refinancing won’t improve your situation as much as you might hope. (statistically) So you should also do your best to make such a budget prior to the first meeting with your financial planner.
I also question the decision to remortgage without having a working budget – and since I have no way of knowing if you have one or not, I am just assuming you don’t. If you do, then that is a different set of cicumstances.
Normally I don’t advise people to contact me, but if there remains doubt in your mind about hiring a professional near you, then please contact me so that I might again attempt to impress upon you the absolute need for professional help in your case.
P.S. Do not purchase the insurance from the same company or person who performs the planning for you – you want an objective opinion.
