Many homeowners took out endowment policies expecting them to pay off their mortgages but have recently been alarmed to discover that this will not be the case. Your endowment could be thousands of pounds off target with no way of you finding this extra cash.

What Can I do?

This is where endowment compensation - or endowment redress - is used. But how much compensation could you receive?

The insurance companies aren’t paying compensation according to how much of a shortfall you are predicted. If your claim is upheld, the endowment company is likely to make you an offer for compensation and an offer to cash in the policy. Look at this carefully and speak to an independent advisor to find out what is best for you.

What Else Does An Endowment Policy Cover?

One important point to remember is that part of your endowment payments have included a payment for life insurance. If you cash in your endowment, then you will need to arrange a new policy to replace the endowment.

Also, looking back over the period when you have been paying for the endowment, some of the payments have been used to pay a life insurance.

How Will The Insurance Calculate Compensation?

So how much compensation could you receive? The insurance company will look at the monthly payments you have made into your endowment policy. From this they will make an allowance to account for the life insurance aspect.

Then they will also look at how much interest you have been paying each month to keep the mortgage level. From these complicated figures, they will work out if you had instead been sold a repayment mortgage, how much would you have paid off. Then they compare this to how much your endowment is worth now if it was cashed in.

In short, if by paying the monthly payments you could have paid off more of your mortgage than your endowment has earned, then the difference is the compensation you are entitled to.

Was My Offer Correct?

So how do you know whether your offer of compensation is correct? That’s where a specialist solicitor helps you. Not only will they deal with the paperwork and any appeals for you, they will also check you are given the maximum compensation. After all, they are being paid a percentage of the compensation (not including the cash in value) so the more compensation you receive, the more they receive.

Where Now?

To find out whether you can claim, or to speak to a solicitor without any obligation, leave your contact details or take the 60 second test. It only takes a minute to find out the answer or you can just leave your contact details and someone will call you back.

Keith Lunt runs several financial sites including http://www.endowment-claim.org.uk
You are welcome to reprint this article as long as all links are included and work.

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1. Buying based on Fear

Although there are cases where an individual may require Long Term Care services for
10 years or more due to Alzheimer’s or other chronic illnesses, these cases are infrequent. Out of $1Billion dollars spent on actual claims by insurance companies over the last 10 years, 98% of all claims were closed in 60 months. 93% of all claims were closed in less than 36 months. If you buy a policy that covers care for 5 years, you will be covering 98% of the statistical risk. Be careful if you do not have the resources to
cover costs over this amount of time. If you buy a Lifetime plan, consider reducing the daily benefit and self insuring part of the cost.
Some companies offer a “Shared Care Rider” that will allow you to borrow benefits from your spouses policy allowing you to save money while still getting a great policy.

2. Buying the lowest price

Some insurance companies may underprice their policies to attract buyers. The price may seem great at the time, but beware of price increases. Some
companies using this strategy have had rate increases as high as 50% in one year. If you buy one of these policies, be sure and add the nonforfeiture option in case you get an unaffordable rate increases in the future and have to cancel. When this happens you may be unable to change companies due to a health change and higher premiums due to your increased age.
Ask your agent how often the company has raised rates on current customers in the past. Also ask if the company can increase the rates on you. If they say NO, kindly ask them if they would put that promise in writing. Guaranteed Renewable does not mean rates will never go up. It is rare that changing companies after a few years is a good thing to do. Proceed with caution when an agent recommends you cancel a current policy for another based solely on price unless you are getting a top rated
carrier with similar benefits.

3. Buying from a “small” company

Top rated high asset based companies are usually the safest to do business with. They have a proven track record. Ask your agent about the size of the company and consider only offers from large companies such as Allianz, Met Life, Prudential, Mass Mutual, Great American, Genworth, John Hancock…Some of these companies have never had a rate increase on existing customers, but they do not guarantee they never will. If you have questionable health, you may only be able to buy from smaller companies willing to take the risk at higher prices or lower benefit levels. (Penn Treaty)
These will probably be priced at higher rates -GULP. It is also advisable to use an agent with access to several of these companies so you can get the best policy/price blend. Rates can vary by as much as $700 per year due to age and health at the time of purchase, so it pays to let your agent shop this business to several companies. (Weiss, Standard and Poor’s, AM Best) are insurance rating companies. Ask your agent for the ratings from these companies and make sure you understand what they mean.

4. Belief that Medicare will cover your 90 day elimination period

Medicare pays the first 20 days of “SKILLED” care after you have been hospitalized. You or your Medicare supplement policy pay over $119 per day(2006) (this copay may go up annually) copay for the next 80 days assuming you are still recieving “skilled” care. Medicare DOES NOT pay for any custodial care. You must be able to pay $130+ per day (varies by state)
or over $12,000 for a 90 day elimination period. Remember this amount increases annually with inflationary pressure. In 20 years this could be $36,000. Be careful when deciding on this feature. You may be able to get a 0, 20, 30, 60, 90, 100, 180 or even 360 day deductible. Cost is higher with fewer days selected but well worth it.

5. Buying nothing if one spouse is uninsurable

Although it seems unfair for an insurance company to decline someone, they are insuring a risk that will eventuually effect as much as 50%+ of the population (New England Journal of Medicine). It is unwise to think you are punishing the insurance company by declining coverage on the healthy spouse. The healthy one today could be the first one to need care tomorrow. Consider adding indemnity benefits to your own policy to make up for the difference.

http://www.robertbscott.com

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Life insurance can be a great motivational tool for your employees when used right. It might even help you lower your payroll costs while still motivating your employees to work harder.

Life insurance is an agreement between an insurance company and a policy holder. According to the agreement, referred to as a life insurance policy, if the policy holder passes away his heirs will receive a lump sum cash pay out from the insurance company.

Employers can use a life insurance policy to encourage workers to accept a job, and to be motived in the workplace.

The best way to ensure this is by the employer purchasing a life insurance policy with a significant pay out on behalf of his employees.

For instance, a start up which cannot afford to pay an above market salary to its employees can offer them a free life insurance policy.

The employee would know that as long as he continues to work at the company his beneficiaries would be protected.

To make this course of action affordable for the employer term life insurance could be purchased.

Term life insurance is significantly cheaper than whole life insurance, and can offer death benefits of as high as $1,000,000 for as little as $20 a month.

If an employee leaves the company the employer would simply stop paying for the term policy and let it expire.

Both the employer and the employee benefit from the use of life insurance since the cost is relatively small for the employer, while the potential benefit to the employee’s beneficiaries is quite large.

Donny Lowy manages http://www.americanlifedirectonline.com an online term life insurance portal.

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