I have said many times that the many of us who once made a life-insurance-commission-based living should remember, and not be afraid to go back to our roots from time to time. Life insurance should be a basic of all financial planning for anyone with any responsibilities and not just for those lucky enough these days to get a mortgage. Critical illness cover should be a required add-on, and I’ve been reminded of its potential importance twice in as many days. I read of an adviser who had insured himself many years ago, and had the common financial adviser problem of trying to remember what advice he’d given himself and retrieve and dust down his policy following a nasty diagnosis. Then some clients, whom I had thankfully persuaded to cover a now-repaid mortgage, had kept their policy going and had similarly bad news, very slightly softened by the payout they should receive. The old line: it will either be a waste of money or the best thing you ever did; and let’s hope it’s a waste of money.
“Zombie life insurer Phoenix to buy Standard Life Aberdeen insurance arm in £3.2bn deal”
There’s not much to choose between many of the biggest life and pensions companies. Most have some decent funds and have to compete on charges and product features. So service and relationships are often the deciding factor, and Standard Life’s admin and people have...