WILL POWER

MOST ARE WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR A MEAL THAN A WILL

From our experience, it would appear that many are prepared to pay a couple of hundred bucks to eat out, yet squirm at the thought of paying an expert to draft their last Will and Testament, a vital document that speaks for them when they are gone.

Perhaps the reluctance is more from the uncomfortable fact that we don’t ever really want to die, but unfortunately, it is a reality and the best that we can do is ensure that our loved ones don’t have something else to worry about in our absence.

12 POINTS TO REDUCE YOUR FINANCIAL STRESS

END TWENTYTWELVE WITH THESE 12

You’ve heard of the 12-days of Christmas, a song that gets sung on almost every Christmas album ever released (except for Justin Beiber’s… not that anyone really cares). Whilst this traditional carol reminds us of twelve ordered ways to deal with Christmas, we’ve got 12 steps to help you significantly reduce your financial stresses!

REVIEWING YOUR POLICY (1)

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH?

You could save as much as 30% of the premiums you pay on risk life assurance – against early death, for example – by, in effect, changing your policy from one paying out a single large lump sum and priced for the maximum term, such as “whole of life”, to one covering each of your financial needs with a precisely matched duration of cover.

BrightRock, a comparatively new kid on the risk life assurance block, has made this claim.

It says that, as a result of the traditional “lump-sum” structure, your cover becomes increasingly unaffordable, resulting in your reducing or cancelling it in later years. Having paid from day one for the cover, you then sacrifice it at the very time you need it most.

And when you reach the stage where your cover becomes unaffordable, you may not be able to obtain more affordable cover, because you may have developed a health condition that makes you either uninsurable or that necessitates exclusions and/or premium loadings on your policy.

The BrightRock claim follows the publication last year of research undertaken by True South Actuaries & Consultants, on behalf of BrightRock, which showed that many people who bought seemingly “cheap” life assurance when they were younger faced losing their cover as their premiums escalated above the inflation rate and became increasing unaffordable.

WHAT TO AVOID

Schalk Malan, executive director at BrightRock, says there is a triple whammy for policyholders in the way most risk assurance premiums are calculated. The three big drawbacks are:

1. Low initial premiums: To attract new business in an increasingly competitive market, life assurance companies offer seemingly cheap premiums when you are young and unlikely to claim. But as you grow older and become more likely to claim, your premiums escalate rapidly.