Protecting the family

Background

Steve and Alison have two children. Steve was a Police Officer and Alison a Teacher’s Assistant. Following previous advice from their Bank, they had accumulated a variety of financial products from different providers and were unsure whether it all amounted to a plan or not. It was clear that they needed some reliable Independent Financial Advice.

Our approach

Steve and Alison were recommended to Logic Wealth Planning from an Estate Agent and the couple took advantage of our initial consultation which was at our expense. Their main aim was to undertake a re-mortgage of their current property to raise capital for home improvements and pay off some debts. Whilst the mortgage application was going through, we also conducted a full review of their existing investment and protection plans. This showed that the couple had a number of endowment plans and insurance contracts which provided some cover for them and their two children in the event of illness or death. The couple both benefited from death in service benefits from their employers.

We discussed in detail their risk profile and their realistic insurance requirements. A complete financial plan was then produced which enabled Steve and Alison to understand:

  • How much emphasis to place on their endowment plans in order to ensure they had a more realistic chance of repaying their mortgage off at the expected term, based on the projected maturity values of the plans.
  • A plan that incorporated their existing endowment plans but realigned their mortgage arrangements in order to ensure their mortgage, was repaid at the expected term whilst giving the endowments a good chance of returning a potential surplus and therefore not over relying on these for the future.
  • The shortfall calculations of life and critical illness cover and the consequences of either partner suffering a premature death or critical illness.

The family accepted Logic Wealth Planning’s recommendations to take on board life and critical illness cover to protect their new mortgage loan.

  • Seven years after the start of the plan, Steve was unfortunately diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and was unable to continue working.
  • Steve approached us to enquire whether he could claim on the new plan and whether any other existing plans can be claimed upon.

The outcome

Logic Wealth Planning successfully administered the critical illness claim for Steve and the provider paid the sum assured as a tax free lump sum which was sufficient to repay the couple’s outstanding mortgage with an additional amount left over. Logic Wealth Planning also administered the critical illness claims for the couple’s endowment plans. The couple’s financial burden during this crisis was lessened with the injection of capital in the household, and showed how important insurance was to their lives. The capital did not solve the health problem but it went a long way to provide the financial support the household needed during a period when Steve’s world was turned upside down and with so much distress to the family.