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As many of you will have read I recently lost my Parents. My Dad passed away on 9th August and my Mum followed 6 weeks later on 20th September. This has been a really difficult time for me as I’m an only child, I live in Cornwall and my Parents lived in London …
My Dad was in hospital for five weeks before he passed away; so lots of driving back and forth, making sure my children and the dog were OK. Also being a single parent and running my own business while all this was going on was not easy. I coped – as you do – we have now had both funerals and I find myself with a mound of paperwork to wade through!
This is where my word of warning comes in. Dad took out a life insurance policy in 2002 with a company I won’t yet name. A policy directed at the elderly as Dad was 65 by this time and Mum 66. Dad paid 10 years of premiums, of around £60 per month, into this policy and was given a guarantee of approx. £2000 on each death – enough 10 years ago to pay for a funeral.
As I mentioned earlier Dad passed away first and I contacted the company to let them know. They sent a letter back to say they would pay just over £1,900 which really helped towards the cost of the funeral. When I contacted them about Mum passing away it was a totally different story. At first they said the policy was in Dad’s name and so Mum had no claim on it, although it had been taken out for both of them. When I pointed this out they then said only one premium payment had been received since Dad passed away and so she wasn’t eligible.
I have complained about this and am waiting to hear back from them. In total Dad paid in over £6000 in premiums over the last 10 years. Policies like this – and companies who take advantage of the elderly – really upset me.
Be aware of what these companies are like and how they operate, then check your elderly family member’s policies so hopefully you won’t have the same problems in the future.
Until next time …
CLAIRE ROBINSON
