Moneysworth UK Blog

Why we support the petition for #NicsFight

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Wilkinson) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:29:00 +0000

On 2nd December Jill Insley wrote an article ( http://t.co/1Cx2wAzR ) in The Observer about Nic Hughes whose critical illness claim has been turned down by Friends Life. A campaign has started to get Friends Life to overturn their decision and backed by @stephenfry on twitter the campaign is set to gain momentum.

We have decided to support the campaign and we want to explain our reasons why.

As we have previously expressed, we have had concerns for some time that the way that life insurance companies currently work may be leaving some customers exposed to the danger of a claim being turned down. When it comes to critical illness and life insurance there can be nothing worse than thinking you have done the right thing and protected your family with personal insurance cover only to find out when its too late that the insurance company has thrown out the claim due to ‘non disclosure’.

We accept that there are some occasions where due to deliberate non disclosure an insurance company will be quite within their rights to decline a claim.

However we believe there currently exists a grey area where it is much less clear that a customer has deliberately non disclosed. Misunderstandings concerning disclosure can and do arise and in the case of Nic Hughes it looks as though this might have been part of the problem.

We believe that the current underwriting practices used by most life insurance companies are adding to this problem. This is because most life companies often deliberately make the decision not to write for further medical information from the client’s GP at the application stage, even though the client might have disclosed one or more medical conditions on the application form. For medical disclosures such as heart disease and cancer, life insurance companies will nearly always prefer to write out to the client’s GP for further medical information. But there are many potentially ‘less serious’ conditions where the insurance company may decide not to bother with this stage of the process and to offer acceptance terms straight away. In fact life insurance companies adopt this approach for the majority of applications.

The problem is that where there is no independent medical verification there can be an increased risk of misunderstanding and therefore of a claim being declined, which is potentially catastrophic for the policy holder.

Life insurance companies argue that if they were to write out for medical evidence in a greater number of cases that this would add to their costs and that it would delay customers obtaining cover. They say that customers want cover quickly and that if they can’t get it quickly they will be put off taking out insurance.

We disagree strongly and so do most of our clients. We think that the argument that the ‘client needs a fast turnaround’ is a smoke screen and that there may be other motivating factors.

Here @MoneysworthUK our clients tell us that the most important thing for them is to know that their cover is valid. Getting the job done right is much more important than getting a quick fix. In the main they positively welcome a GP report as part of the underwriting process, because it makes them feel safer that they haven’t accidentally left something out. That’s probably not surprising when you consider that the majority of our clients already have an existing health condition such as diabetes, heart disease, mental health etc.

In the case of Nic Hughes, had the life insurance company written out to the client’s GP for a report before making their underwriting decision then the current situation could have been avoided. If they had declined or postponed cover then Nic could have explored other avenues to see if other options were available. Instead of which the insurance company seems to have taken the easy route which has turned out to be easy for them but very difficult for Nic and for his family.

In Nic’s case we think Friends Life should settle the claim. If you would like to sign the petition here is the link https://t.co/7KlFyuOL

Furthermore we think that Nic’s case illustrates the need for a reassessment of underwriting procedures across all life insurance companies. One possible way of dealing with this issue would be to make insurance companies fully liable for claims arising after a limited initial period – that would change the way life insurance companies approached their underwriting processes as they would not be able to rely on non disclosure at the claim stage. But it would leave customers knowing where they stand.

In the meantime until life insurance companies change their ways we think that ‘grey’ cases should be settled in favour of the applicants.

Scottish Widows Bottom For Critical Illness Pay Outs

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Wilkinson) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 10:16:00 +0000

I said recently that more needs to be done to address the number of critical illness claims that are being rejected.

I was commenting following the publication of Scottish Provident's latest claims stats. But in the interests of balance I should say that I didn't mean to imply that Scottish Provident (at 7%) stood out from the crowd.

Scottish Widows do - at 13%!

Thats the figure for 2011 according a recent article by John Fitzsimons called Make A Successful Claim On Your Critical Illness Insurance'. Apparently that figure represents as 30% increase on the percentage of claims rejected by Scottish Widows the previous year!

This figure should cause everyone concern and definately requires further investigation. Don't forget that what we are talking about here is a bankassurance critical illness plan. This means that for millions of customers of the banking group a Scottish Widows critical illness plan will effectively have been the only choice offered to them.

If you have a Scottish Widows critical illness plan maybe its time to start asking some questions.

Diabetes? Tips On How To Apply For Life Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Wilkinson) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:45:00 +0000

Yes, you do have choices about how you apply for life insurance and if you have diabetes making the wrong ones could cost you.

So here are the tips

1)  Fully Disclose All Medical Information - cutting corners or forgetting to mention medical information risks making your cover invalid, but if you fully disclose all information you will have peace of mind knowing that the cover is valid.

2) Applying Direct To A Life Insurance Company Has Downsides - There is nothing wrong in applying direct its just that in doing so there's a very good chance that you will end up paying more than you need to because there's will be a good chance that another life insurance company would have charged a cheaper premium.   In fact if you already applied direct to a life company and have an existing policy you should still read the tips below and consider getting a second opinion. It wont cost you anything but could save you lots.

3) Research Is Important - Good research will pay dividends and can save you a small fortune. Unfortunately its not easy to do this yourself.

4) Use An Expert - Some companies specialise in offering a service for people with pre existing health conditions such as diabetes, providing a more expert service to help find you best deal www.moneysworth.co.uk are one such company who individually research every single case and provide this service on a non fee basis so they are able to provide you with an indication of likely premium before you apply. An expert will also be able to provide you with information about what other associated types of insurance cover might be available, such as critical illness or income protection.

5) Most Advisers Do Not Specialise In Diabetes - If they dont really specialise its unlikely that they will be able to perform the research to the same standard as a real specialist.

6) How to Spot A Non Specialist - There are a number of ways. 1) Check the website -if the company is genuinely offering a specialist service this should be clear visible on the webite. 2) When speaking on the phone are they asking you the right kinds of questions about your diabetes, do they sound like they are dealing in this day in day out? 3) Sometimes companies pretend to be expert, they tend to rush to the application stage before doing any research - If they quote a preium straight away its probably not a good sign. If in doubt a good questions to ask is what percentage of their clients have diabetes.

7) Think About The Future As Well As The Present - If you develop further complications or additional health conditions in the future you may find it more difficult to obtain cover in the future. As a diabetic if you develop cardio vascular disease in the future, as things currently stand in the market, you will not be able to obtain new life insurance from any mainstream insurer.

8) Guaranteed Premium Rates Are Best - This means that the premiums cannot be increased in the future so you know where you stand so make sure that your premiums are not reviewable.

9) Remember That Once Your Policy Starts Your Insurance Is Guaranteed - Once your policy begins future health changes will not effect your cover or your premiums, which means you no longer have to worry about what the future may bring.

10) Prices for New Policies Will Go Up At The End Of The Year - This is true, especially so for females. If you have diabetes the process time from start to finish for life insurnace normally takes weeks rather than days. You can avoid the price hike by getting your cover in place before the changes take place - that probably means getting on with things now

If you would like a quote or would like to speak to an expert visit www.moneysworth.co.uk or call us on 0845 430 5200

Some Thoughts On Scottish Provident's Latest Critical Illness Claims Stats

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Wilkinson) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:18:00 +0000

The latest Scottish Provident set of claims statistics make for some interesting reading - there are both positive and negative points.

The £43 million in claims paid in the first half of the year is not an insignificant sum and the total now stands at over £1 Billion in critical ilness payouts since 1996. Thats a huge sum of money which will have benefited alarge number of people in their hour of need and proves what a valuable social function life companies perform.

Reading the more detailed report information provides a valuable insight., for example the average period from start to claim is 9 years and the average age at claim is 49.

The critical illnesses producing the highest amount of claims are Cancer 60%, Heart Attack 16% and Stroke 6% and the report further breaks down the cancer claims showing the biggest claim areas as breast 34%, bowel/colon 11%. malignant melanoma and prostrate both at 7%.

But..... the report shows that 7% of claims were not paid and this remains a concern. The two reasons given are a) material non discloure at the point of application and b) not meeting plan definitions and the report provides some examples of each.

Non-Disclosure - There will always be a small number of applicants who deliberately withold relevant medical information and if they are intent upon doing so there then this is their responsibility alone and this is a point which should be acknowledged by those who are critical of the life insurance companies.

However we need to ask ourselves whether as an industry we are really doing all we can to try and avoid 'non deliberate' non disclosure. Furthermore we would do well to consider whether this is always a point of sale issue. It is a fair question to ask how much non disclosure might be resulting from the fast track underwriting process itself. Are we sure that the right messages are being sent out if we are asking only a limited number of questions or where we are asking questions which refer to certain health events only within the last five years?

Interestingly a significant percentage of clients with pre existing health conditions express to us their preference for an underwriting process which includes the obtaining of medical evidence from their GP. They feel that this might cover anything they accidentally failed to remember.

What really would be of value would be to see insurance companies publishing comparisons between the rates of non disclosure applying to cases underwritten 1) without and 2) with further medical evidence.

Not Meeting Claims Definitions - This remains a thorn in the side of the life industry and we need to consider whether there is not room for improvement in how this issue is being dealt with. What we have at the moment is a stand off between the life insurance industry who claim that they are comitted to paying all 'valid' claims and those who claim that the industry deliberately rejects some claims that should be 'valid'.

But in a standoff not much progress is made.

What needs to happen is for both sides to sit down with each other and work together. The long term prospects for the sales of critical illness and other socially valuable protection policies would benefit considerably from involving the consumer in the design, decision making and marketing process. The same applies to a number of other issues currently affecting the life insurance industry (eg STIP, simplified products, activities of daily living, consumer education).

There is a fear among many consumers of non payment at claim. This fear is sufficient to stop some from buying and for some it provides a convenient excuse not to buy. But even among many of those who do buy there remains a nagging doubt that the insurance they have purchased will turn out to be 'invalid'.

A great deal more needs to be done to research this problem.

How Much Extra Are You Paying For You Health Condition?Or The story of Sarah and Sue

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Wilkinson) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:33:00 +0000

........and could you be paying less??

If you have a significant health condition such as diabetes or heart disease and your application for life insurance is accepted, almost always you can expect to pay higher premiums because of your health condition. Insurance companies charge more to cover the higher risk of the policy resulting in a claim.

But have you ever stopped to consider how the extra amount the insurance company wants you to pay compares with the rest of the market? If you did and you looked into this further you might be very surprised at what you might find.

Consider this example - Sarah and Sue are twin sisters aged 40, both non smokers and each requires £180,000 term life insurance over a 25 year term. The only difference between Sarah and Sue if that Sarah has no significant health conditions, whereas Sue has insulin controlled diabetes with average control.

Sarah is able to purchase the required cover from insurance company A at £15.34pm with insurance company B offering her the same cover at £15.73pm - or about 2.5% more than company A.

But for Sue its a different story. Due to her diabetes Company A's premium increases to £28.08pm. But company B now want a whopping £48.81pm! - which is now over 73% more than company A, or an extra £6,200 over the whole term of the policy.

So why does the differential go from 2.5% to 73%?

The answer lies in the different underwriting decision that that the company A and company B make after looking at the medical information. Not all companies make the same premium pricing decisions. In fact each UK insurance company generally has well over a dozen different premium ratings bands from which to choose when deciding which one to put you into and the key thing is that they dont all choose the same banding!

The moral of the story is that if you have a significant health condition shopping around is even more important than normal and could save you a small fortune. Even if you have alreay purchased cover in recent year after being diagnosed with your condition it is worth doing some research to see if you can save yourself some money.

Finally if you find thought of doing the necessary daunting (which it certainly can be) why not get a specialist broker to have a look for you.

www.moneysworth.co.uk offer a no fee life insurance shopping service for people with health conditions. Its simple to use and Moneysworth do the research for you. You can also call with your enquiry on 0845 430 5200.

Non Disclosure Is False Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Wilkinson) — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:22:00 +0000

I have just read an article in todays Cover Magazine here http://tinyurl.com/7dlbkwe in which Zurich's head of underwriting is quoted as stating that huge numbers of applications received contain 'embellishments' of the truth about applicants' health details.

Why would anyone wish to take out life insurance using information which if succesfully contended at claim stage by the life company might lead to the claim being disallowed? How pointless is that? In stead of (presumably) saving a bit on the premiums, non disclosure risks wasting every penny of the premiums.

Of course in such cases it won't be the person who is insured who will ever know. It will just come as an extra horrible shock to those who are left. Messy!

As so many of our clients at Moneysworth have pre existing health conditions (including diabetes, heart conditions and other health conditions), it is common for life insurance companies to write to our client's doctors for medical information before making a final decision. Though on the face of things this might be seen to cause a degree of anxiety during the waiting period, the reality is that at the end of the process clients can feel extra peace of mind, knowing that the insurance company holds a report from their doctor.

In fact in many cases clients say to us that they would prefer the life company to write to their GP so that they can feel safe knowing that medical information HAS been disclosed!

And of course by using Moneysworth our clients know that we have properly researched the market to find the best solution for them individually. Which is important when you consider that different insurance companies charge widely different prices for people with the same health conditions.

So if you have a health condition and want to apply for life insurance make sure that you fully disclose your health information and if possible use the services of a life assurance broker who really does specialise in helping people with pre existing health conditions. That way you will know that you are fully covered and at a good price.

Diabetes and Life Cover in the UK - why delaying could end up costing you dearly

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Wilkinson) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:06:00 +0000

Whether you have diabetes or whether you are concerned about the possibility of being diagnosed with diabetes in the future you should take a minute to review your life cover. If you need more than its probably a good idea to act sooner rather than later.

Here's why.

Currently Diabetic? - Once you have started your life cover, the terms (including the premium amounts) are generally guaranteed for the rest of the policy providing that continue to pay your premiums, irrespective of future changes in your health. Delaying taking out cover will generally end up costing you more money when you take out cover at a later date because you will be older. It may also cost you more because of the progress of your diabetes, especially if you develop more complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy or kidney issues. So again arranging your cover now protects you from the effects that future changes are likely to have if you delay. Worse still some future health developments could mean that it becomes impossible to be able to obtain life insurance. One highly relevant example of this would be the future development of any heart issues which is a significant additional risk factor for diabetics. Unfortunately no mainstream insurance companies will offer life cover to any diabetic, type 1 or type 2, who also then goes on to develop a condition such as angina or who has a heart attack. However the life insurance policy terms for those diabetics who arranged their life cover before they developed any heart conditions are still guaranteed, which also means that if death accours as a result of a heart attack you are still covered.

Not Currently Diabetic But Worried About Being Diagnosed With Diabetes In The Future?
You would also be well advised to review your life cover now rather than later. Now you may still be able to obatin life cover at lower premium rates and in the absence of any significant existing health factors there is a good chance that you may be able to so at 'normal' premium rates, which are the cheapest premium rates. Again if you take out the cover now these premium rates are generally guaranateed. If you delay sorting out your cover until you are diagnosed with diabetes, expect to pay higher premiums and in some cases much higher premium rates. Also if you delay until you are diagnosed you should expect to experience difficulty in being able to arrange some other valuable benefits, for example critical illness cover. This could mean for example if the purpose of the life insurance is pay off a mortgage that the option to include insurance to pay off the mortgage if you have a heart attack is simply no longer available to you even though the risk of it happening has increased.

Sainsbury's Shock Report - Is Fear To Blame?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Wilkinson) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:26:00 +0000

I have been trying to get my ahead around some statistics that I came across yesterday.

Sainsbury's commissioned the research looking at how many people in the UK had mortgages with no life cover in place to repay the outstanding balance. The results show some surprisingly big numbers, much bigger than most would perhaps guess.

Firstly the total figure of mortgages without life cover is given at £245,000,000,000 - thats a quarter of a trillion. But 'billions' and 'trillions' are everyday newspeak terms now, over used by both politicians and news reporters these words have become a sort of TV litter which we therefore tend to ignore as part of the familiar landscape.

Dig a bit deeper into the Sainsbury report figures though and we start to find more meaningful statistics.

The number of people with no life insurance to cover their mortgages? Just under 7 Million, or to put in a more meaningful way that equals just over 4 in every 10 mortgages. The report goes on to break down this figure between different age bands, as follows

Age       Percentage of mortgage holders unprotected
18-24    62%
25-34    38%
35-44    33%
45-54    30%
55-64    55%
65+       58%

Of course within these figures there will be mortgage holders who have valid reasons for not having life cover. The biggest such group will be single people with no dependants - fair enough. Another group might those with significant personal wealth.

But what about all the others? What about the significant majority who are not particularly wealthy but who do have dependent partners and/or families? What about the growing number of older people who find themselves with mortgages much later in life than they had originally anticipated? What are the reasons why these mortgage holders choose to have no life cover?

Here are some of the common reasons people give when asked.

''I've never really thought about it.'' -

''Its a waste of money - its (my death) will probably never happen ''

''Its too expensive - I can't afford it''

''No one will insure me with my health conditions''

All of these responses deserve a fuller response which is probably worth addressing in future posts and it would be good to hear readers opinions, so if you have one please comment.

But for the moment I should mention one other factor which I suspect lurks in the background for many and that is fear. Fear is a great inhibitor in all aspects of life. Fear changes our behaviour, it makes us more cautious, it makes us avoid action, fear makes us hide.

Generally people tend to fear the unknown. I am not a professional psychologist but based on my own observations fear is especially to do with a future outcome that is not known. Often the reason why people don't face up to their fears is because they are scared as to what the outcome might be if they do. By avoiding action we feel like we are keeping the possible undesired future outcome at bay. Mostly its a subconcious kind of response.

So how does 'fear' apply to this issue of life cover for mortgages?

Perhaps underneath these figures many people are frightened about the questions they may be asked if they do apply for life cover. Perhaps they are frightened of having to reveal 'embarassing' personal medical information about themselves.

Or perhaps they fear the final outcome - the fear that if they apply they they might get turned down and all that that might mean. For example it could confirm their own worst fears that they are going to die sooner rather than later, or in some way mark their financial credit record making it more difficult for them to borrow money in the future if they applied for a loan or mortgage. So some people might choose to avoid applying for life cover in order to avoid some sort of final judgement which they fear might finally mark their cards for good.

But of course fearing something does not mean that it is going to happen.

The problem is that many people are needlessly putting their families at risk by continuing to take no action. Put bluntly if you have no life cover for your mortgage on your family home then your home is at risk. If you have a family you owe it to your family to seek the appropriate life insurance in order to protect the family home for them.

Of course this for many will involve confronting a fear of the unknown.

But if only people with such fears knew where to look they might be quite surprised at the outcome. Here at www.moneysworth.co.uk we offer a specialist service for people with pre existing health conditions who are seeking life cover, for mortgages or for family protection (for other reasons too). Our service is confidential and non judgemental. We have over a number of years developed and refined a process which is designed to help customers find best outcomes. Each case is indivually researched. Further more our service is fee free to our customers and is with no obligation. Therefore it costs nothing to try.

The results are very encouraging. It should be said that we are not able to offer all customers a 100% guarantee that we will be able to find the life cover that they seek but we are able to help the majority, many of whom have been turned down elsewhere before coming to us. Very often the premiums acheived are considerably less than the customer originally feared.

Customers frequently express a high level of satisfaction with our service and often say that a great weight has been lifted for them. With the peace of mind knowing that their dependants are now protected they no longer need to live in fear.

Business Owners - A Key Catastrophe To Avoid

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Wilkinson) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:55:00 +0000

A few years ago a bad thing happened.

We received a telephone call from a potential new client asking to cancel our appointment with him and his business partner because his business partner had died suddenly the day before. The purpose of the meeting had been to arrange some life cover for each of the two business partners so that if either of them died the other would be provided with enough money to buy out the other's shares in the business.

However shocking the sudden loss of a close friend and business partner was, the troubles didn't end there.

The family of the dead partner had never had any involvement in the day to day running of the business but of course they had depended upon the business for their income. What were they going to do now?

The two business owners had been skilled professional engineers and been responsible between them for most of the business reveue. With only one fee earner remaining the business faced significantly lower revenue meaning that the business could not continue to fund at the same level both sets of income - something would have to give.

How did this story end?

The remaining shareholder who was in his late 50's and had been hoping to retire in a few years was forced to remortgage his own home to provide the capital necessary to buy out his ex business partner's shares - putting up his own home as security was the only way he could raise the necessary required funds. Big change for him then and for his own family.

Here's a thought - what if I said this man was lucky! How could that be? Surely he was unlucky?

Well obviously he was unlucky because he hadn't put a robust disaster recovery plan into place in time and it ended up personally costing a him a fortune in added debt, delaying his retirement by years and putting himself, his family and his home at risk. The cost of the insurance premiums necessary to prevent this personal calamity would have been a fraction of what he ended up having to pay.

And the lucky bit? Well this all happened a few years ago at a time when he was able to raise sufficient extra equity from his property to finance the share purchase.

It could have been much worse - it could have happened now.

Because as we all know - right now persuading banks to lend money is a completely different proposition compared to a few years ago and likely to be even more difficult when the bank learns that the business has just lost a key person who was a responsible for a earning a significant proportion of business revenue. Put bluntly for a great many business owners the answer right now is going to be no.

And then what? A forced sale to a third party perhaps?

If you a have any concerns about protecting your business and your assets why not contact us at Moneysworth 0845 430 5200. We can help you take back control and make a plan to insure against the huge costs and risks of this future potential catastrophe for your own business.

Positive Changes For Diabetics In The UK Critical Illness Market

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:38:00 +0000

For a long time the provision of critical illness cover in the UK for diabetics has been extremely limited. Where critical illness cover has been available it has come with significant exclusions for cardio vascular risks, the very critical illnesses that would be of most interest to those with diabetes.
The good news is that significant changes are taking place which mean that for some diabetics we are now able to arrange critical illness cover without any exclusions. As specialists in the proctection market for people with health conditions welcome this excellent new development which we believe will be of real benefit to many diabetics. Diabetics wishing to make enquiries should visit http://www.moneysworth.co.uk/ or call 0845 430 5200

Breast Cancer - Positive News On Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:27:00 +0000

We wanted to share some good news.

We were recently approached by a lady who was looking for life insurance. Aged in her late 50's our client had suffered from breast cancer a number of years ago from which she had been in complete remission for a number of years. She also had one or two other conditions which while less significant would often with most insurance companies result in having to pay additional premiums.

The good news is that we were able to obtain life cover for this client at ordinary rates with no increase in premium to cover her previous serious health condition. The life cover includes full cover for death by whatever cause, including cancer(and including breast cancer) and the premiums are guaranteed not to increase in the future.

This is a great result!

The outcomes for life insurance applications from people who have suffered breast cancer in the past,l depend upon a number of factors.

Firstly the person must be in remission.

Secondly it is more common for there to be additional premiums charged to cover the extra perceived risk.
The amount of extra premium will typically depend on a number of different factors including the amount of time since the end of treatment (surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy) and the original sizing and staging. Not every life insurance company will rate the same way and this is where it pays to use the services of a specialist broker such as Moneysworth. In the above case we were able to obtain £45,000 for less than £30pm.

It is also worth mentioning critical illness cover.

It is often assumed that critical illness cover is not available for anyone who has been previously diagnosed with breast cancer. However while this remains true for some cases it is no longer necessarily correct in all cases. For cases where the initial staging was low and where some time has passed since treatment finished, not only might it be possible to obtain critical illness cover, it may also be possible to do so at very competitive premium levels too. Any future episodes of breast cancer will be excluded from the list of critical illnesses covered, as will any other critical illness which is caused by the initial breast cancer, but apart from that the full range of other critical illnesses normally available will be included in the policy.

So, if you have had breast cancer in the past, your prospects for both life cover and critical illness cover could be brighter than you think.

How long after a heart attack before I can apply for life insurance?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:54:00 +0000

How soon can someone apply for life insurance after suffering a heart attack?

This is a question we are often asked as we receive an increasing amount of enquiries from people who have suffered a heart attack (myocardial infarction). For those affected it is not surprising that their minds should turn to this subject. For having survived a heart attack we are normally given a little while to recover and for many this provides time to consider what the future might hold, especially for our familes and those who financially depend upon us.

For some it can be worrying to realise that they have insufficient life cover to repay the outstanding balance on the mortgage. This means that in the event of their death, amidst and that that would mean to their nearest and dearest, the family home may be at risk as well!

The mind then turns to questions about how difficult it might be to obtain life insurance following a heart attack and how long it might take to arrange for cover to be in place..............

Well generally speaking the prospects are often better than might at first be assumed.

Firstly if you were over the age of 40 at the time of your heart attack and you have only had one heart attack there is a good chance that you will be able to obtain life insurance. However if your heart attack was severe or if you have further health conditions (eg diabetes) then you may find it difficult to obtain life cover.

Just how long it will take to obtain life cover after your heart attack will vary from one insurance company to another. Generally speaking most life insurance companies will be prepared to offer you cover twelve months after the heart attack and some will even consider offering terms six months.

It may even be possible to do even better than that! We know one or two life companies who may consider applications one month after the client suffering a heart attack, depending on the overall picture.

So if you, or someone you know, has recently suffered a heart attack, if you are worried that you have insufficient life cover in place to sufficiently protect your family, if you think its probably too late to get life cover......... don't despair. It might be easier to get life cover than you think.

Diabetes, Smoking and Life (Insurance)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:33:00 +0000

'There's nothing worse than an ex-smoker' it's said so I'll start by fessing up to a previous habit. My purpose is not to moralise on the subject (we all make our own choices anyway), I simply want to look at how insurance companies currently view smoking and diabetes. Also just before I get going I should point out that we at Moneysworth help both smoking and non smoking diabetics to obtain life cover, day in day out.

It may seem a bit obvious but we and the life companies all know, as it says on our the packets, that smoking is bad for our health. As mentioned in previous blogs not only do life companies charge significantly higher premiums for smoking, the price differential has been increasing over the years too.

So what about diabetes and smoking? Well did you know that some life companies not only charge extra for both being diabetic and for smoking but also make a further third charge for smoking AND having diabetes? We also know of one major insurance company who automatically decline all type 1 diabetic smokers, regardless of how good the rest of their profile.

So why the nervousness? It's all to do with cardio vascular risks. Diabetics are at increased risk of cardio vascular events and of course unfortunately diabetes is a progessive illness. Doctors are therefore keen to identify and manage key cardio vascular risk factors in their diabetic patients. Key factors include BMI and a family history of early diagnosis of heart conditions. Many diabetics take statins and in a significant amount of cases this is not due to the patient having a cholesterol problem, but to make sure that they don't develop one in the future, as this would again provide an additional cardio vascular risk. Blood pressure is another key factor.

Perhaps to some readers the risk of cardio vascular complications for the diabetic does not seem too important or immediate. I would urge such readers to think again. Firstly and most obviously a lot of people do die of heart attacks - and for these the warning signs often come too late ornot at all. Secondly for those diabetics who do manage to survive a heart attack or who are diagnosed with angina for example, the chances of obtaining new life cover currently reduce to nil with all the major UK life companies. I will return to this issue in a later blog.

In the meantime what can smoking diabetics expect when applying for life cover? The truth is that many of them can expect to be declined by a lot of companies. You will save yourself a lot of time and heartache if you use the services of a broker who really specialises in health conditions.

The significance of smoking for Type 2 sufferers who apply for life cover will depend upon the number and seriousness of other additional (especially cardio vascular) risk factors present as well as the level of smoking. At the very least the premiums will be significantly more expensive and at worst the applicant might struggle to get any life cover at all.

For Type 1 sufferers smoking is even worse and applications are even more likely to end in declinature. The reason why is as follows. Type 1 sufferers tend to have already been living with diabetes for a lot longer than the average Type 2 sufferer who is seeking life cover. This means that they generally start at higher rating bands to begin with. This also means that there is less room for the insurance companies to play with in terms of adding extra amounts of ratings for extra complications, before the cases turn into a 'decline'. It is still possible for some type 1 diabetic smokers to obtain life cover but its more difficult than for type 2 diabetics.

The news for diabetics who are able to give up smoking for at least 12 months is generally more positive as they can still be treated as non smokers by the life companies. Stopping smoking is likely to result in a more favourable attidue from life companies and cheaper premiums.

So in summary our advice for smoking diabetics is
1) Do seriously consider giving up smoking if at all possible, most importantly it will improve your health in the long term and save you a lot of money.
2) When you give up smoking for 12 months do expect life assurance companies to seek to verify this by way of a cotinine test.
3) Don't however delay purchasing life cover in the meantime. Waiting until you have stopped smoking for 12 months before applying for life cover may leave your family with little or no protection and the prospect of losing the family home. Its better to find cover now and protect your family even if you apply for a lesser am,ount of cover than you would ideally like. Most people will still stand a good chance of benefitting from reduced premiums when you have stopped smoking for 12 months anyway.
4) Use a specialist broker rather than trying to arrnage the life cover yourself - its quicker and you are likely to get a better result. But make sure the broker really is specialist in arranging life cover for diabetics first.
5) If you think it is unlikely that you will choose to stop smoking in the foreseeable future, then work on the basis that it will become more difficult and more expensive to obtain life cover in the future. Get covered now and keep hold of it!

A Positive Outcome For A Difficult Life Insurance Case

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:31:00 +0000

A client recently came to us with a difficult case - subaortic stenosis.

At Moneysworth we do our best to help everyone who comes to us with a health condition to obtain life cover. We deal with a lot of heart related medical conditions, especially heart attacks, angina and heart by passes. However there are of course a number of other heart conditions, including subaortic stenosis.

Like so many who come to us this client was seeking life insurance to cover his mortgage so that the remaining mortgage debt would be cleared in the event of his death, thereby providing him and his family with peace of mind knowing that should the worst happen the family would still have thier home. In this case our client was therefore seeking approximately £150,000 life cover for a 25 year repayment mortgage.

So what made this case difficult? Unfortunately for him, our client was diagnosed in early childhood with his heart condition. Later on in his childhood our client had a surgical proceedure, which could be argued to have been mostly a success, though some some slight leakage was detected for a while after the operation. Over time the leakage appeared to stop and the client now lives a normal life.

We approached a number of insurance companies on behalf of our client who were generally reluctant to agree to provide life insurance. There were no other significant health conditions in this case and clearly most life companies remained nervous about the key underlying health condition - subaortic stenosis. Despite most life companies declining to offer the life insurance we persisted with our search. We know from experience that it does not always follow that every life company will view the same information in the same way and sometimes we have to pass by a number of closed doors before we find one that is open.

Which is exactly what happened in this case. We managed to find a life company who were willing to look at the case differently. After obtaining detailed medical information they were able to view the outcome of the operation more favourably. Whilst they wished to charge a small additional amount to reflect some additional risk, they did not regard the additional health risk factors to be significant enough to warrant declining our client's application.

So the hard work and patience payed off and in the end we were able to acheive a very positive outcome for our client. Not only were we able to find the total amount of cover that our client was seeking, but we were able to do so at a very attractive premium of less than £17pm.

What a great result!

Relevant Life Policies - How To Reduce The Cost Of Life Insurance By Up To 49%

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:02:00 +0000

There is a great new way to arrange life insurance in the UK which can open the door to significant savings and as we know every little bit helps at the moment. Under the new arrangements, for those who qualify, it can be possible to get the new life cover treated as a legitimate business expense.

So what are the possible savings? Firstly because your company will be paying the premiums and because they are an allowable business expense there is the potential for the company to obtain corporation tax relief. Secondly there is no Employer's National Insurance due.

The first area of employee savings is a big one, Income Tax. A relevant life policy does not count as a benefit in kind, therefore if the company pays the premium there is no Income Tax to be paid by the employee in respect of the life cover contributions. Secondly the life company premiums do not give rise to Employee's National Insurance.

This is good news for employers and employees alike and probably best news of all for those company directors who are both employer and employee at the same time.

For example the real gross cost up to now of a £200pm life cover premium to a 40% taxpayer after accounting for tax and employees and employee's NI is a whopping £392.41pm which, after corporation tax relief nets down to £317.41pm.

Compare the above with setting up the same cover as a relevant life policy. The amount payable to the life company remains the same at £200pm, but this time there is no Income Tax or National Insurance contributions to add. After paying the premium the company claims corporation tax relief, which at 19% reduces the net cost to £162.00pm

By setting up the life insurance as a relevant life policy the total saving achieved for employee and company is 49%. All you need is a willing employer.

Its also worth mentioning one other group of people who stand to particularly benefit from relevant life policies and that is those who are close to the personal lifetime allowance limit. Traditional death in service scheme benefits are taken into account when calculating whether the personal lifetime allowance has been exceeded but relevant life policies are not included.

As usual there are a number of rules which need to be followed when setting up a relevant life policy. First of all relevant life policies are not available for the self employed, so if you are a sole trader or in a partnership you will not be allowed to have a relevant life policy (unless you also have non self employed earnings). Secondly the benefits of the life policy must be 'reasonable' in relation to the life assured's income. Whilst this probably leaves room for the amount of cover to significantly exceed the 'four times salary' traditional death in service scheme maximum, which is another plus point, the amount of cover must still be 'reasonable'. Also although income can include dividend income, it must not soley consist of dividend income (ie there must be some PAYE earnings).

Other key points to watch out for include a maximum age at the end of the policy of 75 and the plan must only provide life cover (no other benefits).

The policies have to be proposed by the limited company (the employer) on the life of the employee and written under trust for the life assured's beneficiaries. Should one's employment cease then the employer will have to cease paying premiums and cover will need to stop, unless (as would usually be preferable) the life assured takes over paying the premiums themselves.

Finally a couple of tips.

First if you are thinking about replacing life cover that you already hold with a relevant life policy, don't stop your existing cover until you are in receipt of full acceptance terms from the new life insurer - the worst possible mistake would be to cancel existing cover that you already hold in anticipation of arranging more tax efficient cover only to find that the new insurer wont accept your application due to a health problem etc!

Secondly, at this moment the majority of life companies have yet to wake up to the potential cost savings that these policies offer so you'll have to look around to find which companies are offering these policies or dare I say come to a company like Moneysworth who already know and can arrange the whole thing for you.

Business Owners Seriously At Risk

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:32:00 +0000

It has all the hallmarks of a classic taboo subject - business owners know that there is a risk to their business lurking in the background somewhere and evertime they think about it they feel vaguely uncomfortable. But the easiest thing for a business owner to do is to move swiftly on to something else. After all its not exactly a problem today and it might not even happen.........

So what's taboo? Death of course, or rather death and serious illness. To be more specific its the effect that these two events can have on a business, especially small and medium sized businesses.

If you want some proof how about this for a stat - ''39% of business owners expected their businesses to fold within the death or critical illness of a business owner''.
Here's another one - ''58% of businesses had no formal agreement to establish what would happen in the event of the death or critical illness of a business owner''.

[source - Intsitute of Directors and Legal and General - Business Protection Research]

'Does it really matter?' you might ask.

The question can be answered both quantitively and qualitively.

First the numbers - according to mortality data at http://www.actuaries.org.uk/ the following is true. Take a business with three male shareholders all aged 40 - the chances of one of them dying before the age of 65 is 19%. Thats quite scary - its going to happen a lot! The chances of one of the same three suffering a critical illness before the age of 65 is 64% - and thats very scary, a probability rather than a possibility.

But the qualitive answer is perhaps even more worrying. Because most people tend to ovoid spending time thinking about this issue, they do not consider the potential consequences. These could include but are not limited to the following

1) The bank might seek to call in personal guarantees regardless of the wishes of the business owners (and yes that could mean your home is at risk).
2) The business trying to raise a significant loan to buy out the shares of the deceased party
3) The business owners may have to try to raise the money required from personal assets such as the family home
4 The business taking on considerable new loan costs to repay the loan
5) At the same time the business suffering a fall in income and profits as a result of the loss of the business owner
6) Therefore the bank may not even agree to fund the share buy back, especially if trading conditions are not ideal, or if the bank lending is constrained due to general economic conditions
7) In the absence of commercial funding being available to the company or the remaining shareholders the family holding the estate of the shareholder may be forced to seek an external third party share purchaser

As someone who has faced this situation in business in real life I can assure you that these sort of risks are very real and potentially very damaging. In our particular case it was serious illness rather than death. Our first thoughts were obviously with the shareholder and his family -thank goodness he made a recovery, though it took some (very worrying) time before he knew that this would be the final outcome. During which time not surprisingly he decided that his priorities had changed and he no longer wanted to be involved with the business. Luckily for us we had the correct life/ critical illness policies and legal agreements in place which meant that at the right time the required funds were in place to finance the share purchase and with no need to take on additional debt. At the same time our eyes were opened to the consequences of how differently things might have turned out had we not been properly insured.

Here's an odd thing - most businesses think nothing of insuring their business premises for fire. They don't do so because there is a high risk of the insured event actually occuring, they do it because of the size of the potential financial consequences for the business that would follow a fire. Literally a fire could destroy an unprotected business.

So given the fact that the death or critical illness of a business partner or shareholder is so much more likely to actually occur it might be said that any of the 58% of businesses with no plan referred to in the research (above) are very playing with fire. Sensible action would be to take expert advice on the matter before its too late.

Diabetes and Critical Illness Cover - The Bad News and the Good News

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:11:00 +0000

We recently had an interesting case concerning diabetes and critical illness cover where we acheived an unusual outcome (more of which below). But its worth looking first at the general current landscape for critical illness cover and diabetes in the UK protection market. Is diabetes a critical illness for insurance purposes? Can you get critical illness cover if you already have diabetes?

Diabetes is a progressive and life changing illness that can lead to some potentially very serious outcomes. So does diabetes count as a critical illness? Does it appear on the list of critical illnesses generally covered on most insurance company critical illness plans? The answer is mostly no. One exception to this is late onset type 1 diabetes which is included as a critical illness condition by at least one major insurer. Late onset type 1 is relatively unusual so the chances of making a claim for this are very small. But it can and does happen. We know a lady who fell ill on holiday last year and was found to havean Hba1c reading of 27 - in her late forties she was diagnosed type 1 immediately and also then had to face her life long phobia of needles.
But for the vast majority of critical illness policy holders, the diagnosis of diabetes Type 1 or Type 2 will not provide them with a valid condition on which directly to make a claim.

But the story doesn't end there. As 2.4 million UK diagnosed diabetics know one of the key issues for them is their increased risk of cardiovascular complications. Indeed this is why many diabetics are put onto 'preventative' medications for blood pressure and/or cholesterol in order to try and prevent the development of additional cardiovascular risks.

So here is some good news. Even though the diagnosis of diabetes will not in most cases prove to be a valid health condition on which to make a claim under a critical illness plan (despite the seriousness of the condition) policy holders are more likely to be able make a claim if they go on to a heart attack or stroke, as these are more generally valid critical illness claim conditions.

So much for people who don't have diabetes now, what about those who do? Is it possible for diabetics to obtain critical illness cover?

The answer to this question is genarally negative. Nearly all the mainstream insurers currently will decline applications for critical illness cover from diabetics, irrespective of type, duration or the level of control levels.
But...... there is one company currently who will consider offering critical illness cover to some diabetics. If you are 40 or over and have good control with no complications, you might be able to obtain terms. For those who are able to get cover there will be exclusions on the policy in the main for any cardiovascular conditions. Given the increased risk of suffering cardio vascular conditions some diabetics may consider that the cover excludes the very health risks they wish to cover. Its difficult to argue with that, although it is worth mentioning that a discount in premiums is generally applied to reflect the excluded cover so that diabetics will pass less than non diabetics for once! Also the remaining cover still covers a lot of conditions including cancer, which is a huge area for actual claims.

Finally just to go back to the story of the recent client for whom we acheived an unusual result. The client was seeking critical ilness cover. On paper he had been diagnosed with diabetes and received medication for diabetes. However in his case the doctors felt that the diabetes had been caused as a side effect of strong medication for another health condition which had effectly caused his pancreas to stop making insulin. Furthermore the effect was temporary and the client had to be taken off treatment when his Hba1c readings dramatically dropped and if was found that his pancreas had resumed production of insulin. Since then the clients blood readings have stayed within 'normal' levels and he has not needed any medication.

Whether or not anyone who has been diagnosed with diabetes can ever be described as an 'ex' diabetic is a hot topic of debate and one for which there are others far better than I to comment upon. However what is for sure is that for insurance companies generally, its 'once a diabetic always a diabetic'. Which was exactly the line taken by all the insurance companies when we contacted them. Probably it didn't help when we told them that this client especially was looking to be treated as a non diabetic so that he could have cardio vascular conditions included in his critical illness cover. The door was firmly shut.

With one exception! We did find one company who were willing to take on board the unusual aspects of this case and who were willing to offer our client the cover he sought. So he is now covered for, among other critical illness conditions, heart attack and stroke - two of the three main critical illness claim areas for critical illness claims for.

NOTE: For more up to date information on this topic read the more recent blog dated 24th August 2011

Life Insurance in Which? list of Top Financial Products!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:01:00 +0000

Which? has announced that Life Insurance features in it's new list of best financial products! Other financial products that made it in to the top list of 11 included Income Protection and Travel Insurance.

Which? added that life insurance is a must-have if you have dependants, saying: "It's not a pleasant thought, but, if you die young, you need to make sure your family is covered. Don't put it off either, the younger you are, the cheaper it is."

It also highlighted the importance of having a comprehensive will to protect your wishes.

"Wills aren't something you really want to think about, but not writing one could mean real financial worry for your family. Making a will ensures your money goes to who you want it to," it concluded

After my blog yesterday about the small number of families in the UK who have protection policies, I was starting to think that Life Insurance wasn’t’ getting much positive press. This news from Which? is really refreshing to hear and it’s important that those with dependants understand its vital to have some kind of life cover in place!

UK Life Assurance Statistics

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:58:00 +0000

I came across some interesting statistics about the percentage of families in the UK who have Life Assurance. 6/10 families in the UK do not have a life assurance policy, with 1/5 of these families not having a policy as they think they will not be able to afford it…

Working for a company that provides clients with life assurance, I was quite shocked at the statistics that stared up at me. The research was carried out by Aviva and included:

61% of families do not have a life assurance policy in place
93% of families do not feel they have adequate financial protection
76% of single parent families with two or more children feel financially under protected
87% do not have Critical Illness Cover
89% shun Income Protection

These statistics show that millions of people are putting the financial future of their families at risk, should they lose their job, fall ill or pass away.

Not even bad experiences can reverse the underprotection trend with 4/10 families admitting to being seriously affected by illness in the past, but still not having any policies in place.

Finally, 5% of people believe policies never pays out and therefore isn't worth buying, when in fact data shows that 99% of life insurance claims are paid out, with an average sum of £51,000 paid off.

I was keen to see other peoples reactions to these statistics, so I asked a large range of people via social media. There was a wide array of reactions, from “Really suprising!” to “I don't know, but I suspect that this is a result of the collapse of the endowment policy.”

Its not the case that families don’t have protection because they have been declined, more that they think they can’t afford it, without even finding out what the premiums may be! This is an interesting look at how society views protection policies…

In my view life assurance can provide families with financial peace of mind in the unfortunate event of a sudden loss of income and can provide a lump sum cash payment should the insured suffer serious illness or disease. If people are pre-judging what they think it will cost them, they are seriously loosing out on financial peace of mind.

By making sure they have financial protection in place, families can have invaluable peace of mind for a more financially secure future…

I’d like to hear your reaction to the above statistics, are you surprised or already aware of the scope of Life Insurance in the UK? All views are welcomed…

Total Discrimination

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:57:00 +0000

The European Court Of Justice will deliver next week its final written judgement in a case which may see the end of gender pricing differentials for life insurance premiums. But we're not singing with joy.

The intial adjudication back in September 2010 confirmed that differential pricing contravenes the fundamental principle of equal treatment on the basis of gender. This shouldn't come as a surprise, for the ongoing fight against discrimination has been one of the key political and social markers of recent years. But do we really care as much as we say we do?

At Moneysworth we are committed to helping people with health issues find life cover. The life cover isnt for them personally, it never is, it's to protect their families and their children. Many of the people who come to us looking for our help have been previously turned away and rejected. Furthermore, given that most will have to pay higher premiums (discrimination) due to their health, we strive to look for the best available terms, so that they pay the least extra amount possible.

Thank goodness, using our specialist knowledge of the insurance market, we are able to obtain cover for the majority of clients who come to us. Indeed it is pretty much the case that if we are unable to find cover, customers are unlikely to find it elsewhere. As our blog develops we hope to provide an insight into our work and some of the many cases that we work on.

But today, I would like to pause and spend a brief moment to think about the people that are unable to obtain cover.

Insurance companies set premium levels in line with the amount of risk that they perceive to be present. But if the risk is too great they can choose not to offer cover.

What then for the families who happen to have a father or a mother with a health condition considered so serious that no insurance company will touch them? Not only do they face the chance of losing a parent at an early age, but also of being left with little or no financial support.

So before we start patting ourselves on our backs and congratulating ourselves on our progress in steadily eradicating the curse of discriminition from modern society lets remember just one group who remain firmly on the outside and who remain totally discriminated against.

Its not that next weeks ruling isn't important, its not even that its not fair. Its that a much greater unfairness will remain after next week.

Andy Wilkinson

Smoking and Life Assurance

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:19:00 +0000

As its National Heart Month, I have been researching and sharing top tips for looking after your heart. My top tip today was to give up smoking.

Smoking is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease, and smokers are almost twice as likely to have a heart attack as people who have never smoked!*

The primary reason of giving up smoking is obvious; it will reduce your risk of a heart attack. This applies especially if you have suffered from a heart attack previously - It reduces the risk of a re-occurance by 25%! Other obvious reasons include to prevent other health conditions occurring and to save money from not buying cigarettes. There is a major saving you could be making that may not have crossed your mind though…

Life Assurance; Smokers pay almost double for life assurance! Many ex-smokers are still paying the higher rates as they have neglected to tell their life assurance provider! Infact, it has been found to reduce your premiums by around 46% if you give up smoking!

If you have given up smoking over 12 months ago, you may now qualify as a non-smoker!

Visit www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/prevention/smoking for more information on tips to help you give up smoking!

*British Heart Foundation

Love Your Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:10:00 +0000

With Valentines Day on Monday i'm sure most of you out there will be planning romantic gestures to your loved ones... But have you thought about your own heart?

Heart Disease is the UK's biggest killer, with over 6 million people living with the condition! Causes can include other health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol levels and family history. Many other factors come into play such as smoking, excess body weight, age, gender and stress...

There are so many ways to reduce your risk of heart disease, so why not treat your heart to some TLC this Valentines...

Assess your diet - Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and reduce your intake of salt and alcohol.
Get moving - Physical activity 3x a week can halve your risk of heart disease.
Watch your weight - Shedding a couple of lbs can massively reduce your risk.
Quit smoking - If you have previously had a heart attack, giving up smoking can reduce your chances of having another attack by 25%!
Have regular health checks - Make sure your BMI is at a healthy range, and if not, do something about it!
Reduce your blood pressure - Exercising more and reducing calorie and alcohol intake can help lower your blood pressure.
Control your cholesterol levels - Cut out trans and saturated fats and eat more oily fish and oats.

It's not just our romantic fortunes that need looking after, we need to look after our physical hearts too...There are many ways to look after your heart and your loved ones... This Valentines give yourself the gift of a healthy heart <3

BMI Blimey!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:58:00 +0000

After reading today that a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO), Harvard and Imperial College London has estimated that half a billion people in the world are classed as obese, having a BMI of 30 or over, it made me think that its really time I started to focus on getting my health in tip-top condition!

The rise in obesity over the past 30 years has more than doubled, with the UK having the sixth highest rate in Europe! Is it any wonder, with a large proportion of children are eating fast-food on a regular basis and growing up in the front room on games consoles?

This is bad news for the globe as the raise in obesity goes hand-in-hand with the number of cases of diabetes…

Large measures are required to prevent the next generation suffering from health problems connected to obesity including diabetes, raised cholesterol and high blood pressure. I know Jamie Oliver went on his ‘healthy school dinners’ crusade last year, but has it made much of an impact yet (if any)? Last year my brothers school changed the sweet machine contents to healthy snacks such as nuts and fruit, but quickly changed it back when there was a declined in the amount on 50p’s entering the machine. Maybe we should follow the French's example, with their average BMI been 25 (healthy)...

An interesting and worrying statistic, and it makes me wonder, what will happen if in another 30 years the rise in obesity has doubled again?

Just some food for thought, but I know certainly not be feeding my children Turkey Twizzlers…

Welcome to the first Moneysworth Blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Welcome to the Moneysworth first blog! We are an independent IFA who specialise in finding life assurance for those with health conditions such as diabetes, dangerous hobbies and hazardous jobs.

The Moneysworth team have a wide range of opinions and interests, of which i'm sure will be apparent when other members of the team blog!

My names Jacey and I am head of Marketing at Moneysworth. I love cocktails and hate butternut squash!

I was watching Day Break yesterday when i came across this amazing story. http://www.itv.com/daybreak/lifestyle/petsandanimals/meetlifesavingshirleythelabrador

It was an article about Shirley, the life saving Labrador! Her owner, 6 year old Rebecca suffers from Diabetes, and can go into a diabetic coma at any point of the day. Shirley, a hypo-alert dog, has been trained to smell when Rebeccas blood sugar reaches dangerously low levels and can alert those around her by licking their hands when Rebecca needs to raise her blood sugar, and therefore prevents her from slipping into a diabetic coma - how amazing!? Shirley accompanies Rebecca to school and even watches over her when she sleeps, what a hero! What marvellous things we can train such intelligent dogs to do. This kind of thing will prevent people from fatal occurrences and I look forward to hearing more success stories like this soon!