Over50Choices

Chris Tarrant has a pop at Over 50 Man Sir Michael Parkinson

2012-02-03T11:09:00.000-08:00

On the BBC's Room 101 tonight the jovial Chris Tarrant has a tongue in cheek pop at Sir Michael Parkinson for promoting the AXA Sun Life Direct Guaranteed Over 50 Plan.

I havent seen the programme yet, but I am lead to believe that Chris Tarrant takes the mickey out of Sir Michael for promoting a life insurance plan that talks about death and funerals. Whatsmore you get a FREE Parker Pen for getting an Over 50 Plan quote and a very nice welcome gift when you take out a plan.

I wonder if Mr Tarrant would be so quick to judge if he had been offered a tidy sum by an insurance company for a few minutes work? AXA Sun Life have clearly done their home work in using Sir Michael to promote their popular over 50 plan, as they have been using him for several years, so we can assume that his presence generates increased sales!

Over 50 plans are very popular and are used mainly to pay for peoples funerals, giving peace of mind to them and their families, often taken out by families that cant afford to pay for a pre-paid funeral plan.

I look forward to watching Room 101 tonight.

Which Over 50 Plan is right for you!

2012-02-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

We have all seen them, if you are over 50 you may have bought one, but with an increasing number of insurance companies now selling them, how can you be sure you are considering the right plan for you?

They all have very similar names, Guaranteed Over 50 Plan, Fifty Plus, Over 50 Life Insurance Plan, 50 Plus Plan, Over 50s Life Cover to name but a few!

They all come from leading life insurance companies so you can be sure whichever over 50 plan you choose it will do the job, so it will come down to your personal preference as to which one is best for you.

Once you have decided how much life cover you want, which may be determined by your expected funeral costs or you just wish to leave a lump sum to your family and friends, you should also decide how much you can afford.

The welcome gifts they all offer, maybe a consideration, but these should not be a key reason as to why you purchase the plan, as there are far more important factors to consider:

the amount of cover on offer for the same premium
the starting premium, if you are looking for the cheapest premium
will you pay premiums until you die or your 90th birthday
will they give you full cover after 1 year or 2 years of taking the plan out

They all come with the following benefits:

fixed monthly premiums
guaranteed acceptance
no medical
simple application forms
a welcome gift

Most do not charge extra if you smoke, but you should look into this, although if they dont ask the question then they are not charging you extra, if you smoke.

There are not many websites you can visit that offer a good summary of the leading products in one place, but Over50choices, is an independent website offering you an easy way to get several quotes from the leading companies in one place.

In addition, when you buy an Over 50 Plan through them they will make a donation to charity, so if you are going to buy a plan you may wish to consider buying through Over50choices as it costs you nothing, and you still get the same deal, but you will helping a national charity.

Crazy Funerals

2012-01-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

Dying is the one thing we all have in common

Well they could be classed as this, but there are an increasing number of people choosing crazy coffins!

Recently at the so called, festival of death in London’s Southbank Centre, obscure to what can only be described as weird coffins were on display for those more “out there” kind of people.

It seems that the traditional coffin is just that, traditional, and more people are wishing to express their personality in death as in life.

Inside a storeroom at a Nottingham industrial estate, an artist is putting the final touches to a miniature Viking longship.

The ship is not intended for the seas, but is a coffin commissioned by a client of Nottingham company Crazy Coffins.

The company is a spinoff from traditional coffin manufacturer Vic Fearn and Company Ltd. The idea came not from the makers but from a potential customer some 15 years ago

Another request was for a coffee table.

"This man wanted to put a coffee table in his lounge and have a safety-glass top. He wants his friends to come round and put their drinks on it and look into eventually where he'll be buried. That was very macabre."

"Leave 'em laughing - that's what you've got to do, because I've had a good life and it's going to be a fun funeral."

If you don’t fancy going quite this far there are alternative ways to get buried these days – more people are seeking eco friendly coffins and funerals.

Some people have a great fancy to see their own funeral before they die

While you may not be able to take a seat in the pews, you can still have a say in your final send-off.

Coffins have come a long way from veneer and plastic.

As anyone who has had to arrange a funeral will know, it can be a heart-wrenching process.

Many bereavement counsellors believe that pre-planning your funeral can be one of the greatest gifts you can give to those that survive you

And, perhaps as people act on such advice, in recent years there has been a steady rise in the numbers of personalised funerals.

Fran Hall is a former funeral director who now manages the Chiltern Woodland Burial Centre, and she is hosting this year's National Coffin Exhibition.

The event, "Handled with Care", organised by the British Institute of Funeral Directors, hopes to encourage people to have that difficult conversation.

"We really want people to start thinking about and actually talking about their own future funeral. It's a subject we don't like to talk about in British society."

It may only appeal to a few people, but the numbers are growing and I must admit I can see the attraction of expressing yourself at the end of your life in this way – would you?

Bereavement is not good for your Health!

2012-01-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

A new study from the States reports that you are 21 times more likely to have a heart attack the day after receiving news of a bereavement and 6 times witin the first week.

I think what is surprising is the increase in likelyhood at this difficult time of losing a close member of the family. The death of a close one is the most stressful period of time in our lives, particularly when its not expected.

Coming to terms with the death of a loved one can be a long and painful process and can affect you in many ways. There is no right or wrong way to grieve, feelings and reactions can change and you will have good and bad days. It can take months or years but over time the emotional rollercoaster will lessen in intensity and you will learn to adapt to your changed circumstances.

There are many support networks out there, in the UK Cruse Bereavement Care www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk/ offers a wide range of services and support.

At a time of great loss most of us dont know what to do when someone dies, so its not diffuclt to understand that this is a time of high stress. So if you know of someone who has suffered a recent loss please do call in on them, they could need your support.

Planning for the final part of our life maybe unthinkable and stressful when we are alive, but potentially when we lose somebody close, it is even more stressful.

Ask the Parents at Christmas!

2012-01-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

With the Turkey well and truly eaten and everybody ever so slighly stuffed and a tad merry, my parents were reflecting on the year - a year in which they had lost some close friends and the odd relative.

With both parents over 70 I guess this will be happening more frequently. Anyhow, once they had toasted those that had gone they got onto some interesting and rather amusing stories about death and funerals.

Of the 3 deaths in 2011 none of them had made any specific requests about the type of funeral or any special requests about funeral music or where they wanted to be buried or cremated. When i asked them about this, they said, that they werent the type of people that liked to talking about dying, and my parents said, that they didnt, but here the were talking freely about it!

They said, that they thought that we (their children) didnt want to hear about it, but as we had shown an interest they were happy to talk about it. My father also reflected that he wished, we his children, would ask him about his life as once he had gone the opportunity would be gone and he said that when he lost his father, my grandad, that he wished he had asked him so much.

He is right! We should all think about our elderly parents and use the time we have with them to ask them about their lives and what it was like living in their era. My father had lived in India for 6 years of his childhood and could speak Hindu!

My Mum also joined in with a story of how I, as a baby found it hard to walk as i was so fat! I have been around for over 40 years and this he first time i heard this story!

They told us a story of someone they knew whose children didnt know what to do with their Mum's ashes and as they lived in different parts of the country decided to split the ashes four ways, so they could take home with them?!

My wifes father said he wanted his ashes scattered at the top of a hill in Yorkshire, but her mother said that there was no way that she was climbing up such a steep hill to scatter him over the countryside! This was the first time they had discussed their final wishes.

It started to raise the question again why so many people dont plan their funeral and even more importantly their final wishes.

I will continue this story later in the week.

BBC & Which place the Over 50 Plan under the Spotlight

2011-12-17T08:01:00.000-08:00

The consumer champion Which & the BBC are questioning the value of the very popular Over 50 Life Insurance Plan offered by leading life insurance companies and supermarkets.

This is not the first or the last time these plans have come under scrutiny. So do they or don’t they offer value for money?

The fact that some policy holders will pay in more than their beneficiaries will receive upon their death is the issue raised, but that is no different to any other insurance policy, we just all hope that we never have to claim, but with a life policy there will always be a claim at some point.

For those who live a long time and we all hope to, are likely to pay in more to the Over 50 Plan than those who unfortunately die in the earlier years. So great value if you die younger, but poorer value if you die older!

That’s insurance, a pooling of risks that some will benefit from and others don’t!

I don’t hear the outcry that people have paid in more for their home insurance than they have claimed for!

Which? are encouraging people to consider taking an ISA out as an alternative, which I would ask people to seriously not to consider. One is a policy to give peace of mind knowing that your funeral costs will be paid for, the other is a savings plan – if you were to die in the third year of your lovely tax efficient savings plan, your beneficiaries will only get the value of your savings and not the cash sum that the Over 50 Plan will have paid out, now which would you rather have?

I understand why some families are disappointed when they realise that their mother or father have had a policy and paid more into than they have received, but they would taken the policy out because they are very proud people who didn’t want to burden their families with having to pay for their funeral.

It does of course, raise the issue again as to why people aren’t comfortable with talking about death to their families, as if they did, they would know their parents would have taken the plan out. I would prefer the headline to focus on encouraging people to talk to their families about dying, from taking out an Over 50 Plan to their final wishes, including funeral arrangements.

I am sure that there as many, if not more satisfied families that did take out the Over 50 Plan, than not. Sadly, it’s only the unhappy ones that generate the negative publicity.

Listen to the BBC’s podcast by Paul Lewis here http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/moneybox

Tell us what you think?

Buried in the back Garden!

2011-11-20T12:14:00.001-08:00

You make think that this is a strange thing to do, but when your mother or close member of your family specifies in their Will that they want to be buried in the garden that they love, what would you do? Well that’s exactly what happened to a family in Norfolk recently. Whilst it split the family down the middle, they decided to go with their mother’s wishes especially as she had stated this in her Will. Here at Over50choices

we have been campaigning for a long time that more people should take out a Will and more importantly talk to their family about their end of life planning arrangements – even if that does include some bizarre request! You may be surprised to read that it’s also legal, under the Burial Laws Amendment Act 1880 it allows for human bodies being buried in the back garden! So this particular family decided to proceed with an Eco type coffin just behind the greenhouse, all very nice unless of course you happen to live next door. Whilst I believe that everyone has freedom to act within the law, I must admit the thought of a dead body, no matter how lovely they were when they were alive, would put me off the gardening, watering the flower bed would never be the same! However, if this floats your boat and you fancy sharing the vegetable patch with carrots and potatoes, you only need to contact your local authority to advise them of your intentions and the exact whereabouts of the burial. And just one other thing it needs to be registered with the Deeds to the property so that perspective purchasers know who the lodger in the garden is. This could effect the value of the property as when it comes to selling it, it could of course put some, probably most, people off. So by all means take a Will out and make a list of all the things you would like to happen when you leave this world, but please think carefully about sharing the back garden.

Life Planning for the Over 50s Site Details - Blog Top Sites

2011-11-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

Life Planning for the Over 50s Site Details - Blog Top Sites

Funeral Plans Branch Out

2011-11-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

It’s pleasing to read that The Co-operative Bank is planning to draw on its Funeral expertise and are set to trial the sale of funeral plans within its Branches. With an increase of over 20% in the average cost of a funeral over the last past four years to more than £7,000, it is worthwhile considering your options and planning ahead. The trial will involve 30 of the Co-ops branches including some of its partner Britannia. Customers will have the opportunity to sit down with an advisor to discuss the most suitable plan. It’s great that the Co-operative are raising awareness of this important but delicate subject. The beauty of these types of plans is that they allow you to fix a funeral at today’s prices, so you don’t need to worry about what happens in the future. More and more families are shocked and struggle with the rising costs of funerals which is the last thing you need at such an emotional time, so a pre paid funeral plan is certainly something worth thinking about. Typically you can choose to pay a one off lump sum some or spread the payment over monthly instalments. Some Funeral Providers, in partnership with Insurance Providers also give you the option of reducing your payments further by paying into a Life Insurance Policy. You pay a fixed amount into the policy on a monthly basis and then when you die, the money is paid to the Funeral Provider in return for the funeral services you specified. Alternatively you could choose a Life Insurance Plan, more specifically an Over 50 Plan that gives a cash sum on death, allowing your family to choose what they want or need to do with the money. These plans are simple to set up, affordable and you are guaranteed acceptance, regardless of any health issues. You choose an amount that you are comfortable paying on a monthly basis and in return, your family will receive a fixed cash sum when you die to help towards funeral costs or perhaps buy or do something to remember you by. In addition, a number of insurance companies who offer Over 50 Life Insurance Plans also give you the opportunity to Legally Charge your policy. This free option usually gives you the opportunity of increasing your cash sum but in doing so, you agree for the cash sum to be paid to a specified funeral director. A good choice if you know you want the money to pay towards the cost of your funeral and are happy with the Funeral Provider stated, not so good if you want your family to have the freedom to decide how they want to spend the money, or you have a different Funeral provider in mind, perhaps one that has supported your family through previous losses. Of course you can just rely on your savings to cover the costs when the time comes but please be aware that your money may be tied up for some time due to probate so your family may need to foot the bill in the meantime! You can find more information on the options including Over 50 Plans, Probate and general information and guidance on end of life planning at www.

over50choices.co.uk. The more companies that offer these options and advertise the value of funeral planning, the more common place funeral planning will be which is certainly the way forward considering the ever increasing costs. Making this a normal part of our day to day life will break down the barriers and taboos usually connected with death. We need to start talking about it and planning and in return will have the peace of mind, knowing we have removed both the emotional and financial burden from those we leave behind.

Death Dying and Funerals

2011-10-29T01:02:00.000-07:00

Let's start with some facts; nearly 600,000 people die in the UK each year and that figure will continue to grow along with the ageing population, despite improvements in medical care. Only just over half of us have thought about our own death and made provisions to pay for a funeral. Unless the other 50% know something we don't, then their families could be in for a shock when the sad day arrives! About 25% of the population who have made provisions for a funeral have done so with a Whole of Life Insurance Plan, frequently referred to as Over 50 Plans. Not all these Over 50 Plans will provide a sufficient cash sum to pay for a funeral but at least they will go towards covering the increasing costs. Only around 20% of people in the UK buy Prepaid Funeral Plans, although this figure is increasing at a rapid rate. Prepaid Funerals are simply funerals you buy at today's prices regardless of when you die. By far the largest percentage of people intend to pay for their funeral from savings and investments which is fine albeit that these monies are not often released until probate has been sorted. In addition, if you have the money in savings, you should seriously consider a prepaid funeral as with today's interest rates being so low and inflation increasing, a funeral plan could be a better investment! Funeral price inflation has steadily increased over the last 5 years and looks set to continue. Over 50 Life Insurance Plans are of course an alternative should you prefer the security of seeing your money in a bank account. They are affordable and easily arranged online or over the telephone. A surprising fact is that a large and increasing number of people are having to borrow either some or all of the money to pay for their loved ones funeral, which when you consider that the average total cost of dying is around £6,500, this is not a small amount of money to find. So please consider the options available for yourself and your family. For example do you have parents who have not made provision? Whilst most of us struggle to have this difficult conversation now, it is far more difficult when it is too late and your loved ones aren't around. Not only in financial terms but bereavement experts will tell you that there is an immense sense of guilt and helplessness when you are confronted with not knowing a late loved ones wishes and feel obliged to give them a good 'send off', when a simple conversation whilst they were still around would have saved a great deal of heartache. More information can be found at the following websites: •www.over50choices.co.uk •www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_4017717 •www.dyingmatters.org/ •www.citizensadvice.org.uk/payingforafuneral.pdf

Over 50 Life Insurance Plans given a Bonus by Over50Choices

2011-10-23T03:18:00.000-07:00

All Over 50 Life Insurance Plans are very similar, but now when you buy any leading Over 50 Plan through www.over50choices.co.uk they will make a donation to Charity on your behalf for Free. Recently launched, Over50choices has partnered with the leading household insurance names, to provide useful information for those seeking to buy an Over 50 Plan. With over 300,000 Over 50 Plans sold every year in the UK, buying only a small percentage through Over50choices could really benefit Charities in the UK. There is a simple Over 50 Plan product comparison table on the website so at a glance you can see what you are looking for. You can then click through to get more detailed information from each insurance provider. It takes no longer than 2 minutes to get a quote from each insurance provider. The majority of these types of life policies are purchased to provide a sum of money towards funeral costs, which is unsurprising with the cost of funerals rising significantly in recent years. The average cost of a funeral in the UK in 2010 was £2857 and these are predicted to rise to over £4000 by 2015. Over 50 Life Insurance has recently become more affordable, particularly with premiums now starting at £4 per month and whilst it’s not something that most 50+ year olds want to think about, it could be an option worth considering. In addition, the website also provides information on Funeral Planning, Will Writing, as well as some more light hearted facts, such as, 50 Things to do Before you Die, over 50 facts about dying and a list of the most popular funeral songs and hymns. Over50choices is a simple and easy to use website, whether you know which Over 50 Plan you need or just want to research before making that important purchase all the information you need is right there. You get exactly the same product as buying directly with the Insurance Providers, so with an extra bonus to charity at no cost to you, this is an option worth considering. UU9VAVN6B4QR

Golden Charter goes large!

2011-10-17T02:05:00.000-07:00

The Herald in Scotland reports that Golden Charter, the UK’s biggest independent funeral business, has reinvented itself as a direct seller of funeral plans and “end of life products”, creating more than 100 jobs in its call centre at Milngavie in Glasgow and protecting the UK’s heritage of local undertakers. Golden Charter has seen massive growth, largely due to its move into selling Over 50 Life Insurance Plans and has created over 100 new jobs in Glasgow. However, Golden Charter will not move into the “over-50s” insurance product as this is heavily regulated. Interestingly, whilst they don’t see their future in the over 50s plan market, this has enabled them to achieve significant growth and with over 350,000 plans sold every year you can see why they would want to capitalise in this market, particularly when 80% of Over 50 Plan sales are used towards or to pay for people funerals – which is Golden Charter’s primary market. I do agree with Golden Charters stance that if you can pay for a prepaid funeral today then you should as you will be saving yourself money in the long term, however, not everyone can afford to do this and so Over 50 Life Insurance Plans do have a place. Its great to see an independently owned company, such as Golden Charter, growing in these difficult economic times, although I guess with death happening to all of us at some point, there will always be a market for funerals

Over 80s Spoil the Fun!

2011-10-02T02:21:00.000-07:00

A holiday tour company has banned any one aged over 80 from their trips!

Martin Randall Travel of London has taken the unusual and quite outrageous decision to ban over 80s from his luxury holiday trips, it was reported in this weekends press. Apartently they spoil the fun for everyone else, as they require too much attention and hold up visits for everyone else. The owner said, "It would take a long time to walk around the museums and archaeological sites because someone was so slow, and time at attractions would be reduced". This maybe so, but come on Mr Randall you must be able to find ways of coping with this!

Dont forget its just not the over 80s that could slow down your trips, there are plenty of people who arent quite as mobile as others, so what shall we tell all these people, that they cant go on holiday and that they must stop at home?

Their website reads, Welcome to Martin Randall Travel, the leading specialist in high-brow cultural holidays, organising a unique series of all-inclusive music festivals and around 200 small-group tours every year in Europe, the Middle East and the USA.

Over 40? Over 50? Over 60? Over 70? Oh and if your over 80 forget it!!

At over50choices We think rather ageist and unfair, remember Mr Randall you to will be 80 one day!

What do you think?

A Guide to Over 50s Life Insurance Plans

2011-08-27T02:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a simple guide to Over 50 Plans helping you to make the right decision as to whether they are right for you. Over 250,000 plans are sold every year in the UK as they offer affordable life cover and acceptance is guaranteed, meaning that regardless of your health you can get life cover.
There are no questions about your health and most don’t ask whether you smoke, and because it’s very easy to set up there are no sales people trying to sell to you.

Our advice is: take your time, discuss it with your family, particularly should you be using the cash sum (life cover) to pay for your funeral, as it’s important that your family know your wishes
What is Over 50 Life nsurance?
 A simple and affordable life insurance plan
 Designed specifically for the over 50s
 Pays a cash sum on death to be used in a way to suit your family's needs
 Guaranteed acceptance with no medical (no need to complete any medical questionnaires, you will be covered regardless of any health issues)
 Fixed monthly premiums
 Tailored to suit your needs (choose a premium that you can afford on a monthly basis and a cash sum to suit your needs)
What to Consider?
 Your age – whether you're over 50, over 60 or over 70, you will still be covered (some insurance providers also cover the over 80s)
 What will the money be used for
 How much will your family need
 How much can you afford to pay on a monthly basis
Why Buy an Over 50s Plan?
 Relieve the financial burden from your loved ones
 Give you peace of mind
 To help pay funeral costs (Did you know that average cost of a funeral in 2010 was £2857, predicted to rise to £4050 by 2015)
 To pay off any outstanding bills or loans
 To leave as a gift for someone special, perhaps children or grandchildren
 To leave a donation to your chosen charity

Here are some of features of the Over 50 insurance plans:

Cash lump sum: A gift for loved ones, to help pay towards the funeral or outstanding loans or debts
Guaranteed acceptance: Regardless of any health issues, excellent for people with medical history
No medical required: No long forms to complete or medical questionnaires
Funeral Benefit Option: Offers additional cover for free, helps towards funeral planning
Cheap monthly premiums: Starting from under £5 a month
Up to £25,000 of cover: Depending on how much you pay, your age and gender
Accidental death benefits: Increased cash sum on death as a result of a travel accident
Cheaper non smoker rates: Improved rates for people who don't smoke
Spouse and Partner cover: So couples can benefit from this financial reassurance
Free gift: Varies by provider from TVs to vouchers
First month free: With some companies this can be in addition to the free gift

How do you Buy an Over 50s Plan?
 Use the comparison table at www.over50choices.co.uk to compare the best over 50 insurance plans or go directly to any leading Insurance Company
 Select the 'Get Quote' option to get more details
 Get a free quote from as many of the over 50s life insurance leaders as you like (just keep coming back to this site once you have a quote and you can get as many as you like)
 Once you have decided on the right over 50s insurance plan, apply following the simple instructions

Important Things to Know About Over 50s Life Insurance

The cash sum is not paid out if you die within the first one or two years of buying the Over 50 plan (depending on the Life Insurance provider). If you were to die within this period, most companies pay back all of the premiums paid and in some cases more. All over 50s life insurance plans do this so they can offer guaranteed acceptance without medicals. After this initial period, you will be covered for the full sum assured.
Most Over 50 life insurance plans offer fixed premiums and cash sums which means that the money paid out will not keep up with inflation. You will know from day one how much money you will pay each month and what the cash sum will be so you can plan ahead and budget accordingly.
If you cancel your over 50s life insurance plan or stop paying the monthly premiums, no money will be paid out.
As with other types of insurance cover, depending on how long you have the over 50s insurance, you may pay out more than the cash sum paid on death.

Compare & Buy Over 50s Life Insurance
Over 50s Life Insurance plans are designed to ease the financial burden on those closest to you when you have gone. We work with the leading Over 50 Life Insurance companies to bring you the best Over 50 Plans on the market. Get as many quotes as you wish to compare each Over 50 Plan and then follow the Apply Now link on your chosen Over 50s Life Insurance company's website.

Sun Life Direct Guaranteed Over 50 Plan

2011-07-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

If you’re aged 50-85, you could have affordable, no fuss life cover from just 14p a day.

Peace of mind is so important as we get older, and that’s why we wanted to tell you about the Guaranteed Over 50 Plan provided by AXA Wealth Ltd, trading as Sun Life Direct.

Maybe you’re worried about funeral costs and you want to pay something towards them. Or perhaps you’d like to leave a nest-egg for your grandchildren. With the Guaranteed Over 50 Plan, leaving a cash sum is easy and affordable.

Premiums start from £4 per month - that’s just 14p a day. What’s more, with Sun Life Direct you’re guaranteed acceptance without having to answer any medical questions, and you can now leave a bigger cash sum* for your loved ones. You will also be pleased to know that the Plan includes triple travel accident death benefit from day one – so you’ll be covered even when you’re out and about.

Finding out more is easy. Simply visit the website for more information and get a no obligation quote today.

Why choose the Guaranteed Over 50 Plan?
Guaranteed acceptance
No medical or health questions asked.
A bigger fixed cash sum

We are pleased to announce that since we enhanced our Plan, you can now leave your loved ones a larger cash sum* on your death after two years. Please bear in mind that inflation will reduce the value of your fixed cash sum over time. You just need to keep paying your premiums throughout your life, as if you stop you wouldn’t get anything back.

Affordable monthly premiums Fixed from £4 a month, that’s just 14p a day!
Know where you stand Premiums are fixed and are guaranteed never to go up and the life cover will never go down. Depending on how long you live, you could pay in more than the cash sum paid out.

* All customers taking out a new Plan will receive a bigger cash sum for the same premium than if the Plan had been taken out before 1st July 2011. Based on the customers who took out Plans in 2010, we estimate that for
81% of customers taking out a new Plan after 1st July 2011, the cash sum will be at least 15% bigger.

Issued by AXA Wealth Services Ltd trading as Sun Life Direct. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services
Authority.

Facebook for Funerals

2011-07-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

I am not sure that this will take off, although they do claim to have had a good take up in visitors!

They claim that www.mysendoff.com is the Facebook for Funerals, it doesn't get my vote but you have to admire them for thinking of something new!

What ever happened to the good old fashioned idea of talking to your loved ones about what you wanted to happen at the end of your life! Our website offers lots of practical support and things you should consider and we do recommend that you speak to your family about your wishes.

Funeral Planning isn't easy but planning it is better than not, whether you have savings to pay for your funeral or require an over 50 plan to help towards the costs the time to start is now!

Men and Women to pay the same rates for Insurance!

2011-07-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

One of the most surprising rulings has just been agreed by The European Court of Justice (ECJ) that will have a huge impact on the Insurance industry and indeed the consumer. The new ruling will stop Insurers charging different premiums for men and women assessing the risks on an equal basis for both male and female.

The court was ruling on a challenge by a Belgian consumer group ‘Test-Achats’. It argued that a current exemption for insurers contradicted the wider European principle of gender equality.

"Taking the gender of the insured individual into account as a risk factor in insurance contracts constitutes discrimination," the ECJ said.
The requirement for unisex insurance premiums and benefits will start on 21 December 2012, giving national governments and the European insurance industry time to adjust, however changes could take place prior to this date.

The changes will affect all types of insurance, including Car Insurance, Mortgage Protection Insurance, Over 50 Life Insurance Plans to name but a few.

Representatives of the insurance industry said they were disappointed. The decision could push up motor insurance costs for women, who currently pay less than men because they are statistically less likely to be involved in accidents, by up to 25 percent.

The British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) said currently the cost of the average car claim by an 18-year old man was £4,400, while that for an 18-year old woman was £2,700.
The ruling will have a significant effect on the insurance industry which has used the system of risk based pricing to award discounts to lower risk drivers like young females who are statistically safer drivers.

The industry will have to change its model and effectively females will now pay a cross subsidy for males on their insurance premiums.

Examples of the affect of this ruling were quoted as follows:
• Women aged under 25 could see car insurance costs rise by up to 25%
• Men could see an 8% reduction in annuity rates, but women could see a 6% rise
• The cost of life assurance could increase by 20% for women but fall by 10% for men

The ruling could also reduce retirement annuity payments to men, who currently get more than women to take account of their lower average life expectancy. Annuities are insurance policies which offer a regular income for life in return for a lump sum, usually paid on retirement.
The ECJ's decision drew condemnation from the industry, which said differential pricing for men and women was legitimate given their different risk profiles.
"Europe-wide the effect on the price and benefits and on the choice of insurance products for consumers could be significant," said the CEA, Europe's insurance industry lobby, which added it was "deeply disappointed" by the ruling.
Now that this new ruling has been agreed, it will be interesting to see what other unrealistic and unreasonable decisions will be made in the future on the basis of ‘equality’.

Funeral Planning at its Best!

2011-07-17T03:05:00.000-07:00

You may have read recently that the US First Lady Betty Ford has died, as well as being a former occupant of the White House she was well known for her work on drug and alcohol abuse.

She was 93 years of age and married to late President Gerald Ford for 58 years, who succeeded Richard Nixon in 1974.

The public funeral was held at a desert church in southern California.
For you and I planning a funeral for someone we have lost is never easy, but I am not sure that I would want to plan a funeral on the scale that the state did for the late Betty Ford!

A coffin containing Mrs Ford's body was carried into the church by an honour guard and among the mourners on Tuesday were First Lady Michelle Obama, former President George Bush, former first ladies Nancy Reagan and Rosalynn Carter and former California First Lady Maria Shriver. Also in attendance was Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was first lady from 1993 to 2000.

Mrs Ford's family is to hold a second funeral for her in Michigan on Thursday.
I don’t think that she had an Over 50 Plan and when you have that much spare cash neither should you have one!

She was also outspoken on women's rights issues.
Mrs Ford was born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer in Chicago in the state of Illinois in 1918 and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as one of three children.
After studying dance at Bennington College in Vermont, she moved to New York City at the age of 21 to work as a dancer and model before heading back to the mid-western US two years later.

Mrs Ford met and married her first husband, William Warren, in 1942 but divorced after five years. A short time later, she met Gerald Ford, a Navy lieutenant at the time. The two lived in the Washington DC area for nearly three decades as Mr Ford climbed from Capitol Hill, where he served as a congressman, to the White House, where he held the presidency from 1974-1977 after Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over the Watergate scandal.

Having read all the various press reports and TV coverage it was a fantastic piece of organisation and very fitting for a lady of her stature across not only the USA but the rest of the world.

The Over 50s are the Fastest growing Social Networkers!

2011-07-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

I was surprised and pleased to read on the BBC website that the Over 50 population are now the fastest growing users in the UK!

That means the Over 50s are getting to grips with the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

The report by Nielsens also said that generally useage is down, so that means the Over 50s are actually keeping the number up - go the over 50s!

Mind you there are still over 28m of us using Facebook in any one month, so if a few go missing its still an important part of our lives in how we communicate with each other.

Sun Life Direct Over 50 Plan NOW Even Better!

2011-07-03T01:43:00.000-07:00

Wow the market leading over 50 insurance provider Sun Life Direct have not only improved the amount they pay out should you die, but they have reduced the starting premium to just £4 per month!

It appears that they now offer a better cash payout than most of their over 50 plan competitors – you will of course need to get personal quotes to find which plan is the best for you and you can do this here at Over50Choices.

Don’t forget you need to consider other factors than just the cash payout!
Such as, will you need to pay premiums until you die or a fixed age? Will the plan pay out if you die within 12 months or 2 years? Is the Welcome Gift important to you?

The Over 50 Life Insurance comparison table will give you a good summary of all the leading life insurance companies plans, but if you want to see what the Sun Life Direct Over 50 Plan is offering just follow this link.

Over 50s Life Insurance Review

2011-06-04T02:21:00.000-07:00

Good value for money or are these leading over 50 life insurance providers ripping you off?

Firstly, we should remind ourselves what insurance is all about and that is to protect ourselves and our families against an event happening, in this case, our death, giving us peace of mind that if the unthinkable happens then we are leaving our loved ones behind with a nice little sum of money, either to be used for funeral expenses or a legacy to our children and grand children.

Whenever you hear negative press stories about the Over 50 Plan type of policies, it’s usually concerned about the fact that you pay more in premiums than you get back in life cover should you be lucky enough to live so long! Well call me stupid, but if I end up living that long, then having paid a few more quid into the plan than my family will get back will be the least of my worries!

How many of us think twice about paying £000’s for our home and car insurance over the years never to make a claim and yet you never hear horror stories about these facts, so why are the Over 50 Life Insurance Plans so emotive?
Probably, because it’s an emotional time for the families having just lost their mum, their dad or their grand parents. And the realisation that they have been paying the insurance premiums for many years only to receive a relatively small sum back, which sometimes isn’t enough to pay for the funeral arrangements, is hard to bear.

“How could these great big insurance companies rip my mum off?”, is an emotional, but understandable response. Had their mum died within the first few years of taking the plan out, they would of course been delighted that they had taken out the policy!

The rising cost of funerals means that we should all be looking at the best way to spend our money! And with saving interest rates so low you could be tempted into considering whether a prepaid funeral option is in fact a good investment when compared to the alternatives. One thing is for sure It’s going to happen to all of us.

There are about 6 to 8 Over 50 Insurance Plans on the market from the likes of Sun Life Direct, Legal & General, Engage Mutual and more recently the AA have introduced a new plan with premiums starting at £4.99 per month.

Depending on your age and the amount of life cover you wish to have will determine the monthly costs, but with the average funeral costing just under £3000 you bear this in mind.

Like all insurance plans, you are insuring against something ever happening, but if it does then you or your family are protected. So whilst you may end up paying in more than you will get out of the plan this is no different to any other form of insurance.

Personally I would rather my parents have an Over 50 Life Insurance Plan in place, as for a relatively small monthly premium they have the satisfaction of knowing that they are not leaving the burden of paying for their funeral to me and the rest of the family.

Do you know what music your partner wants played at their funeral?

2011-05-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

None of us like talking about our friends and family dying and even less keen to discuss our own death, but its a fact that we are all going to one day!

I know from a friend of mine that when her mother died they didnt have a clue what her wishes were. It is very sad for those that our left behind to arrange the funeral, not knowing whether they wanted to be buried or cremated, the types of flowers lilies or roses, which hymns or even perhaps their favourite song!

Music is very personal and brings back memories of good times for most of us, so why dont we have these conversations when we are still here to have them? Next time you see your parents or your children take a deep breath and talk about it, you will be surprised how most if us are willing to once someone has started the conversation first.

There is some useful information here at Over50choices website: http://over50choices.net4.webnetism.com/html/funeral_songs.asp

Let us know how you get on, we would like to hear your story?

James

End-of-life planning makes it easier to say goodbye

2011-04-20T04:41:00.001-07:00

Saying goodbye as the end of life approaches can be difficult, even for those with a gift for words. In a moving account, writer Joyce Carol Oates describes the last week of her 49-year marriage, as her husband was dying from complications of pneumonia. Joyce’s story highlights the need for each of us to think about death and dying—and discuss them with loved ones—long before they become a likelihood.

In our work with individuals and families facing death, we have seen too many people miss the opportunity to say goodbye because they avoid what feels like a scary or taboo topic: What do I want to happen when I die? Beginning this discussion early, preferably while you are in good health, can help pave the way for a “good death.” Planning ahead is essential. Here are some suggestions for doing that:

Make your wishes known. Think about, and then begin to share with your closest loved ones, your wishes about

end-of-life treatments if you are incapable of making that decision for yourself
ending treatment, for example chemotherapy, if your prognosis for improvement was nil.
where you want to spend your final weeks if it becomes clear that you have only that long to live.
who you want to be with you in your final weeks, and what you would like them to do for you.
what you would want in terms of a funeral ceremony and burial.

Make plans for the living. Provide clear instructions for the guardianship of your children, if needed, or financial support for your survivors.

It isn’t easy to initiate a discussion about what you want to happen, or hope will happen, when your life ends. The purpose of this discussion is to ensure that your wishes are carried out and to save your loved ones the panic of not knowing what you would want and having to make these decisions without previous discussion or planning. One way to open the conversation is by saying something like, “I’ve been thinking what I would want if I were to become ill or die suddenly, and I want to share my thinking with you.”

Things left unsaid is one of the themes that run though Oates’ story. Don’t wait for a crisis or the specter of death to say “I love you” or “This is what I want to happen when my time has come.”