UKC

I've recently bought my first house with my fiance and the life insurance swiftly followed... at first we were quoted a premium of £14 which i think is fairly usual for the value of the mortgage and for being reasonably fit and young.
However, then we got a questionaire regarding climbing because we had answered 'Yes' to the outdoor sports question on the policy offer.
Following this, the same insurer increased the premium to £65 !!!! OUCH.
We obviously did not accept this offer.

We dont climb to the extreme, its more a part time thing, mostly on walls in the winter and perhaps 2 or 3 weekends away in the summer.
Neither of us are competent in leading any more than a v-diff and we feel that this loading by the insurers is massively unfair. They seem to have looked upon us as mini-chris bonningtons and have no middle ground.

Who does anyone have life insurance with. Perhaps there are some firms who are sympathetic to climbers or better still us amateurs!
Perhaps anyone could recommend some firms.

We are reluctant to 'bend the truth' in this circumstance as the stakes are quite high. and the insurance simply wouldnt pay out if we did have a death. But, with silly premiums like the above it seems to encourage the desire simply to lie!

Any help appreciated!

In reply to david hawes: I contacted my life insurance company recently to query climbing and cover. I was told that since I started climbing after I took out the policy it would not affect my premium. I got it in writing from them that I was covered. So i suppose you could take up a new hobby of rock climbing following taking out a policy?

In reply to david hawes:

I suggest you find another life insurer. I too had to fill in a questionnaire about climbing and caving (climbing UK and Europe caving UK only - I suspect they don't like expeditions further afield) and my premium didn't increase at all. I pay 5 quid a month and I'm 27. My boyfriend likewise does not pay extra. I am with Norwich Union sorry don't know who he is with. I also got a quote from Direct Line who didn't have an increased premium either.

In reply to Andy Lawson:

We did exactly the same - they replied and said they appreciated our informing them and that our new hobby had no effect on the current policy.
(Winterthur Life - whoever they are!)

In reply to david hawes:
I've had the same problem - but if you speak to a company called Summit Services (I think they're based in the North West) then are much more sympathetic and realistic with their quotes.
I'm away from my desk at the moment so I can't give you any more details.

In reply to david hawes:

Try Summit financial services you can find contact details at:

http://www.thebmc.co.uk/services/more/life.htm

They recently did me a very good deal, I got the premiums down by the best part of 50% using the same insurance policy.

In reply to Horse: Another vote for Summit FS, based in Milnthorpe. Just arranged Life cover for the mortgage with them(Norwich Union as the insurers) and it was cheaper for me as a climber than the wife, who's a younger none climber!

In reply to scawf vu:

I think I bloody well might!

At the moment I'm paying £46 a month, the same as the wife, who's down as a smoker!


It's all just make up a reasonable sounding figure and charge them that isn't it?


The house insurance (building and contents) is but £17.


Seems daft that I've put up with it for so long.

In reply to david hawes:

I pay more too, but I just grin and bear it in the interests of my future financial safety. I'd be very careful about either not telling them or 'becoming' a climber after taking the policy out as they really will do anything they can do so in order not to pay out in the eventuality you were to claim. You only need to look at the recent publicised Critical Illness Cover cases to realise that insurance companies are mercinary and don't care a jot about their customers.
Is it worth the strife and stress in the future for the sake of a few of quid a month?
I may sound patronising but I've seen it happen. Not to a climber but to a windsurfer.
Find the cheapest and read the small print.

In reply to Al Urker:

Bloody hell, how much cover do you lot have?...I'm paying £230 a month for enough to pay off the mortgage and leave my wife and kids with something (not very much, either!) to keep the wolf from the door.

Would have been over £300, but I managed to get Norwich Union to agree to honour an earlier quote!

And building/contents for £17? Bloody Nora. That wouldn't even cover a fraction of our rebuilding costs...and we're only in a semi. Make sure you're not under-insured. A mate just had a fire and he's only been paid of £0.27 in the £ because they estimated his contents insurance value was only at 27% of his actual contents!

In reply to david hawes:

OK - enough already. Can someone please come up with the definitive answer on this one?

I figure there must be a few (most??) of us who stand to lose a lot if something nasty happens, but there seems to be totally contrasting information flying about - so who's covered and who isn't? If Rob is parting with that kind of cash, there must be a very good reason!!

Cheers

Gordon

In reply to G A Hardie:

One reason is that I'm 48 and it's a new policy...they get damned expensive once you get a few years on you. Perils of having your cover through a company that goes bust: I was paying "only" about £100 on a policy for a larger amount taken out when I was about 36.

In reply to Rob Naylor: I will have to talk to the financial advisor chappie - being 42 I may be in for a shock!!!

Gordon