Getting affordable life insurance, even if you’re a Royal Marine, is not as difficult as you might expect. In this article I share a case study – a genuine Bootneck who contacted me to discuss his finances in the event of the worst happening. While names have been changed to protect his identity, I’m sure that many readers will recognise his story. Just like civvies, Marines are entitled to affordable cover: you just need to know where to look.
Affordable Life Insurance For Marines
Harold Masking has been in the Royal Marines for 7 years and at the age of 26 has done his Junior Command Course and has been made up to full corporal. When he contacted me, Harry was considering his next career move and wanted to go for selection (for SBS).
Harry and his girlfriend Sharon have been together for a few years and are saving for a deposit for a house. They also have a daughter, Thelma, who is two years old. Trying to save their house deposit and raising a child means there’s not a huge amount of money to spare, but this made Harry realise that he needed to ensure that Sharon would be OK financially in the event that anything happened to him.
Who would pay the mortgage if he wasn’t around or drawing a salary? What were Thelma’s prospects if Sharon had to take low paid work to get by, or rely on benefits?
That’s why Harry came to see me. He wanted to find out what his options were to make sure that Sharon and Thelma will be OK if something happens to him, at least until Thelma has finished formal education and is independent.
I advised him to apply for a life assurance policy. Like many Marines, Harry was surprised he qualified for a high street product, as he thought being a Bootneck would mean he would not be able to get cover.
Harry’s main concerns were that Sharon would have somewhere to live and would have enough to bring up Thelma comfortably. I therefore advised him to apply for £300,000 of cover. The cover was for twenty years from the start of the policy, and would stay the same level throughout. That means that if the policy pays out tomorrow, Sharon will have enough bring up Thelma until she’s 22 years old, and pay for housing and household expenses. If the policy has to pay out in 15 years she will receive the same amount, and any rise in expenses as a result of inflation will be mitigated because Thelma will only have a few years left before she becomes independent.
As Harry had been advised that he would not be going on tour in a conflict zone for 12 months (from the start of the policy) and he had no qualification that was classed as being riskier (than being a Bootneck!), he was eligible for ordinary civvy rates. The fact that he was looking to apply for selection was irrelevant, and that even if he is deployed to a conflict zone – or is selected for SBS – his premiums will remain the same throughout the policy term.
The facts at the time are the only ones that had a bearing on the application. This therefore meant that the premium would be the same as any other civvy that applied for the same cover!
We discussed two different options to determine the right cover for Harry and his family. He could go for just Life Assurance, that would pay out £300,000 in the event that he died, whether he was on duty or not at the time. Alternatively, he could take out a Life Assurance and Critical Illness Insurance policy that would pay out £300,000 if he died or would pay out £100,000 if he had a very serious illness such as a stroke or heart attack. Then if he subsequently died (of any cause), a further £200,000 would be paid out.
The cost of for the Life Policy was £9.06 each month, and £25.58 p/m for the Life and Critical Illness policy. Harry decided to protect himself and his family further, ensuring that Sharon would have enough to bring up Thelma if the worst happened and providing additional financial security in the event of a serious illness.
Harry’s critical illness cover also features additional cover for Thelma (and any other children Harry and Sharon have in the future). This provides cover and benefits until Thelma is 18 years old, or her 21st birthday if she’s in fulltime education.
I also made sure that the policy had a trust arranged with it that made sure that the proceeds would be held in trust. This means that if Sharon needs to claim any means tested benefits in the future, the life cover proceeds would not adversely impact her eligibility.
While Harry decided that he wanted the extra critical illness cover, and was happy to pay this additional premium, he could have taken the basic life cover and be paying less than £10 per month for peace of mind. It really is that affordable, and even though Bootnecks have a higher rate of mortality than most civilians, in many cases you are entitled to the same policies and cover as your civvy mates.
If you would like to get a quote and find out how much your premiums could be, based on your personal circumstances and requirements, please get in touch. I would be happy to crunch the numbers, provide advice, and see what products would buy you peace of mind.
Call 08458 622789 or email [email protected]
Leave A Comment