Phoenix16 Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Hi All! Me and Hubby have been sat enjoying this lovely day in Perth going over our financials whilst enjoying a glass of vino in the sun! We are still paying the life insurance we took out with our UK mortgage, we still have the house and rent it out but we never informed the life insurance company we had emigrated, we just pay the direct debit every month. Should (touch wood and god forbid) the worst happen and one of us make a claim against it, are we now null and void by the fact that we live permanently in another country? if so, can we reclaim the monthly payments we have made from the date we would have been voided?? It's genuinely something we just never thought about before..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandk Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 It is an interesting one and one we need answers to as well. I would say that nearly all policies will have a geographical 'british resident' clause and so I would expect the policy to no longer be valid. You will not be able to claim back the premiums as the policymaker was still offering you the service in good faith and it is you who did not conform to the policy requirements. However a nicely worded letter may get a different response and possibly a partial refund - just don't expect too much Check the wording of the policy either on paper or online for confirmation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix16 Posted August 3, 2013 Author Share Posted August 3, 2013 many thanks for your reply. It's pretty much what I thought, we have continued paying in ignorance and I kind of rationalized that as it was life insurance living in OZ didn't change anything but I flagged it up to hubby today who thought very much like you so I guess first of all I need to cancel the direct debit? I will have a good read of the paperwork, when I find out where I put it all them years ago!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geordie joe Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Some life policies allow cover to continue even if you move abroad, however one stipulation is you must inform the insurance company. If you still require the policy I would contact the insurance company to check if the plan could remain in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix16 Posted August 3, 2013 Author Share Posted August 3, 2013 Hi All! Found the paperwork very quickly, I'm quite anal at that stuff and there it was filed and labelled! Just read it and YES, it clearly states if we are not resident in UK we are not covered, so I've carried on paying for 3 years through a combination of laziness and burying head in sand syndrome....hey ho big learning curve. I know it's a long shot but I will write a very nice letter and maybe if I'm lucky they will refund the last 3 years payments, we will see. But at the very least I hope this helps others who are migrating as there are so many things you have to focus on and that long lost forgotten about life insurance policy possibly isn't at the top of your list!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrozierFamily Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Hi All! Found the paperwork very quickly, I'm quite anal at that stuff and there it was filed and labelled! Just read it and YES, it clearly states if we are not resident in UK we are not covered, so I've carried on paying for 3 years through a combination of laziness and burying head in sand syndrome....hey ho big learning curve. I know it's a long shot but I will write a very nice letter and maybe if I'm lucky they will refund the last 3 years payments, we will see. But at the very least I hope this helps others who are migrating as there are so many things you have to focus on and that long lost forgotten about life insurance policy possibly isn't at the top of your list!!! Hi. You are definitely not going to get your payments back from the insurer Jessie, it is your responsibility to keep meeting the requirements of the policy so refunding you any money would go against the treating customers fairly regulations that require each customer who is in an identical situation be treated the same. If they gave you money back they would have to do it to everyone who either purposefully or accidentally breached the terms of their agreement. That would be financial suicide. That said, one tact I see people using all the time is threatening to take their case to the regulator, in some instances financial services firms will pay you something to prevent that as every complaint to a regulator carries quite a high cost to the provider (many hundreds of pounds regardless of whether it is a fair complaint or not). This is of course a long shot, and really they should not do this as they are not at all in the wrong in this scenario, but you never know. The other thing to do is write straight to the chief executive, not the normal route through the complaints team. You would be amazed at the impact this can have at times... The alternative (if you want to keep your cover) is to write to them and explain a change in your circumstances that means you are now living outside the UK to see if they can amend the policy to allow this. I think you have more chance of this as you are living in country that is not dangerous and has good health services, so it may not be viewed as a significantly enhanced risk for the provider. They may charge you more, but at least you would not lose all the premiums you have paid in and still have cover. Keeping in mind that if you tried to take out a new policy now, you are older than when you took it out, and as such a much higher risk for a life policy. A new policy (depending on your age) may be too high a cost to worth paying. Did you not change your contact details with them when you moved to Australia? I would have thought you would have to do that to receive the annual statement you would most likely recieve to reconfirm premiums etc. If you did change your address to Aus and they did not pull you up on it, maybe then you have a case... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrozierFamily Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 You could always say that you sent a letter and cancelled the direct debit and have only just realised that it was still being debited; you are sorry it has taken so long to bring to their attention but that you are aware that obvioulsy you would not have been covered and therefore could they refund? Be polite but firm - offer no further explanation. A tad naughty but at the end of the day they absolutely would not have paid you if you had claimed. That would be fraud. Not naughty, FRAUD. A crime the same as robbing an old lady in the street, so I would suggest you do not do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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