Phoenix Life - Whole of life with profit insurance policy

[Ethel Street]

Get an SAR in but I doubt you'll get much back. The likelihood of sales  notes from 56 years ago still existing is about zero.

 

How old is your mother? 

 

Check if it is true that it would be cancelled if she stopped paying. As it's a Whole Life policy that's probably correct. But if that happened I expect you would lose all the money that has accumulated. 

 

Also check that the accumulated profits have been included in the £800. Sometimes life insurance statements just include the original guanteed amount payable on death and only add the profits when the policyholder has died. I'm wondering if this is what's happened here because thedifference between what's paid in and the £800 seems enormous. I'd certainly expect the with prifits pay out to exceed premiums paid in.

 

When you get the policy remove all personal information and post a copy here.  And of the latest annual statement.

 

Phoenix Life is a traditonal life insurer, one of the oldest in the UK. It has a reputation, and did back in the 1960s, of being a bit traditional and staid but 'scammer' isn't a description you'd usually attach to them. The deal could still have been crap of course!

[Ethel Street]

17 hours ago, Ethel Street said:

Also check that the accumulated profits have been included in the £800. Sometimes life insurance statements just include the original guanteed amount payable on death and only add the profits when the policyholder has died. I'm wondering if this is what's happened here because the difference between what's paid in and the £800 seems enormous. I'd certainly expect the with profits pay out to exceed premiums paid in.

 

On reflection Ithink this may be what's happening here. If 'profits' - ie, the investment income from investing the premiums paid - had been added to the original sum assured it's highly improbable it would come to exactly £800 after 56 years of premiums being invested.  It's far too round a number. More likely that's the original sum assured and the profits haven't been added yet. Contact Phoenix and see what expalanation they give you.