Universal Life insurance in the UK?

My dad had a life insurance policy for me in the States that he's closing so I need to set one up for myself here in the UK. I want a Universal life plan but I cannot find a single UK firm that provides one (with a google search, that is) - all I can find are Term life plans that have fixed terms, fixed payments, and zero cash-out value, which look like terrible value to me.

Does anyone know anything about UK insurance? Is it called something different here? I find it hard to believe that it doesn't exist at all.

Or can someone help with how I'd get in touch with a financial advisor to help me choose a plan? My needs are quite different to the ones I'm seeing (as I don't have a mortgage but live on a boat that requires regular maintenance) so it doesn't seem like the big firms' cookie-cutter plans are right for me.

thanks for any help you can give...

Are you looking for a Whole of Life policy?

Are you looking for a Whole of Life policy?

Ideally, yes. The guaranteed payout amount doesn't need to be that high, but I definitely want the option to be able to cash it out, and the flexibility to increase or decrease the monthly payments.

The policy my dad has/had in the States for me had all this - I just can't find anything similar in the UK.

I'm not sure if such a thing exists in the UK. There are Whole of Life policies that are investment linked, but they still pay out on death.

You can also purchase an endowment policy, but they are term policies and aren't really in favour anymore.

Definition (UK specific)

A fixed term life assurance policy in which provision is made for premiums to pay for life cover plus a savings/investment element. The policy pays out a sum of money (the sum assured) on the death of the life assured or at a specified date (the maturity date) if the life assured survives the term. If an endowment policy is encashed in its early years any proceeds returnable to the policyholder will normally be below the value of the premiums paid up to cancellation.

If you are looking to use the policy for investment purposes only, as opposed to making sure your dependants are covered in case something else happens to you, you might want to just purchase an investment product.

Something to speak to an adviser about.

ETA: I'm not really clear on your situation. You said your dad is closing a policy that he had for you. To me, that means that he was the owner of the policy and you were his beneficiary.  If you purchase your own policy, then someone else has to be your beneficiary 

thanks for replying!

I'm not sure if such a thing exists in the UK. There are Whole of Life policies that are investment linked, but they still pay out on death.

Yes, I want the death payout! I just want to be able to recoup some of what I've paid in if we have some sort of financial meltdown and need it. The term life policies all seem to just be "pay us x per month for the next y years and if you die we'll give you z funds, otherwise you get nothing". And that seems to be terrible value to me. (But I've not got a financial mind in the slightest so maybe I'm wrong?)

If you are looking to use the policy for investment purposes only, as opposed to making sure your dependants are covered in case something else happens to you, you might want to just purchase an investment product.

hahahah, no, I haven't got a spare tenner at the end of the month for any sort of savings, let alone some sort of fancy extra investment scheme. But I like that someone thinks I might possibly be rich, which feels nice.

Something to speak to an adviser about.

How would I go about finding an advisor? Google searches seem like a bad way to find someone, and I have zero clue about who to look for or what a good rate is or how much I should be paying them for a one-off consulation?

ETA: I'm not really clear on your situation. You said your dad is closing a policy that he had for you. To me, that means that he was the owner of the policy and you were his beneficiary.  If you purchase your own policy, then someone else has to be your beneficiary 

I'm not really sure on that either. The policy was definitely for me, as I remember an interview with a health worker when I was at university when the policy started. But maybe he put it in my name or something - I really don't ask questions and I'm happy to let him deal with my US taxes and stuff like this, only he's not much help anymore now that we're in separate countries and I really need a local policy...

I don't think there is a related product in the UK. If there is, I would love to know about it, as it would help me with my job. (Can someone else help?)

It appears to me that it would be considered more of an investment product than a life insurance product - you put in some money with the hope of getting good returns, and in the event that you die before you take the money back, it goes to a beneficiary.

I think the best route would be to think about what you will need the money for, and use that to find out what the best product would be for you.

An easy way to find an adviser is to go to www.unbiased.co.uk, but I think you might need one who understands US and UK tax issues, as there could be tax implications when you cash out the policy.

Also, regarding your statement that term policies and policies with no cash payouts are poor value, I can assure that you companies that provide cash payouts and/or do not limit payouts to a term account for this in the cost of premiums, administrative charges and/or the amounts they pay out in the end.

squirrelypoo,

Did your dad retire recently? Maybe he got a policy through his job that covered you too.

Is it possible to just get the policy from a U.S. provider if that's what you'd like? Not sure about any of this, btw, just throwing out ideas.

You don't need to be rich to get an investment product.  You may want to look into a mini cash ISA to start with, but I agree that you need financial advice.

I think you need to decide on priorities.  I am unclear whether the main priority is for there to be a large cash settlement should you die before dependents,  or whether the priority is to get a good return on savings which you can cash in if an emergency arises.

Vicky

You don't need to be rich to get an investment product.  You may want to look into a mini cash ISA to start with, but I agree that you need financial advice.

I think you need to decide on priorities.  I am unclear whether the main priority is for there to be a large cash settlement should you die before dependents,  or whether the priority is to get a good return on savings which you can cash in if an emergency arises.

Vicky

I agree with everything Vicky said.

Universal Life is a life insurance policy, ie it will pay out to a beneficiary upon your death.  Do you have a beneficiary?  If you are single and have no dependents then it's not the right product for you.  I'm not sure what your situation is so I just want to be clear what the purpose of your investment is.  Yes, Universal Life policies do have a cash value so you can cash it out or when it pays out on death can have extra cash payable.  However, there can also be high fees involved.
The point of term insurance is that it can be *very* cheap to have life insurance.  Often advisers say that the term insurance is so cheap that even though there's no cash component for you to receive at the end, it is so inexpensive that it is more economical than a universal or whole life policy.

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The point of term insurance is that it can be *very* cheap to have life insurance.  Often advisers say that the term insurance is so cheap that even though there's no cash component for you to receive at the end, it is so inexpensive that it is more economical than a universal or whole life policy.

Also, if you are taking out life insurance to make sure that your kids will have money in case something happens to you, once your kids have grown up they will be able to support themselves and won't need it.

thank you everyone for your advice. I'm going to just suck it up and talk to a financial advisor because I really don't know what's available, just what I want to do - but not how to get there. And Professor Potts, thanks very much for that unbiased link, that's exactly what I was looking for.

And yes, my dad did retire around the time the old policy started. And yes, I do have my boyfriend who would be financially in bad shape if I'd die as I'm still paying off my part of our boat (no mortgage, just a 5 year loan), so he'd be my beneficiary I guess.

thank you everyone for your advice. I'm going to just suck it up and talk to a financial advisor because I really don't know what's available, just what I want to do - but not how to get there. And Professor Potts, thanks very much for that unbiased link, that's exactly what I was looking for.

And yes, my dad did retire around the time the old policy started. And yes, I do have my boyfriend who would be financially in bad shape if I'd die as I'm still paying off my part of our boat (no mortgage, just a 5 year loan), so he'd be my beneficiary I guess.

Make sure any financial adviser understands the implications of you being a US citizen, however, I think it will be difficult to find one that does! I have no idea about insurance policies, but things like UK unit trusts and other non-US funds can cause tax issues for US citizens. Also I don't think that ISAs will protect you from US tax.

Make sure any financial adviser understands the implications of you being a US citizen, however, I think it will be difficult to find one that does! I have no idea about insurance policies, but things like UK unit trusts and other non-US funds can cause tax issues for US citizens. Also I don't think that ISAs will protect you from US tax.

A Univeral Life policy would have an investment element, so there would be US/UK tax issues.