The Horses

Dear Scott,

My mother-in-law took out funeral insurance way back in 2004. Since then she has paid approximately $29,000 ($72 per fortnight), but if she were to die the payout would be $17,700. I cannot find a legal way to get them to stop taking more of her money. They will stop when she is 90, but sadly she is 70 and has Parkinson’s. Any ideas?

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

You know what I dislike more than those mindless morning television shows?

The ads that pay for them.

A big infomercial flogger is funeral insurance, and they really press on your emotions to ‘not be a burden to your family’. The Royal Commission showed that the companies that sell this type of insurance are the WORST.

Let me count the ways:

First, you often end up paying more in premiums than the value of the cover.

Second, the premiums often rise as you get older, when you can least afford them.

Third, if you stop paying, in most cases, you won’t get your money back.

Fourth, if your mother-in-law had invested $72 a fortnight into a low-cost index fund for the last 16 years, she’d have $63,000 by now. That could afford a helluva funeral (she could even have Daryl Braithwaite tow her coffin out on a horse while singing The Horses).

So what can she do?

Well, these products are often sold by slick salespeople with predatory practices. If that happened to her, she may be entitled to a resolution.

You’re thinking “but my mother-in-law is a pensioner with Parkinson’s, she won’t stand a chance”. And that’s why I want you to put me in contact with her this week, and I’ll take this on personally.

It’s time to whip these nags!