Our next broker hero showcase is Fiona Rhys-Jones, from LL Financial Solutions.
Fiona’s Hero Case Study
I arranged a mortgage for a couple who were not married, unfortunately Covid-19 meant that their wedding couldn’t go ahead. As the female client was older, and due to costs, we decided to put the mortgage in just her partner’s name. The male client had grown up children, to whom he had not spoken in 25 years.
I did two separate Life and Critical Illness Cover (CIC) policies with AIG for them, even though my female client was not named on the mortgage. I put these policies in trust for each other. I also arranged a Will for them through Prestige Legal Services, with everything being left to one another. An expression of wishes letter was drawn up, outlining that the male client confirming he did not want anything being left to his children. They completed in July 2020 and he sadly died in November 2020.
As expected, his children have been a challenge, and are trying to get the house and his pension etc. However, the Life and CIC policies are in trust to my client, plus the Will and the expression of wishes letter are in place. My client has been able to stay in their home and pay the mortgage. Prestige are just in the process of changing the deeds into her name so she owns the property outright. The male client had asthma but omitted to include it on his application form. As he died of a heart attack AIG still paid out, as they would have accepted him even with asthma. This is why you need to use a reputable provider and why clients should never go online to sort out their protection.
Having a Will in place is so important. If we had only arranged the insurance for this couple, then my client would have only had the AIG policy paid out to her. Her partner’s sons would have had the house and, as there is usually equity in most properties, the house would have been sold and she wouldn’t have been able to live there. My client is heartbroken that her partner has died and she is having ongoing issues with his family. All has been sorted for her financially and she can now grieve for her partner. She has said she can’t believe we sorted all of this for her and she doesn’t know what she would have done without our support. This is why I’m so glad I always explain and go through all aspects of clients’ finances and I never leave a stone unturned. It makes me feel proud, relieved and satisfied that I have done “A PROPER JOB”.
