Well I'm sorry to hear that. Best of luck.

mr tom.

I'm pretty sure you will be proved right that's usually the way it works with insurance companies.

As for claiming benefits - we are certain we don't qualify and we are not yet likely to starve!! We are in the group slightly above income level and probably the hardest hit - those already on benefit will be helped first as usual and young families are probably the worst hit - we've 'weathered the storm before - and will toil on

Most likely, 69 is the oldest you can take it out, not hold it.

For example, AA won't insure a car for repairs once it's done more than 100k miles, but as I insured before that point, I can still renew time after time as it is a continuation of an existing policy. They knew his age, accepted the money and therefore whilst they won't take new customers of that age, he was insured, which means you can't claim a refund.

You should still check benefits as you may be pleasantly surprised. There used to be something called the "minimum income guarantee" which meant you'd always have £120 per week to live on. It is long gone, but it was replaced with other things, so they shouldn't let you starve.

Further to the above I went on to the Insurance website where I found the information that this policy is available to age 69 years. It would appear, therefore, that my husband has being paying the premium for seven years that he has not been eligible anyway!!!

Can anyone advise if there is any chance that he can claim a refund and, if so, the best place to go for help. I have emailed the company pointing this out but have not yet received a reply. Perhaps I should contact our local branch of Barclays in the first instance??

Unlikely to be eligible for any benefits as we own a house we built ourselves many years ago and we have avoided debt by being sensible while those who weren't seem to be getting the help (at our expense!)

thanks for your interest anyway

Hi,

I can't offer advice (you'd need a financial adviser for that, and they cost!)

Does he still work? Does he still need cover?

If the NHS is good enough and he doesn't need to cover lost earnings, then either saving the money or using it to pay bills is probably the best bet. Save it if you can as you're going to need a "rainy day" fund sooner or later. In the meantime, if you are struggling, then it would make sense to see whether you could be entitled to any benefits. These aren't handouts - you've paid into the system for years and why shouldn't you get something back?

Benefits could come in two forms - the direct ones such as council tax benefit, tax credits etc and the indirect ones such as grants to improve the insulation of your home, which in turn will help reduce your heating bill.

Your local citizen's advice or age concern should be able to help you further, especially age concern as they specialise in advising people in your situation.

Hope this helps.

mr tom.

My husband has been paying nearly £25 for the above for a number of years. He is now 76 and has just closed his business account and with it this insurance. With a very small private pension and the state pension he is struggling with rising utility, food, council tax bills etc thinks there may be a more appropriate and beneficial way to use this money and would welcome advice on the best thing to do. Thank you for help