Lasting Power of Attorney and Your Policies

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) lets trusted people manage finances if you lose capacity — including paying premiums and dealing with insurers.

Property and affairs LPA

This is the LPA type that usually interacts with insurance premiums and claims admin. Health and welfare LPAs cover different decisions.

Tell insurers when needed

Attorneys should register their authority with providers when acting. Keep policy numbers in the attorney pack.

Coordinate with trusts

Trustees and attorneys are different roles. Document who does what so banks and insurers are not bounced between people.

Practical next steps

Treat this topic as a decision with paperwork attached. Write down the household facts that matter — who depends on income, which debts must clear, and which workplace benefits already exist — before you compare products. A clear brief stops glossy quotes from steering the plan.

When you speak to an insurer or adviser, ask for definitions and exclusions in writing, and keep PDFs of every illustration you rely on. Markets and underwriting change; your notes are the audit trail.

• Confirm what cover you already hold (personal and workplace).
• Size need against obligations, not round marketing numbers.
• Align wills, trusts, and nominations with the policy.
• Never cancel old cover until replacement is on risk.

Mistakes families make here

The common failure mode is optimising for the cheapest monthly figure while ignoring structure: joint versus single policies, accelerated versus additional benefits, and whether a trust exists at all. Another is letting group benefits create false confidence until a resignation removes them overnight.

Build a short annual review habit. An hour with schedules and nomination forms prevents most emergency weekends after a diagnosis or redundancy.