Royal London has called for a ‘shake up' in the over 50s life insurance following a Which? Report which found whole-of-life policies offered better cover.
Which? found policies with premiums of £50 per month paying between £10,185 to £13,999, compared to whole of life policies costing £27 per month and paying £14,000.
The research also found that funeral plans had clauses such as limits on cremation/burial costs and high cancellation fees which meant a savings account would be a better option for some.
One provider of funeral plans, Golden Leaves, charges a cancellation fee of 20% of the initial lump sum.
Which? Money editor Gareth Shaw, said: "Some companies are cashing in on the over-50s through poor-value products and clever marketing. Make sure you shop around and never assume that specialist products and providers are the best deal for you.
Jerry Toher, CEO of Royal London's Consumer Division said: "The new analysis from Which? shines a well-deserved light on a sector that sells unfair and inflexible products: over-50s life insurance. Royal London welcomes these findings and we hope they go some way to disturb a market that we are also determined to shake up, because it is in urgent need of repair.
"We believe it's time for Over 50s life insurance providers to tidy up the market, and in a bid to tackle criticisms levelled at the sector Royal London is designing products that challenge the status quo.
Toher added: "As Which? highlights, gimmicks (like free pens) are used as sales incentives to sell inadequate products, which can sometimes leave people with nothing despite paying out vast sums over the years, which is appalling. Meanwhile, customers can't easily compare life insurance products - for example, cash lump sum value.
He said: "We are determined to improve both consumers' and industry experts' view of Over 50s life cover but this won't change overnight - after years of damage, we've got our work cut out for us!"
