Life Insurance
Why do I need Life Insurance?
Coming to terms with the loss of a loved one is never easy and adding financial burdens to the grief can make coping increasingly difficult. It can help to support your family or business partner after you die.
Among the reasons to take out life insurance could include:
- Mortgage repayments – do you wish to arrange for your mortgage to be paid off?
- Replacing the primary earner’s salary – ensuring the family does not fall on hard times after your death.
- Replacing childcare – the death of the primary childcare provider could lead to the need for childcare expenses.
- Education expenses – cover for school/university fees after the death of the primary earner.
Whether it’s about paying off your debts or ensuring your family can keep the standard of living to which they were accustomed, there are plenty of reasons to look for the best life insurance policy for you and your family. Getting the best quote is an important part of finding the right policy.
Different types of Life Insurance Cover
Life Insurance is a policy that pays out a lump sum in the event of the policyholder’s death, with the purpose of protecting dependents against financial hardship.
Life insurance is available either on a single or joint life basis with benefits including paying out on the diagnosis of a terminal illness. If the policyholder is alive when the policy expires no payment is made and, should the policyholder stops paying premiums at any stage, the policy has no value.
There are several types of life insurance:
- Level term insurance - designed to pay out a sum of money if the policyholder should die during the policy’s term. The sum assured is guaranteed and remains unchanged throughout the term.
- Decreasing term life insurance i.e. mortgage protection cover – where the sum decreases during the policy. It is regularly used to protect capital and interest repayments on a mortgage.
- Renewable term insurance – On the expiry date there is an option to continue without a health review.
- Convertible term insurance – Level term insurance with the option to revert to whole life or endowment insurance.
- Increasing term insurance – Due to inflation the value of money declines each year. Consequently, this form of insurance combats that with an escalating sum assured.
- Index linked term insurance – Some insurers provide the option for the premium to be increased each year in relation to the Retail Price Index.
Endowment Life Insurance
These are equivalent to saving schemes with life insurance policies attached. They are often carried with mortgages and will pay out any returns at the end of the policy term or a lump sum when the policyholder dies.
Family Income Benefit Policies
This means that the payment on your death will be given to your family in the form of regular payments rather than as a lump sum. The term is chosen at the outset of the policy.