SLEEP EASIER WITH THE RIGHT COVER
It’s not a pleasant subject but how would you and your family cope if you were critically injured, were unable to work due to ill health or worse yet, you had a fatal accident? Who would be left paying the mortgage? Make sure you have covered all bases, speak to an advisor today! Contact us here
Everyone knows that having life insurance to provide for your family if you die prematurely is vital, but there is always a danger of underestimating their immediate and ongoing financial needs after your death, so do talk the numbers through with your adviser. The life cover available may be term- dependent (such as level term, decreasing term or family income benefit) or whole-of-life.
Level term policies pay out a fixed lump sum on death within a specified period. With decreasing term assurance, the life cover reduces over the policy term, so the premiums for a policy with initial cover of, say, £100,000 would usually be lower than for a level term policy providing that cover throughout. So, decreasing term is efficient for a need that lessens over time – such as the reducing balance on a mortgage.
Family income benefit provides for your family to receive a regular income after your death until the policy term expires, rather than a lump sum. If you died two years into a 20-year policy, for example, your young family would receive support for longer than if you died 18 years into the same policy, by which time your children might be gaining independence.
Whole-of-life policies pay out on death whenever that occurs. Death is inevitable and a paid-up policy will see a claim eventually, so policies are more expensive than term-defined policies. A whole-of- life policy could bring a useful sum for a surviving spouse or enable family to meet an inheritance tax bill if the policy had been written in trust and fell outside your estate.
Sometimes illness can devastate family finances. Critical illness cover will pay out if you suffer a specified medical condition or injury, but not all conditions are covered and the policy will specify the severity of illness that would trigger payment. The existence of critical illness cover would significantly ease the financial burden on you and your family if such misfortune struck.
We would encourage an early discussion with an adviser about your protection needs. Please note that tax and trusts planning is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
