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Life Insurance explained
Unless you are a very confident clairvoyant, right now is the time to insure your life or loss of earnings.
There are two ways in this world to ensure that you and your family will always be provided for. And given that the validity of a crystal ball is often questionable, this leaves you with one more option - shopping for the right insurance cover.
Life Insurance, also known as life 'assurance', is a product that will pay out a lump sum if you die. The amount it pays out is called the 'sum assured' and it is on that sum that you will pay monthly premiums. But how do you know how much to insure for? To answer to this question you will need to recognise that there are two forms of life insurance, namely level term life insurance and decreasing term life insurance. Level term insurance is when you choose to insure a fixed sum, say £150,000. Regardless of your changing financial situation over the course of the years, £150,000 will always be paid out if you die.
The alternative option is decreasing term life insurance. This is linked to your mortgage and, as the amount you owe to your mortgage lender decreases, so does the amount paid out by the insurer if you die. So on a 25-year mortgage your beneficiaries might receive £150,000 in year one and perhaps just £4,000 in year 23.
And given its limitations, decreasing term insurance is considerably cheaper than level term. (See below for the difference.)
Which Life Insurance is right for me?
Despite being higher in price, it's level term insurance that's more popular. Figures from insurer Friends Provident, show that last year 936,000 level term policies were taken out compared to 853,000 decreasing term policies. "This is broadly reflective of the market in that more people are thinking beyond just their mortgage," says Peter Hamilton, head of protection marketing for Friends Provident. "A lot of people now have extra credit card debt to cover for example." Mowbray at Virgin Money adds: "The boost in level term life insurance popularity is also a result of mortgages becoming increasingly flexible, which means there is no guarantee that they will steadily get smaller over the years. Also, more people now take out interest-only mortgages to get on the property ladder, so this capital needs covering too."
Do I really need life insurance?
Virgin Money recently re-branded its life insurance product to 'love insurance'. "Because it's not you but the people you love that it protects," says Mowbray. "It ensures they will be safe and financially secure with a roof over their heads." This is all very well but what if you are single with no dependants? "Really if you don't mind the house going back to the lender in the event of your death then, yes, life or 'love' insurance could be regarded as a waste of money," admits Mowbray.
But what if I become ill instead?
However, it might be that you contract an illness or disease that doesn't kill you but has a serious impact on your earning capabilities, which means you can't pay your mortgage. That's why everybody should look at covering this eventuality with a critical illness insurance policy. "And if you are buying this the cost of throwing life insurance in with the policy is then pretty small," says Hamilton.
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The early life insurance companies