Do You Have Enough Life Insurance?
Besides the thousands of people who do not have life insurance, many that do are actually underinsured. Many have children or family members that rely on them financially, and don’t realize their coverage is less than ideal. In the event of a death, a family has enough to cope with emotionally, without the additional worry and burden of paying any mortgage and bills. If a breadwinner dies without sufficient insurance, their family might ultimately have to sell their home, at the time when they most need to be recovering from the loss.
 Besides the mortgage payment, there are numerous bills that continue every month like the electric, credit cards, and even loans or car payments. People insure their home, contents, car, and even domestic appliances such as washing machines or mobile phones, but skimp on life cover to pay all these bills if the worst happens!
Any life insurance policy should as a minimum cover all mortgage repayments, all outstandinf debts or bills, and leave sufficient to support your family for at least a few years.
Presently, premiums for life insurance are very affordable and everyone, at any age, should consider shopping around for insurance. Premiums have reduced because medical advances now mean that we are more likely to be cured or survive serious illness than to die! This has reduced premiums. It is never too early to begin planning for your family’s future, and premiums are lowest when you are young and healthy.
There are two different types of life cover available - term life insurance and whole life insurance. Term life insurance is the simplest and cheapest form you can buy. You simply decide the level of cover required, which is the total sum their family or beneficiary would receive should they die. These policies last for a fixed term, or period of time. If the insured person dies within a certain period or “term”, the insured tax-free lump sum can be claimed. Because the policy is for a fixed term, you only make payments monthly or annually for the duration of the term – i.e. until the policy ends.
Premiums are affected by a variety of factors such as age, state of health, habits such as smoking or drinking, gender, and periods of previous illness or disease, and the term of cover required. If the end of the term comes and you have not made any claim, you forfeit the payments made.
Current life insurance policy holders should check their coverage and premiums to see how much they are insured for and compare their rates to other companies. Many companies give competitive rates trying to bring in new clients, and you can change policy fairly easily. With the internet, shopping around has never been easier. You can easily find a top-up policy to add additional cover to any you already have.
With any policy, always read the small print and ask questions to ensure proper coverage.
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