Life Insurance – Get Cover For Less
A boom in the life insurance market due to consumers desiring the safety and security of life insurance to provide for their loved ones should the worst happen has led to lowered premiums. According to Sainsbury’s Bank not all consumers are benefiting from them due to a lack of knowledge on the savings that could be made from switching policies to a more competitive rate. Additionally research from Yorkshire Building Society indicates that while consumers want to cover their family should something happen to them, many don’t realise their life cover may not provide enough to cover the monthly outgoings their family has.
Sainsbury’s Bank research indicates that many consumers believe if they have had a policy for a while it would be more expensive to switch life insurance policies. They believe this would be due to change in circumstances or being older than when they purchased their original policy. However according to Sainsbury’s Bank this needn’t always be the case, because the market has become so competitive and there are many new companies offering policies it should be possible to get a better deal on life insurance than a current one. In fact Sainsbury’s believe consumers could save on average £194 over a 10-year term taking into account current prices for cover and overall we could overpay by £2.18 billion over a 10-year term.
Meanwhile the Yorkshire Building Society believe our cover isn’t sufficient to cover all bills for dependant children should the worst happen. While around 70% of those with dependants worry about what would happen in the event of illness or death 64% have life assurance cover with their mortgage and only 23% have income protection and 27% have critical illness cover. The Yorkshire Building Society research indicates that the average family have monthly outgoings of £2,100, which includes a mortgage of £671. They believe the average life insurance cover would not cover the necessary day-to-day expenses included in that figure and point out that additional cover isn’t as expensive as consumers expect.
The reports from Sainsbury’s Bank and Yorkshire Building Society highlight a very important issue that should be addressed with any financial product we buy or have had for a while. It’s easy to chose a product and then forget about it, but with the market and our needs changing constantly its important to review our financial products regularly. This means you can ensure your financial products still meet your needs and still represent good value for money. Life insurance is a booming industry for a reason, many people consider it important to have peace of mind for their family, but if you review your products to ensure they still give you the cover you want and get the best price you are doing just that.
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