Life Insurance

Life insurance is there to protect the individual should death occur prematurely, or before the natural life expectancy for any particular cultural group. Statistics are collected and tables are collated called mortality tables, which highlight how many deaths to expect within any particular group of similar aged people.

Is this a problem for you today or is it something more relevant for “older folk” ?

It is generally accepted that as we age, the chance of death increases. There is however a spike in the tables during the late teenage to early 20’s of our young men, when car accidents are at there highest for this age group and deaths increase.

It is the financial impact to the remaining family, business or associates that is the burden the individual is protecting their loved ones from with life insurance. Different types of policies are available for different individual needs.

Whole of Life Insurance:

This is Insurance with a savings component attached. An assured sum is originally agreed with the insurer and over time this value increases with interest or bonuses added to reflect the return from the savings component. These policies are sometimes called Permanent Insurance. Once the policy has been taken out and the premiums are paid on time it is in place until your death. Although more expensive initially, than other types of insurance, the structure allows greater flexibility in later years with agreement with the insurer.

Term Life Insurance

Term insurance works in a similar way to your car or house insurance. After the initial acceptance from the insurance company, as long as your premiums are paid on time, your policy will stay inplace. The premiums reflect your current age, so over time the premiums can increase according to the rules of the insurer. This can be an advantage when you are younger as you can get the required cover cheaper than with a Whole of Life Policy.

For older folk, when “perfect health’ may not always match their current circumstances finding an insurer to take the risk and cover your life can increase the premium rates. Insurers can decide to cover part of your risk, by excluding specific conditions. If you are in a situation where you would be left with debts if you were to die tomorrow, how would those debts be paid off ?

The life stages most vulnerable, are folk with families who rely on their income, where there is a mortgage ( credit cards, home loan, boat etc). Ask yourself this question : Will the family be able to live if you are not their tomorrow to support them financially?

Assessing the risk you face, is part of developing a risk management plan so you have resources to assist you if a catastrophe occurs. Speaking with a Financial Adviser to help you quantify the financial impact you could suffer, can help you understand your own risks

What can you do if you no longer need you life insurance Policies?

Click here and check out Life Settlements

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