Life insurance

You probably only need life insurance if there are people who depend on you for money. If your loved ones are all paying their own bills then life insurance isn’t essential.

If you have a mortgage, some lenders will insist that you have life insurance.

Death in service cover will pay out a lump sum if you die while employed by the company. You do not have to be at work when you die. But if you leave your job or get made redundant you will lose the cover.

If this happens when you are already quite unwell it could be hard and expensive to find life insurance. So if you can afford it, it is a good idea to have additional life insurance already set up.

There are different types of life insurance. The most common is called level-term insurance.

For level-term insurance, you pay a fixed amount of money each month (the premium).

For a fixed number of years (the term).

If you die at any point during the years you are paying for the insurance, then the insurance will pay out a fixed amount of money.

This might not be the best type of insurance for you. If you have a medical condition it can help to talk to a financial advisor or insurance broker to find the best options.

It can be harder to get life insurance if you have any kind of medical condition. It will cost more, and some companies will not accept you.

You should always shop around. If you have a health condition it can be cheaper to get insurance through a broker or financial planning service. These services should know which insurers are more likely to offer you cover, and how to agree the best price.

It is really important that you tell the insurance company about any health issues.

If you do not tell them, you could end up paying into a policy for years, only for it to refuse to pay out to your loved ones.

You will probably have to answer a lot of questions about your health, age, and life in general. If you are not sure about any of the questions always ask the company or your broker for advice.

How much your insurance costs will depend on many things including:

• How much money you want the insurance to pay out if you die
• How long you want the insurance to last
• Your health
• Your age

You will need to think about what the payout will be needed for. For example, how long will you be supporting your children? How much are their current bills? How much is left on your mortgage and when will you pay it off? Do you have debts that will need to be paid off?

The size of the payout will make a big difference to the cost of the insurance. So it might be determined by how much you can afford to pay each month.

If you think you might need life insurance, it is best not to put it off. It will be more expensive if you start it when you are older, or when your health has got worse.