Personal Protection
Life Insurance is a personal cover policy that you pay monthly or annually and, in return, your chosen insurer provides you with monetary protection which will pay out if you ever meet the terms of the contract. You choose the amount of money your loved ones will receive, and the length of time you wish to be covered for, and the money will go to the people you love if they ever have to be without you.
The Benefits of Life Cover:
Life insurance ensures that the people closest to you are taken care of after you are gone.
The people you have asked for the money to be paid out to can use it as they wish. Common uses include:
Paying off an outstanding mortgage debt
Covering funeral costs
Providing an inheritance for children/grandchildren or loved one
Replacing an income
Paying for day-to-day living
Funding children’s education
Taking a policy can give peace of mind and a sense of security for you and your family.
Income Protection
This replaces your income if you can’t work due to sickness or injury. It ensures you continue to receive a regular income until you retire or until you can return to work. Income protection is not the same as critical illness insurance. Critical Illness cover pays out a lump sum if you have a serious illness, whereas Income Protection pays you a weekly or monthly tax free amount to replace loss of income.
Depending on the insurer, it is possible to cover up to 70% of your gross salary and this amount paid to you would be free from income tax.
Income Protection policy helps you pay your bills. It helps you maintain your standard of living while you’re unable to work due to sickness, illness or injury for a short or long term.
It is usually based on a percentage of your earnings and it also pays out until retirement, death or until you return to work. Short term Income Protection policies are also available at a lower cost which can protect your income for a short time such as one to four years.
Only a few employers support their staff for more than a year if they’re off sick from work so every working adult in the UK should consider getting Income Protection.
If you do not have savings or provisions, you and your family will certainly struggle financially. The reason to take Income Protection is to cover your bare necessities such as, food, clothing, shelter and other expenses.
If you become unable to work, having this kind of protection can give you peace of mind and will cover your monthly costs in the event of loss of income.
Types of Life Insurance Explained
Mortgage Protection Life Insurance
The benefit of this kind of cover decreases over time, usually to match mortgage repayments. This policy is designed to ensure that your loved ones are not left with the debt of maintaining your home repayments if you should die before the mortgage loan is fully paid off.
Level Term Life Insurance
A policy where the amount insured remains the same throughout the policy, which ensures that your family is left with a chosen sum to help pay for expenses or keep them comfortable.
This policy can run for any length of time up to 70 years, and a maximum of age of up to 90, depending on your insurer. Term assurance plans have no cash in value and will cease at the end of the term. If premiums are not maintained then cover will lapse.
Whole of Life Insurance
A policy where the amount the holder is insured for remains the same for the rest of their life. This policy will pay out no matter when you die as it has no expiry date.
Critical Illness Cover
This can be added onto any of the above policies, or taken out separately.
It covers the holder in the event that they develop a pre-defined illnesses to a degree that the insurer deems ‘critical’, and pays out whilst you’re still alive to help with the expenses of being critically ill.
Over 50’s Life Insurance
This kind of cover is purely designed for those over the age of 50, with no medical questions or exams.
As long as you meet the basic age and affordability criteria, you are guaranteed to be accepted.