Life Insurance

Do you ever worry about how your loved ones will cope financially once you are gone? It’s not a thought many of us want to linger on, yet, it certainly requires your consideration in order to get plans in place to protect those you love. With the right life insurance plan in place, you can get peace of mind and the reassurance you need that they will be able to support themselves financially in your absence. We take a look at the different types of life insurance available and whom life cover can support.

The different types of life insurance

Mortgage Protection

Mortgage protection insurance provides your partner or dependents with a payout to cover the cost of any remaining mortgage payments on your home. With this protection in place, you and those living in your household can be assured that they can keep up with the payments in your absence; as if they can’t afford these, the property could be repossessed. This type of cover won’t be necessary if you’re the only person living in your home.

Over 50’s

As the name suggests, this insurance type is available to anyone aged 50 or over and serves to pay out a cash sum to a designated party when you’re gone. One of the major draws of this policy is that acceptance is guaranteed, without the need for health tests or medical examinations. With this policy, you will need to keep up with the monthly payments as, if any are missed, it is rendered void. The maximum amount usually paid out for this type of policy is up to £25,000. Often insurers will only pay out the maximum amount 1-2 years after you have taken out the policy.

Critical Illness

Should you suffer from a heart attack, stroke or another serious illness, critical illness insurance will make a lump sum payout to cover for your expenses while you get back on your feet. This cover is intended for illnesses which are serious, but not life-threatening. So while non-terminal cancer would be covered under this policy, terminal illnesses would not. This illnesses which would leave you eligible for a payout will be listed under your individual policy terms.

Whole Of Life

The majority of people will take out a life insurance policy which is valid over a fixed period of time; this is referred to as ‘term insurance’. In the case of whole of life cover, the policyholder will be protected throughout the entire duration of their life, provided they pay the required premium each month. This type of policy does tend to work out more costly than term insurance, which is why many opt for policies which last over a fixed period of time.

The duration of life insurance

As mentioned previously, life insurance is usually taken out over a set period of time and how long you want it to last will largely be up to your discretion based on a variety of factors. The term could last anywhere between 5 years, to 15 or 20 years, dependent on what you choose. If you pass away during this period of time, your insurer will pay out the sum owed at that point. If you live longer than this term, the policy will expire and no payout will be made.

There are a few different types of term insurance options available, allowing you to choose factors such as if you want the payout to remain fixed throughout the policy, or decrease over time. Usual cover amounts typically vary between £10,000, £50,000, £100,000, £150,000 and £200,000.

Whom is life insurance intended for?

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There’s no set age determining when you should take out life insurance, it’s more dependent on your lifestyle and your dependents. You can take life insurance from age 18, right through to 25 years, 30 years, 35 years, 40 years and 50+. If you have a spouse and a number of children relying on you, life insurance will become much more of a priority. For young students who are supporting themselves in rented accommodation, the need for life insurance will be less prevalent.

You will also need to take other lifestyle factors into account such as your weight, whether you smoke, if you’re in a dangerous occupation and your general health. For example, those in the police force or fire services are in a much higher risk profession than people working in office roles, so may be more inclined to take out life cover to account for this.

If you do live a higher risk lifestyle, you should expect to pay higher premiums than those considered as lower risk. Smokers, for example, can expect to pay higher premiums than non-smokers.

Single or joint policy

You have the option to either take out sole life insurance which will cover for only you, or you can opt to take out a joint policy with a partner. Joint cover can sometimes end up being cheaper than taking out two separate policies. It works by paying out when the first person in the joint policy passes away within the duration of the policy. Once the policy has paid out for the first person, it will then lapse and the second person will be left uninsured.

Choosing your policy

Once you’ve decided that the time has come to get life insurance, you will need to start looking for the right insurer, at the right price. At AZMoney, we work with leading reputable insurers who specialise in providing quality life cover. By using our comparison tool, you will be able to compare life cover quotes from insurers including Aviva, AXA, LV=, Zurich and many more, based on the most recent products on the market. The application only takes 30 seconds to fill in and the tool is completely free to use. Once you’ve received your quotes, you will be under no obligation to go through with them.

No matter where you are based, whether it be London, Birmingham, Scotland, Leeds, Altrincham, Manchester, Bolton or elsewhere, there’s a life insurance quote suited to your lifestyle.

To get your online quote today click here or call AZMoney or request a call back from our friendly team.