Considering Life Insurance

Life Insurance is to protect and remove stress and pressure, when you have passed. The first thing you need to know is the younger and healthier you are the less expensive it is. 

The cost of life insurance commonly depends on a few factors such as your age, pre existing medical conditions and general health, this would include if you are a smoker or not, career, the term of insurance and the amount of the death benefit provided on the policy. With fixed premiums allowing you to know what to expect in your budget.

So why consider life insurance, you may be looking at the situation you're in, your stage of life or just your age, each one personal to yourself. But when considering the security a policy can give, the main reasons for taking out a policy are;

1. Replacing a lost income stream, leaving loved one and family members money to maintain a lifestyle their accustomed too.

2. Covering the funeral expenses, so family do not need to carry the burden at such a sensitive stage.

3. Paying off mortgage and other debts, so that when you pass, loved ones can just simply grieve and come to terms with your loss with a little financial security and freedom.

4. Offset inheritance taxes, if you think your passing will break the threshold on inheritance tax to family and loved one, a life insurance policy could help to offset these fees.

5. Peace of mind, This is commonly seen as the most important reason for purchasing life insurance, simply giving any beneficiary the flexibility to use the funds from the policy, however they see it.

There are pros and cons towards everything in life, insurance is no different. So finding the correct insurance for you is important, always do your homework and compare policies, read the terms and conditions and consider what you want and need. 

You can purchase policies for yourself or with loved ones, as a joint policy; Single life insurance payout if the policyholder dies during the policy term, whereas on a joint policy, the majority will only payout after the first death or where the terms of the policy are met.

Single person policies tend to be more flexible as you're only having to consider yourself. The level of cover, the monthly expenditure, the length of the policy and as well as catering to your specific requirements and needs, that you have deemed necessary at the time of purchase. It is commonly more expensive to run to single policies, rather than a joint policy because of the structure of the policy.

Joint policies are often found to be cheaper than two singular policies, you would need to fill out a sole application to purchase the policy and payouts would normally occur after the first death. This would result in the policy ending, no matter which party it is. Another consideration on these policies, if a separation or divorce was to occur, a lot of the policies will accommodate for this, though it is important with any insurance policy you read the terms and conditions before purchasing the policy to make sure it's right for you. You may also come across dual life insurance, which will pay twice if both partners die during the term, but it's a lot less common.

Some policies will require medical questionnaires and or exams to be performed by a medical professional before accepting cover. It is always important to be honest and accurate through this process, as you wouldn't want any misgivings to result in an unsuccessful claim, due to the insurer feeling they've been intentionally mislead or not being able to cover in the first place.

Suicide / Terminal illness is commonly found within most policies, while each insurer normally carry their own terms and conditions, most will have a caveat concerning an initially period where cover isn't provided for those circumstances.

*Career choices or hobbies impact on policies concerning risk

*Possible extensions on fixed terms

*The final consideration surrounds payouts and beneficiaries. There can be primary and contingent, if the worst was to happen. And overtime these may change for a number of reasons. changes or amendments to this, is straightforward for most insurers.

*Fundamentally Conclusion / End