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Life Insurance
What is Life Insurance?
It is our worst nightmare, to think of ourselves dying before we are old, leaving behind our families, our children, our homes and worst of all our liabilities such as our mortgages or loans.
Because life is a twisting turning roller-coaster it is impossible to predict what is around the next corner and sadly for some of us, our worst fears could be enacted.
So what can we do to protect our families from the things we leave behind?
Life Insurance can be exactly what you need to ensure you family do not have to worry about continuing to pay mortgages or loans or simply maintaining their financial security if you die. Your life insurance could pay out enough money in a cash lump sum (or in a monthly benefit plan) to allow your family to pay off your mortgage, continue living in your family home and continue to go on living a similar quality of life because of a maintained financial security.
Do I really need Life Insurance?
Taking a life insurance policy is important for most people but especially if you have a mortgage and are married or have children. The last thing you want is to leave your partner or children struggling to repay your mortgage and suffering as a result.
Even if you do not have a mortgage but have a partner or family, you should consider life insurance to help the family maintain the income that would be lost if you died.
How long am I covered for with my Life Cover?
“Taking a life insurance policy is important for most people but especially if you have a mortgage and are married or have children.”
How much will my life insurance payout?
The amount your cover pays out (the sum assured) is decided when you take your policy and is usually determined by the size of your mortgage/liabilities or the amount of money you wish to leave behind for your family. When protecting a mortgage, it is essential that the full sum of your mortgage is protected to start with to ensure that if the worst happens to you almost immediately, your family are not left with a shortfall in the payout.
Will the government take a chunk of my payout in tax?
Your payout from the life insurance comes under inheritance tax laws and as a result, if it is not paid to your spouse, it will be eligible for inheritance tax.
Thankfully, you are able to have your policy written into a 'trust' which enables the payout to be paid directly to whoever you nominate (be it your spouse, siblings or another beneficiary) without the effects of inheritance tax kicking in.
As well as ensuring your family receives the full payout, writing your policy into trust also enables the payout to be paid much faster because it is not subject to probate (because it will not form part of your estate).
Having your life policy written into a trust is very simple and is offered as a free service to all Yorkshire Life Insurance clients.
Will my life insurance payout if I suffer from a heart attack or other critical illness but do not die?
Under normal circumstances, your life insurance would not payout for you suffering from a critical illness. Your life insurance is only designed to pay out if you die. However there is one exception to this rule whereby insurance companies will payout your life insurance early, if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. Terminal Illnesses are those from which you will not recover and will die within 12 months. Generally speaking, this tends to include things such as terminal cancers.
Can I be covered for heart attacks and other critical illnesses if I want to be?
You have the option to attach Critical Illness Cover to your life cover and have a policy known as life and critical illness cover which will cover you for both death and the diagnosis of a critical illness such as heart attack, stroke, permanent blindness or deafness and advanced cancers, amongst others. For more detailed information on critical illness cover policies please see our Critical Illness Cover Guide.
How does my health affect my cover?
You past health can be a major factor in the premium that a life insurance company wishes to charge you. Whilst minor conditions generally do not affect the taking of life cover, major conditions such as heart problems can sometimes cause increased premiums. It is therefore essential that if you have had health problems in the past, or are currently suffering from a health condition, that you seek advice about your life insurance from one of our financial advisers.
These advisers can guide you to the cheapest life insurance company for your condition because different companies will look at each condition in a different light. This is essential if you are to find cheap life insurance and not be overcharged for your life cover.
How does my age affect my life insurance?
It is a common myth that once you are over 50 life insurance becomes expensive or unobtainable. This is simply not the case and obtaining life cover isn't any more problematic or complicated than before you were in your 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s.
Whilst it is true that life insurance does become more expensive as you get older, it is still possible to find cover at a reasonable price and still entirely possible to find cheap life insurance.