The cover that keeps the family in the home.

As a baseline, enough life cover to clear the mortgage plus a small buffer. Add critical illness if you want a lump sum on diagnosis, and income protection if losing your salary would break the household. We size the cover to the gap, not to a sales target.

A single joint policy is cheaper but pays out only once, on the first claim. Two single policies cost a little more and pay out twice if both lives are insured and both claim. For most couples with dependants, two single policies are the safer structure.

Death-in-service typically pays two to four times salary if you die while employed. Useful, but it stops the day you leave the job, usually excludes critical illness and disability, may be less than your mortgage balance, and is not something you own. Most clients keep the employer cover and add personal cover to sit on top.

Critical illness pays a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a serious listed illness. Income protection pays a regular monthly income if illness or injury stops you working, often for years. Most families need both, but if you can only afford one, income protection is usually the better long-term safety net.

Probably not for life cover, but income protection is still worth thinking about. If illness or injury stops you working, income protection is what keeps the rent or mortgage paid and food on the table. Life cover comes into its own when somebody else relies on your income.

Insurers price the same risk very differently. Underwriting outcomes for the same medical history can swing two or three insurers between standard rates, a loading and a decline. Comparing a number of insurers lets us place the application with the insurer most likely to accept it on the most suitable terms, rather than the one your bank happens to sell.