Life Insurance
- Providing individual advice; unique to you
- Our team are happy to meet at a day, time and location most convenient to you
- Providing quality advice services and pathways to help you achieve the life you want
Get in touch for a no-obligation chat about how we might be able to help you.
What's On This Page?
Get In Touch
Life Insurance
What is life insurance and why do we need it?
Life assurance gives yourself and your family a financial safety net – to ensure that no matter what happens, things such as a mortgage, bills and childcare costs are looked after. It takes financial pressure off to your loved ones too, if the worst were to happen.
Is life insurance worth getting?
Yes, 100%. Everyone will need it to some extent. It especially applies to people with families and loved ones, or anyone who shares a mortgage with a partner.
Most things are very much designed on two people’s incomes and, God forbid, if you lose one person, the surviving partner would have to deal with a big mortgage by themselves. That brings a lot of financial pressure.
But you don’t have to have a mortgage to have life insurance. It can cover things like childcare costs and funeral costs. It basically gives you a financial safety net that ensures no matter what happens, things are covered.
There are multiple insurers to explore for an option that will fit around your budget and needs. Obviously, that’s where we come into play – to help you work out what will be best for you.
Are there different types of life insurance?
Yes, there are multiple different types. The main two are term life insurance and whole of life insurance.
Term life insurance is essentially a that will pay a lump sum within a specific period of time. Most people would use this to cover a mortgage term or to take their children up to financial independence.
Some people will simply take it out for a term that they feel suits their needs. It’s the most cost effective way of doing it, because you’re covering a specific period.
Whole of life insurance will also pay out a lump sum, but it is uncapped. If you live to the age of 300 – although unlikely – you’d still get a payout because there’s no end date on the policy.
Am I eligible to apply for life insurance? Can I get life insurance if I have a pre-existing medical condition?
Life insurance is available to the majority of people. There are very rare occasions in which someone wouldn’t be able to get life insurance.
When it comes to pre-existing medical conditionsI can’t speak for every single insurance provider because they all have different underwriting terms and conditions.
Providers want to insure you – it’s best for them and you. There will be a medical application in which they’ll ask you some questions. Based on that, they’ll confirm your eligibility.
It’s quite a common misconception that having a pre-existing condition means you can’t get cover. Obviously, if you had something quite serious or potentially life-threatening, it may be a different story, but due to the underwriting processes they use, life insurance is available to most people.
Speak To an Expert
We know the financial side of life can be complex and that’s why we work hard to get to know you and your aspirations through careful life planning and consultation.
How much life insurance do I need? How long should I get life insurance for?
The life insurance amount depends on multiple factors. For anyone with a mortgage, you definitely need at least that total covered. That’s something we always recommend to every client.
But you should also look at other things – the amount of cover can be based on childcare costs and general running costs, especially if you’ve got a family. I often ask clients about their regular bills and outgoings, to ensure the household can still run as normal.
In some cases, we’ll look at an income type of life insurance, where instead of paying out a lump sum, it would pay out an income.
If you’re just looking to cover a funeral, for example, we would look at a lower amount of £5000 to £10,000. It’s all dependent on the client’s needs. We’re here to help you work out what you need to cover, and we can get policy amounts to cover all potential angles, too.
What do we need to budget for life insurance?
There are three main factors in how a life insurance premium is determined. The first one is your health at the moment. Going back to the pre-existing medical conditions, some insurers will increase the premium if you do have a condition. That isn’t to say they’re going to charge you £1,000 a month, but there may be a slight increase on what you might see on a comparison site.
Another factor is lifestyle choices. If you use nicotine, for example, or have a BMI on the higher side, that would also increase the premium, potentially.
The next area is simply how much cover you want. Someone who wants £10,000 worth of cover will have a lower premium than someone who wants £100,000 in cover. But the good news is that we work with many different insurers to fit something around your budget.
Generally, insurance is priced based on the likelihood of you needing to claim. Obviously, all of us are eventually going to pass away someday. But with things like illness cover – another product we offer here – premiums are slightly more expensive.
The reason is you’re more likely to be off work sick than to suddenly pass away. That’s how these things are scaled. What we do is have regular reviews with you. If you take a policy out, in a couple of years time I’ll give you a call and see if there’s anything better premium-wise.
That gives you the flexibility to increase your budget in the future. We understand that First Time Buyers suddenly have to pay a couple of grand a month for their mortgage and they want to keep costs down. But in the future, you can look at increasing your budget and adding more cover on. It’s very flexible.
What else do we need to know about life insurance?
Obviously we have talked a lot about life insurance, but illness cover is also a part of the protection world, with products like critical illness cover and income protection.
In some instances, for example, if you’re a First Time Buyer without a partner or any children, the need for life insurance isn’t too high. But illness cover is important too.
Income protection essentially pays out an income if you’re off sick, so you can still pay your mortgage. Critical illness cover pays out a lump sum in the event of serious illness. So although life insurance is incredibly important, it’s not relevant for absolutely everyone.
Illness cover may still be relevant for someone who wouldn’t want or need life insurance. So just consider all your options. We will ensure you get something that fits within your budget and your needs.