Let’s be frank – life insurance is not sexy and certainly not fun.

Many people find it difficult to contemplate, let alone talk about, delaying action until something drastic unfolds in their life.

Some people put it off until its too late! Don’t be the one who is too late, as we never know what is around the corner.

It is best to be prepared for the inevitable.   Life insurance is an essential part to sound financial planning, if you have debts, have a family or own a business, you will need life assurance.  Otherwise your next of kin could be responsible for your financial liabilities after your death.

If you currently have none of these things, but would like to have these in future, you should also purchase life assurance.  The younger you are the cheaper the insurance premium.

Terminal Illness cover in most cases forms part of your policy, where the insurer will payout the sum assured amount upon diagnosis of a terminal illness.

This sort of protection is seen as a major benefit when a person is at their most vulnerable, when they can no longer work or financially support their family.  Receiving a lump sum payment relieves the financial burden and lets the insured focus on themselves and their family.

Life Assurance can also be used as an effective tool for Estate Planning.  Policies can be used to mitigate against any Inheritance Tax liability upon death.

This route is simple, cost effective and beneficial to the family you leave behind as it averts any forced selling of assets like property or investments to cover your financial death duty to the state.

From experience many wealthy individuals often overlook the use of simple life insurance products as part of their Estate Planning requirements, missing the opportunity to secure their estate and limit any unnecessary financial burden on their family.

 

How much life insurance do you need?  As advisors we generally recommend between 7-10 times your annual salary.

However, if you are an individual of high net worth, or your life is complicated, or you have amounted a high level of debt, you may need more cover.  Obviously, cost is also a major factor, so affordability is key to the amount of life assurance you can acquire.

 

There are generally 2 types of life insurance products you can purchase.  Level Term Insurance or a Whole of Life Insurance policy.

The former tends to be the most popular as it is usually a cheaper product.  How it works it that the Life Insurance provider agrees to cover your life for a specified term only, usually between 10 – 35 years. You as the Life Assured agrees to pay the insurance provider a fixed premium amount for the life of the policy term.

In the event of death within the contracted term, the insurance company will pay the sum assured amount to the life assured’s named beneficiaries upon death.

If death does not occur within the policy term, the cover will end and you will need to replace the cover with a new policy.

The Latter option “Whole of Life” cover does just that.  The Insurance Company will insure your life for the entirety in return that you will pay a fixed premium amount each year until death.

These policies tend to be more expensive than Level Term Insurance but can be very advantageous for individuals particularly younger persons by securing a fixed premium amount for life.

Whether you are looking for Single Life, Joint Life, Group policies or Key Person policies for your business, we can assist you on all your Life Assurance needs.  Whether that be Level Term Assurance or Whole of Life polices, we work with some of the worlds largest Life Assurance providers who specifically cater for persons living or working abroad.

We will ensure to get you the best cover for your needs and budget, in some cases providers may require medical information or test results.  In any instance Astute will help you through the quotation and application process.