Life Insurance
Article published on 16th July 2015
We live in a world where we think of ourselves as immortals, forever pushing the idea of death away, as if it is something that only happens to other people.

While denial is as good a cure as any for the anxiety death creates, life insurance is even better.
Life Insurance, also known as life assurance, term life insurance or mortgage life insurance basically pays a cash lump sum to your loved ones in case something unfortunate should happen to you such as death or a terminal disease.
You simply pay a premium monthly - for a set period of time and should the unfortunate happen, a tax free sum of money is paid to your nominated beneficiaries.
Therefore, if you have your own family or a loved one who happens to be financially dependent on you, you should consider life insurance. The same stands if you have liabilities such as a mortgage or loans.
Life insurance usually comes in two forms:
- Level Term: With this type of insurance the secured sum is assured and remains unchanged. This option is usually selected to cover interest only mortgages and loans or for family protection (to give your family a lump sum of money to live on if you were to die).
- Decreasing/Mortgage: In this situation, the sum assured decreases during the term of the policy. This type of life insurance is usually used to protect capital and interest repayments on a mortgage or loan and is not suitable for interest only mortgages.
Do you really need Life Insurance?
The main philosophy behind the idea of protecting yourself with insurance is that no matter what happens to you, your loved ones or your family will have it easier.
They will be able to grieve over losing you in peace, not become desperate for having lost the main earner and dealing with the mortgage and any other joint debts.
Should you be in a situation where no mortgages or debts are present, life insurance still is a viable and attractive option. This way you could ensure that your children for example, will have the upbringing you intended for them by ensuring your family's financial future.
Besides, leaving a sum of money for your loved ones can be done either via traditional life cover policy or by using a family income benefit scheme which will pay out a monthly amount for a number of years, instead of paying out a lump sum.
How Much Does it Cost?
Life Insurance premiums are planned based on your age, smoker status, medical history, height/weight and the amount/type of cover that you choose. Each of these factors affects the premiums as explained below:
- Age: Generally speaking, the older you are when you start life insurance, the more expensive it is and the younger you start life insurance, the cheaper it is. This happens because there is a direct relation between age and the premium offered. Older people, unlike young ones, are more likely to die prematurely or fall ill.
- Smoker Status: Most life assurance companies consider a person to be a smoker if they have smoked at all in the past 12 months. Smokers usually get higher premiums due to a higher risk of developing illnesses and for having a shorter life expectancy. A good reason to give up smoking and save yourself some money!
- Occupation: Luckily for you, the job you're working in only has relevance if you are involved in a hazardous occupation. In this case, you should expect a higher premium and you should speak to an advisor to find you the best policy.
- Health: Falling ill from time to time is perfectly normal. However, some illnesses such as chronic diseases will impact the premium price. Again, speaking to a trained life insurance advisor can help to reduce any premium increase.
- Cover Required: The amount your life cover will pay out will have a direct impact on your insurance premium. Naturally the more insurance you need, the higher the premiums.
Premiums can start as little as £5 a month (Sourced on June 2015 for a decreasing term life insurance policy for a 29 year old non smoker with a benefit of £100,000 decreasing over 20 years). Our quotation system will be able to instantly offer you an estimate of the premium you can expect. Furthermore, our professional insurance advisors will be to take into account any expected variations caused by past health conditions or hazardous occupations.
What about inflation? How can I protect myself from it?
It is a well-known fact that inflation can be a big enemy to your life insurance payout and without adequate planning and foresight, the sum you originally intended to pass on when you took out the policy might very well be worth a lot less.
The fix to these changes in payout value can be accounted for by using an index linked increasing life insurance policy.
Thanks to these policies the sum you are covered for increases on an annual basis, along with your premium, in order to counter the effects of inflation.
What we do for you?
Not only are there many benefits to having a life insurance, but there are extra advantages in choosing us as well. By choosing Top Quote Online for your Life Insurance you get:
- Free online quotes.
- Customized quotes to get you the best price and product from a market wide panel of insurance companies.
- You'll receive authentic and friendly support from our qualified advisors.
- Our advice is given without charging any fees.
What's more, we offer an online facility to compare Life Insurance policies from the leading insurance companies. These providers include, but are not limited to, Liverpool Victoria, Aviva, Legal & General, Friends Life, PruProtect and Ageas.
All things considered, deciding on whether to get life insurance or not is definitely an important choice.
In this regard, you should not waste too much time weighing the pros and cons as the premium pricing increases the older you are!
Simply put, there are more benefits to having life insurance than the alternative, so put all your fears and uncertainty to rest by calling our free phone line on 0808 1782 777.
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