Life insurance can help protect your family from money problems and make sure they can live the lifestyle they’re used to if you die. The type of cover you need depends on your lifestyle and your family’s needs.
Read our guide: What is life insurance?
Let’s look at different stages in a typical family life and the sorts of cover that might suit.
Whether you're 27 or 67, it’s never too late to meet a partner. If you’re choosing to spend the rest of your life with someone, you’ll want to ensure a safe future for each other should one of you die. In this case, you might consider a joint or two single policies.
If you buy a home, life insurance can help cover the mortgage. Without it, your family might struggle to pay if you’re not around.
A common way to protect your mortgage is with decreasing term life insurance. This is a type of policy where the cover amount goes down as your mortgage debt reduces over time.
If you die during the policy term, it pays out a cash sum to help pay off the amount that’s left on the mortgage. Making life without you easier financially for those left behind.
Read our guide: Mortgage life insurance
When you have children, your priorities change. Since children are so dependent on their parents, it’s a natural feeling to want to help them get the best out of life even if you’re no longer around to be there for them. A term life insurance policy can leave a lump sum for things like school fees or living costs.
Kids cost more as they grow up. According to the Child Poverty Action Group, the cost of raising a child to age 18 in the UK can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Life insurance can help them keep their standard of living if you’re gone. Types of policies that can help make sure that happens include:
Children’s cover is an extra feature you can add to life insurance for an additional cost. It provides financial help if your child becomes seriously ill with a specified illness or dies in an accident. This cover can assist with medical bills, time off work, home modifications, or, in the worst case, funeral costs.
Adding children’s cover gives you peace of mind, knowing your family is protected if the unexpected happens.
Health issues can disrupt family life at any time. Unfortunately, they become likely the older we get.
Cover for terminal illnesses – those expected to end your life within a defined time – is often included in life insurance policies as standard. But what if a serious illness stops you providing for loved ones for a time?
Adding critical illness cover to your policy, at an additional cost, means you’re protected if you develop one of the illnesses defined in your policy. It can help with medical bills or time off work while you recover.
Use our life insurance calculator to get an idea of the amount of cover that’s right for you.
As you age, it’s important to think about the safeguards you have in place for your family.
Once you have them in place, you can focus on enjoying later life and all its adventures.
If you’re 50 or older, you might want to think about getting over 50s life cover.
This type of insurance lasts your whole life. It usually pays out a smaller sum than term life cover. For instance, an over 50s policy might provide £10,000 to £20,000 when you die. In contrast, term life might pay out £500,000 to one million pounds. This smaller payout can help your loved ones pay for things like your funeral or any debts you have, like credit card bills.
Life insurance could be a crucial safety net for ensuring your family’s financial security at every stage of life. From starting a family to planning for retirement, the right policy can provide peace of mind and protect your loved ones from financial hardship.
By understanding the different types of cover available and tailoring them to your family’s needs, you can have confidence you’ve put plans in place to safeguard your family’s future.
A joint policy covers two people and pays out once when one person dies. A single policy covers one person and pays out when that person dies.
This type of insurance is meant to cover things like a mortgage. The amount of money it pays out goes down over time, just like your mortgage debt. Find out more about decreasing term life insurance.
Yes. Depending on your needs you can apply for life insurance if you're looking for a specific length or cover amount. Alternatively, you can consider cover for people aged 50 to 80, which offers a lower cover amount that can help with costs like your funeral or paying off debts when you're gone. This type of cover guarantees acceptance with no medical exam.
Adding critical illness cover can be helpful if you’re worried about getting seriously ill. It gives you a lump sum of money if you get a serious illness, which can help with medical bills or living costs while you recover. Adding this cover usually costs extra.
The amount you need depends on things like your income, mortgage and other debts, and the financial protection your family may need when you’re gone. A common rule of thumb is to get covered for at least 10 times the highest earner's yearly income (source: MoneySavingExpert). Use free life insurance calculator tools to help work out the cover you might need.
Yes, if you get decreasing term life insurance, it’s designed to cover your mortgage. The payout goes down over time as your mortgage debt goes down. Read more about mortgage life insurance.
Yes. With many policies you can change your cover. For instance, if you pay a higher premium, you may be able to increase the amount your policy pays out or, for an extra cost, add critical illness or children’s cover as your family and financial situation changes. It’s always best to check with your insurer.
Choose between level, decreasing or increasing term insurance, each designed to offer you peace of mind based on your circumstances.
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