The need for life and serious illness cover is influenced by your personal circumstances.
Your personal circumstances will influence whether life and serious illness cover is right for you. These include:
- Your income. If you are the main earner in your household, it may be essential to have life and serious illness cover to provide for the financial needs of your dependents should something happen to you.
- Your dependents. The greater the number of people dependent on you, the greater the need for life and serious illness cover as there is more need to provide financially for them if something happens to you.
- Your debt. Mortgage repayments often represent a large amount of monthly spending by a family so paying off your mortgage or reducing the balance owed if something happens to the mortgage holder may be important to ensure that all mortgage repayments can still be met should something happen, meaning that this debt does not pass on to whomever remains in the home. Similarly, any other debts (e.g., car loans or credit card debts) may also need repaying if something happens so some level of life and serious illness cover can help reduce these financial burdens on those who survive you by providing funding towards these debt repayments upon your death or diagnosis with a critical illness covered under your policy.
- Your lifestyle! Do you enjoy many luxuries? Are holidays and meals out an essential part of how your family live? How much money would it take now, while interest rates are low, in order to provide enough cash into an account at 3% interest each year so that it could grow enough over time in order that someone else could continue with this lifestyle once you are gone? Would it be too much stress/worry for your family members if they knew they had no backup plan once you were gone?
Income, debt, dependents and lifestyle influence the level of cover you should consider buying.
Everyone’s circumstances are different so it is impossible to provide a one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to how much life and serious illness cover you need. If you are single without any dependants then your needs will be very different from those of an older person with children who are financially dependent on them. Here are some factors that may influence the level of cover you should consider buying:
- Income, debt, dependents and lifestyle: Cover amounts should be based on the amount of debt you want to cover and the needs of your dependents. For example, if you have young children or elderly parents who rely on you for financial support then they would want this income replaced in the event of your death or serious illness.
- Self-employed people: If you are self-employed you may need more cover because you are the main income earner. The two policies mentioned above would help replace some or all of your lost income if something happened to stop you trading.
Having children increases the need for life and serious illness cover.
Making someone is expensive. According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, it costs £231,843 to raise a child in the UK from birth until they are 21. In the US, it’s estimated that middle-income parents will spend $12,680 on their child every year.
If you have children and you passed away before taking care of them, what would happen to them? Would your partner be able to afford childcare? Could they maintain the same standard of living for your children if you weren’t there to help keep up with household bills? What about school fees or university costs?
If you have a mortgage or other debts, then life and serious illness cover can ensure that they’re paid off in the event of your death.
If you have a mortgage or other debts, then it’s essential to protect them in case the worst happens. Life and serious illness cover can ensure that they’re paid off in the event of your death or if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer, heart attack or stroke. The cover will pay off all your debts, such as your mortgage, car loan and credit card debt – and in some cases it will also pay out a tax-free lump sum.
When it comes to your debts, don’t just think about how much they cost now – remember that interest may mean that they could be more costly in the future.
When you’re deciding how much life insurance to buy, you should think about the amount of debt you might leave behind when you die.
- You may have a fixed or variable rate debt. The amount of interest that’s added to your loan or mortgage will depend on whether it has a fixed or variable rate, which can change over time.
- You can have all kinds of debts – from credit cards, loans and mortgages to utility bills. These costs can add up quickly, so make sure they are factored into your decision if you’re considering buying life insurance.
If you are insuring against serious illness as well as death, you need to establish what illnesses are covered.
- if you are insuring against serious illness as well as death, you need to establish what illnesses are covered.
- read over the policy document and ask your insurer what illnesses will be covered by your life insurance policy
The reason why it’s so important to consider the illnesses covered is because costs can vary significantly depending on what conditions are included.
It’s important to consider the illnesses covered because costs can vary significantly depending on what conditions are included. Cancer and heart attack are the most common illnesses covered, but you may also want to cover a wide range of other critical illnesses including stroke, multiple sclerosis, and organ transplants. In some cases, even Alzheimer’s disease is covered.
Life insurance covers death but not serious illness; critical illness cover pays out on diagnosis of serious illness (within limits) but not at death; life and serious illness cover pays out if you die or if you’re diagnosed with a specified serious illness.
- Life insurance covers death but not serious illness
- Critical illness cover pays out on diagnosis of serious illness (within limits) but not at death
- Life and serious illness cover pays out if you die or if you’re diagnosed with a specified serious illness
Life and serious illness cover is more expensive than just life insurance, as it covers two eventualities, rather than one.
If your family depends on your income, then it makes sense to protect them financially if anything happens to you
If your family depends on your income, then it makes sense to protect them financially if anything happens to you.
The main types of protection are:
- Life cover – which pays out a lump sum if the worst happens to you
- Serious illness cover – which pays out a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or injury, like cancer.