Life Insurance - Midlands - UK - Clover Financial

Sometimes known as Life Assurance, this is arguably the most important insurance protection a person or couple should have in order to protect a spouse, partner and family against the crippling financial loss they would endure should anything happen to you as a wage earner.

There are numerous types of life assurance policies available on the UK market. They include term assurance, decreasing term assurance, whole of life, convertible, index-linked endowment life assurance etc. However the majority of policies will usually be either: -

This is the most common and also one of the simplest policies to have. Term Life Assurance, which is also known as Level Term Assurance, only pays out if you die before the policy expires. Generally speaking, this type of policy requires a regular monthly premium payment in return for a lump sum payout in the event of the policyholder’s death (and sometimes on terminal illness diagnosis confirmation). You choose the amount of years you wish to take the policy out for, which is usually up to a maximum of between 70 - 85 years old with most insurers, and you choose the amount of cover that you wish to have for a lump sum payout. It is vitally important that you insure your life and your spouse or partners life for the right amount and to work this out you will need to have to take the following factors into consideration: -

• Enough to cover the remaining balance of the mortgage
• Enough to pay off any other outstanding debts
• Enough to replace your income for your remaining family
• Security for your children e.g. money to pay for their further education
• Enough to give your family some comfort whilst they are grieving
• Enough to cover funeral costs

All these factors and more need to be assessed so that you can work out the right amount to give your family the protection and support they will need if you are not there to provide for them. Our Advisors can help to advise you how to do this.

This is essentially just an insurance policy to cover the outstanding mortgage balance should you or your spouse or partner die before the mortgage is fully paid off. The sum insured is set at the rate outstanding on the mortgage balance and decreases in line with the mortgage balance over the years. This is a much cheaper option which is why it can be popular especially for first time buyers watching their budget however it must be noted that the problem with this type of insurance is that most people end up moving several times and the policy has to be adjusted constantly which can become more expensive as time goes by and it will not allow for any additional funds to cover other costs associated with the loss of a loved one.

Both the above options can have Critical Illness added on.

It is a sad fact that you are nearly 5 times more likely to suffer from a critical illness in your lifetime than die during the term of your mortgage for instance. According to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund 1 in 3 people are likely to Develop some form of cancer in their lifetime and the British Heart Foundation say that 1 in 5 people will suffer heart or stroke problems.

Therefore Life or Term Assurance can sometimes not be enough on it’s own to provide peace of mind and protect your family totally. This is where Critical Illness cover can fill this gap. By adding Critical Illness to your Term Life Assurance policy you will get a lump sum payout should you suffer from any of a range of illnesses, which may not kill you but could incapacitate you and therefore prevent you from earning money. These usually include: -

• Cancer
• Heart Attacks
• Strokes
• Permanent and or Total Disability
• Paralysis
• Major Organ Transplants
• Coronary Bypass Surgery

And a whole host of other illness. Some Critical Illness Policies will also pay for you to have private medical treatment to correct a problem thus ensuring you jump any NHS waiting lists and have a better chance of survival and recovery. The majority of Insurers will also include up to £20,000 worth of free critical illness cover for each of your children (usually up to a maximum of 4 children) meaning that if the worst happens and your child develops a serious illness you can at least have the comfort of knowing a lump sum payout can help you survive the time you might have to take off from work and the expenses of hospital travel etc.

We would whole-heartedly recommend that you include Critical Illness cover with your Term Assurance or Level Term Assurance to give your family complete protection. Our Advisors can go through all the different types of policies and advise you of the best option for you and your loved ones and they can guide you through the minefield of filling out the forms correctly. Please call us for this free no obligation service and make sure you and your family are correctly covered as soon as possible!