Do you have dependents? You could benefit from life insurance. We explain what to consider when searching for cheap life insurance and how Uswitch can help.
Life insurance could help anyone with dependents to provide them with financial security – we explain who could benefit from it and how to get the right low-cost life insurance policy for you.
Everyone with dependents and debts to pay should consider taking out a life insurance policy to protect their family financially if they die.
There are several things you can do to keep the cost of life insurance to a minimum and make sure you have the right policy for you and your loved ones.
In this guide, we explain how to get a cheap life insurance policy while elaborating on the differences between life assurance and life insurance, and making sure you get the right cover.
Compare life insurance with Uswitch and get cover from just £5 per month*
Compare life insurance with Uswitch and get cover from just £5 per month*
There are a few things to bear in mind before you compare life insurance. You could help to reduce the cost of your life insurance by weighing up your options, taking up a healthier lifestyle and considering your age and the risk the insurer may have to take as a result.
Like all types of insurance, the best way to find cheap life insurance quotes is often by shopping around.
You must disclose your medical history fully, and if you don't, you risk having limited or no cover. Make sure you buy from a regulated company and read the terms and conditions and key facts documents.
Term life insurance can protect your family in the event of your death if it occurs during the policy and pays a lump sum within the length of the policy which you have agreed with the insurer. You will have the option to select a term for the policy, say 10, 20 or 25 years. You might choose to take out a term life insurance policy to match the length of your mortgage repayments.
There are two types of term life insurance policy – level and decreasing term insurance.
Whole of life insurance, also known as life assurance, will cover you until your death, whenever that occurs. There is no set time period for cover as there is in a term policy. However, as a claim is guaranteed to be made (unless the policy is cancelled), premiums for whole of life cover are often higher than for term policies.
Life assurance remains in force for your whole life (as long as you keep up the monthly premiums). Even if you get a term policy lasting 10 years, there's no guarantee you will die within that term, so you could be paying life insurance premiums for peace of mind.
The slight difference in the naming of life insurance and life assurance may suggest that it's simply a matter of preference in wording.
Although many people use the two terms interchangeably to mean the same thing, there is one small but key difference between life insurance and life assurance.
Essentially, life insurance aims to protect your family from a loss of income if you were to die unexpectedly. It’s designed to protect their lifestyle and financial wellbeing.
This usually relates to term life insurance plans – an insurance policy that runs for a pre-agreed term and only pays out if you die within that period – but as mentioned previously, some providers will use life insurance to mean the same thing as life assurance, so check exactly what they mean.
In reality, life insurance should really only be related to an insurance policy set against a fixed period of time.
Life assurance, on the other hand, is not exactly the same. Death is assured in any life, so the policy is designed to provide your family or next of kin with a lump sum to help meet their financial needs after you die, and this policy is guaranteed for life, for as long as you live (and continue to pay the premiums).
In a nutshell: life assurance is for life and life insurance is for a period of time you agree with your insurer.
There are some things you should do to make sure you're getting the right life insurance cover for you and things you can do to get the cheapest life cover available for your circumstances:
Find cheap life cover with Uswitch and get cover from just £5 per month*
Compare life insurance with Uswitch and get cover from just £5 per month*
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