One out of 20 children in the UK suffer the impact of a parent dying before they finish full-time education, and this thought-provoking statistic is a poignant reminder of the importance of life insurance coverage. A life insurance policy is a contractual agreement between an insurance carrier and the policyholder. If the policyholder dies prior to the end of the contract term, a designated amount of cash is paid to the beneficiary, commonly a spouse or child, as a way of providing future financial support. A regular payment must be made each month to ensure this protection.
Should the worst actually occur, life insurance gives policyholders complete confidence and secures the immediate financial future of their family. Policies may be tailored to incorporate provisions for funeral costs, and many life insurance plans will assist beneficiaries financially during periods of terminal or critical illness.
Life assurance falls into two separate categories. A protection policy provides a financial payment to beneficiaries as a full and final lump sum. However, investment policies can be acquired as an alternative, and those provide interim payouts to beneficiaries based on the capital growth of premium investments. Life assurance agreements usually pay beneficiaries in the event of accidental or natural death, but policyholders should always familiarise themselves with the stipulations of their contract, as many providers implement exclusions for fraudulent claims, suicide, civil unrest and natural disasters.
Critical illness cover provides financial security to safeguard families affected by critical or terminal illness. Around 25% of all UK adults are influenced by critical illnesses, such as strokes or cancer, before they reach the age of retirement. When life insurance is purchased, critical illness cover is usually incorporated as a supplemental policy. This provides a single lump payment to beneficiaries based on specified qualification criteria. In most cases, critical illness cover requires the policyholder to survive a month of illness before compensation is made. Originally known as dread disease insurance, coverage incorporates more than 30 different illnesses and diseases into protection plans, although these can vary slightly between different life assurance providers.
Mortgage protection insurance is another type of cover which is often included in a policy, and it can cover many different aspects of protection. It may be possible for the payout to cover the cost of a mortgage for several years if the contributions are sufficient. It may also be implemented during periods of incapacity or unemployment, but is ideal when providing a lump sum payment to beneficiaries after the death of the policyholder. Mortgage protection is often already incorporated into the terms and conditions of a policy, making the purchase of a separate mortgage protection insurance unnecessary. An applicant should always familiarise themselves fully with the policy so that they may understand the extent and limitations of the cover.