Life Assurance Cover
Three good reasons why you do need life insurance cover!
Financial services is pretty boring… plus getting life assurance cover implies thinking about something we don’t really want to: our own demise. But tackling these thorny problems means financial security for the people you care about most, and the irritation could be your most important act of altruism.
The vast majority of people have inadequate life assurance cover- that’s if they have it at all. So why would you bother with it; after all it does cost money? Well, here are three good reasons. - If you’re young, free and single, then family protection probably means very little to you. But if you’re married, particularly if you’re at work and your partner remains at home with young children, then life assurance cover is essential to replace the income your family currently receive from your work were you to die. Many people choose family income policies for this purpose, although you could opt for a lump sum which is then re-invested if the policy matures.
- Then there’s debt management. A mortgage is often not the only debt you would leave behind if you died: car loans, holidays, credit cards and medical bills can all add up. Life assurance cover redeemable as a lump sum will pay these off. You do of course sometimes have the option of loan and credit card protection policies as another alternative in covering these obligations. But those schemes are usually individual to each debt, and won’t provide a lump sum at the end.
- Finally, there’s liquidity. When you die, probate requires that your family pay what is usually a significant amount of money in tax and other expenses. The total value of your estate consists of liquid assets (like cash, furniture) and illiquid assets (like your property). There’s a basic problem in that the tax liability on the value of the illiquid assets is often more than the total value of the liquid assets- meaning your family would have to sell your property or car to pay your tax liability. A second additional problem is that liquid assets are often additionally sold at below market rate (think about house clearances!) because bills need to be paid off fast; which means you’ll receive even less value for money. A sensible amount of life assurance cover will fully resolve this problem!
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