There’s lots of reasons why you might put off taking out what’s seen as unnecessary insurance – especially when you’re feeling the pinch in your pocket and your precious time. But for the sake of a couple of minutes, a few questions and cover to suit your balance sheet, it could be worth doing. As the last couple of years has taught us, anything could happen and it’s best to be prepared.
And if you already have a medical condition, as long as you tell us, you can still get cover in most cases. But when searching around, check with the provider, as not all companies offer this.
Before any of that, you need to have a think if it’s right for you at all.
1. What do you want your life insurance for, how much you need and how long do you need it for?
Leaving a gap in the family is hard for everyone so the last thing they need is to have their home and lifestyle changed too. So you need to think if your partner and/or children would be ok without your income, for example would the mortgage be paid, is there enough for your funeral, would school or university fees be paid. Stability is important for your loved ones and it's important to get the right cover.
Let’s say you wanted to help your family with their living costs, a ‘level cover’ policy could be the insurance for you. You just need to choose a lump sum, how long you want your policy for, and then you pay the monthly premium until the policy ends. You can also protect your loved ones from the impact of inflation, where their living costs may go up. If you choose our increasing cover, the lump sum payable would go up each year with inflation to help cover these increased costs. Your monthly payments will also go up, but it makes sure the cover you choose keeps track with the cost of living.
You could also look to take out life insurance to help cover your mortgage. This could help ensure your family can stay in your home if you were no longer around, as it could go towards paying off the outstanding mortgage. This type of cover is often called mortgage protection or decreasing cover. The amount of cover goes down each month broadly in line with how you might expect the amount remaining on your mortgage to decrease.
If you’d like some help deciding, our life insurance calculator can help.
2. Do you want to cover another person?
You can take out a joint policy to cover a partner too. It could be more cost effective to take out a joint policy rather than taking out two separate ones. Bear in mind, joint policies only pay out once, so it won’t cover your partner if you pass away and vice versa.
You can also take out separate policies. So once we pay out for one person their policy will end – but the second person’s policy will carry on.
3. Do you want to add critical illness cover
No one wants to think about getting ill but it can strike anyone anytime. And if you have dependents, it could cause even more disruption to their lives if you’re not covered, so it might be worth thinking about getting critical illness cover too, in case a future illness means you're off work for a while. A critical illness claim won’t affect your life insurance, which will still pay out if you pass away while you’re covered.
4. Have your details within reach
Finally, you just need to give your name, address, date of birth, contact information, and tell us about your health and lifestyle. To be eligible for our life insurance, you must be aged between 18 and 77 years and a permanent UK resident (or a person legally allowed to remain in the UK permanently).
Most customers get a quote and a decision if we can offer cover in around five minutes, and all quotes are valid for 30 days.
Answer all the questions, honestly. If you don’t, your policy will be cancelled. Or the insurer might not be able to pay out when a claim is made, if you didn’t tell us something when you applied, and we later find out. Or you may be declined if our underwriter finds out new information when they assess your application.
Most people have a pretty good idea of what they need life insurance for and definitely know their name. So taking out a policy is a few clicks away leaving you time to give your loved ones a squeeze and enjoy being the wonderful you.