If you’re single it might seem a lot of insurances and financial products aren’t for you. But it’s not just families who have mortgages, loved ones and funerals to think about when they pass away.
Do I need life insurance if I’m single?
The main reason people have life insurance is to make sure their loved ones won’t suffer financially when they pass away, so you can understand why singletons might walk past this, particularly if they don’t have children. But if you are single, you still might have as many responsibilities and considerations as those with a partner, two kids and an SUV in suburbia. Particularly if you:
Have a mortgage or want to buy property
If you pass away with outstanding debts on a mortgage, the lender will still expect the loan to be paid back and may want to claim it from your estate. This could mean having to sell your beloved home. With life protection, the pay-out could cover the loan, which means you could leave your house or flat to a partner, sibling, niece or nephew, or a close friend. In fact, the pay-out could potentially benefit anybody, for example if you shared a house and mortgage with somebody, it would mean they’d carry on living in the house, as your part of the debt could be paid. So limiting the amount of change and disruption to the life of someone you love.
Your loved ones are not a spouse or partner
Some single people have sprogs from past relationships, elderly parents or siblings who might need support without you there to help at least financially.
Paying for your funeral
These are expensive, but life insurance could be set up to cover the costs. This means those you leave behind wouldn’t have to deal with the additional financial burden of losing you and having to pay for a funeral. And you could plan it so you get the big send-off you deserve.
A change in circumstances
Life is as unpredictable as it is fragile. Until the fountain of youth become a real thing, you’ll get older, you may settle down and have a family. One aspect of life insurance is that younger, healthier people tend to pay cheaper premiums. When pricing insurance policies, providers look at how likely or how soon they may have to pay out, and statistically young people usually fare better.
Our life insurance
There are two options at Aviva for life insurance, level cover and decreasing cover:
- Level cover – you choose a total money pot that would be paid out if a claim were made, and how long you want your cover to run for. You’ll pay the same monthly amount until your policy ends. If you die while you're covered, the benefit amount is guaranteed, and we'll pay the full amount. Over time, inflation will affect the value of your lump sum, so you can choose to pay more so the value is in line with it, so the sum won't be worth less in the future.
- Decreasing cover – the policy would last for a specific time, and you would pay fixed monthly amount, just like level cover. The benefit value will then reduce over the term of the policy, in line with a fixed interest rate. This policy is ideal if you want to pay off specific debts like a mortgage.
Getting the right policy
Life insurance is a good way of making sure your assets go to the people you choose and your death doesn’t leave your loved ones out of pocket. The right policy depends on the cover you need and your individual circumstances. To get a better idea of what this is and how much it’ll cost, you can get a quote online where we’ll ask ten questions to find out if it’s something we can offer you.
If you want to speak to us, we’re on 0800 068 5549.