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You work hard to provide a home and lifestyle for yourself and your loved ones, so you should have peace of mind when it comes to both your life and mortgage insurance cover.  Should the worst happen, you need to have the right protection in place.  There is a number of insurance cover options available and depending on your own personal circumstances there is sure to be a policy that works for both you and your family.

Life and critical illness insurance will financially protect your loved ones at a time when they need it most.  It will give you comfort in knowing that you and your family have financial support should the worst happen. Below are some of the options available to you and a brief outline of how they work.

Life insurance pays out a lump sum should you pass away or be diagnosed with a terminal illness.  Everyone’s circumstances and needs are different, but this could, for example, pay off your mortgage or be used towards living expenses.  It can be tailored to the needs of your family with you choosing the amount and the beneficiaries. Other factors to consider are the length of the policy needed and if you want to set up as a joint policy, which only pays out for the first person, or have two single policies.  We can factor needs alongside budget to get the correct level of cover for you.  Premiums vary depending on age, lifestyle and whether you would like decreasing cover, which means the lump sum pay out reduces in line with what you are trying to protect.  So as your mortgage reduces, the lump sum pay out also reduces. You may want to opt for a level cover which means the lump sum remains the same for the lifetime of the policy.

Terminal illness is often built into a standard life insurance policy meaning if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness and a doctor confirms you will not survive 12 months, the policy can pay out.

Critical illness is designed to cover you for the period of your health condition from which you could recover. It is designed to pay out if you are diagnosed with a specified serious medical condition.  It can help with treatment or bills should you be unable to work due to your condition.  You can take this policy out on its own or with your life insurance policy, as an additional cover, meaning you would receive a lump sum on diagnosis and your family would still receive the lump sum from the life insurance element upon death.  You can also combine it, which means the policy will only pay out on diagnosis or death.

Family Income Benefit is a type of term life insurance which is designed to give regular financial support to your family if you were to die or be diagnosed with a terminal illness. The term and sum insured can be arranged depending on your personal circumstances. An example of this is you may wish to provide your spouse with additional income until your children reach a certain age. This helps secure an ongoing income for your family.

Whole of life insurance is a type of policy which ensures that when you die, a sum of money will be made available to your loved ones.  There is no term end date with whole of life insurance, as long as you continue to pay the regular premiums your cover will continue.  Policies can be set up on a single or joint life basis paying a sum on either first or second death.

Whole of life insurance is usually more expensive than other forms of life insurance as the insurer knows they will have to pay out at some point in the future, compared with term insurance where the plan ends after a certain period whether the policy holder survives or not.  When opting for a whole of life assurance you need to be sure that you can afford the premiums throughout your life, even when you have ceased employment as you won’t want to give up on the life cover element because you can no longer afford the premiums.

The above are just some of the policies available but there are numerous other policies and options which may be better suited to your circumstances.  If you would like advice about the best options for you or a review on any policies you currently have in place, we are here to help.  Contact us or visit us at Dalston, Dumfries, Penrith or Workington.

_{David Allen Financial Services (Dalston) Ltd (Registered in England & Wales, Company Number 06966976) has its registered office at Dalmar House, Barras Lane, Dalston, Carlisle CA5 7NY. The company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm Reference 506138.}