WHAT TYPE OF LIFE INSURANCE IS RIGHT FOR ME?

Term life insurance

Term life insurance is for a set time, like 30 years. This time is called the ‘term’ of the policy.

People often get this insurance to help pay off a loan or mortgage, or to provide money for things like raising kids or funeral costs. For example, if you have 20 years left on your mortgage, you can get a term life policy for 20 years.

Decreasing Term Life Cover

The money this policy pays out gets smaller over time. It’s good for when you’re paying off something like a mortgage that decreases over time.

Level Term Life Cover

With this one, your family gets the same amount of money, no matter when they claim it.

Increasing Term Life Cover

This policy’s payout grows over time. It’s useful if you think your family will need more money in the future, like if you have young kids. The payout can go up either with inflation or at a set rate. With a fixed rate, it might increase faster than inflation if you keep it for a long time.

Whole of life insurance

This insurance covers you for your entire life, not just for a certain time. You keep paying into the policy, and when you pass away, the insurance company pays your family, no matter when it happens. It’s great if you want insurance that lasts forever without having to get a new policy when one ends.

Whole of life insurance is often more expensive than term life insurance for the same amount of money it pays out. It also usually includes extra features. For example, you might be able to use the insurance as a loan, which is part of why it costs more.

There are some whole of life policies that are cheaper than others. They cover for less time and pay out smaller amounts. These simpler policies don’t have the extra features like borrowing money from them. A common type of this insurance is for people over 50, which accepts everyone in that age group.

Joint life insurance

If you and your partner want to make sure that the other person and your kids are taken care of if one of you dies, joint life insurance might be a good choice.

This type of insurance covers both of you together. If one of you passes away, it pays out money. It’s a good way to know you’re both protected. But, it’s important to know that most joint life insurance policies only pay once. So, after one person dies and the policy pays out, the other person won’t have coverage anymore. They’d need to get their own separate insurance then.

Joint life insurance means you both are insured under one policy, and you make one payment each month. But, it only pays out once during the policy’s term. If you each have your own policy, you’re both covered separately, but it means paying two premiums every month.

Critical illness coverage

Critical illness cover is insurance that gives you a big amount of money if you get really sick. It’s there to help you pay for things when you’re too sick to work. This can include medical costs or changes you need to make to your house.

How much money you get depends on your policy. It could be a part of your total insurance amount or a set amount of money. Each insurance company has different rules for this. Usually, you have to choose this cover when you first get your policy, not later on.

It’s really important to know which serious illnesses your policy covers and for how long it protects you.

Terminal illness coverage

Terminal illness cover is a type of insurance that gives your family a big amount of money if doctors say you have an illness and have only up to twelve months to live.

When you and your family are going through such a tough time, this cover can really help by taking away some money worries.

Children’s cover

Children’s cover is insurance that pays a one-time big amount of money if your insured child gets very sick. This money can help with things like medical bills or changes you might need to make to your house because of your child’s illness.

The amount you get could be part of your total insurance or a set amount, and this varies with each insurance company. Usually, you need to choose this cover when you first get your insurance, not later on.

It’s important to know exactly what illnesses are covered for your child and how long the cover lasts.