Financial Adviser Hertfordshire

Life Insurance

Consolidation in the UK financial services market has reduced the number of life insurance companies to around 10 only and yet the market is incredibly competitive.

There are now many more benefits that may be added to the basic life assurance contract such as critical illness cover, waiver of premium and guaranteed insurability options and so it is best to take Independent Financial Advice.

Choosing the right company and right product from this bewildering choice is challenging. Fortunately, there are some common sense guidelines that will help you narrow the field to a more manageable selection of companies and products.

Life insurance in it's basic form is very cheap so there is no reason not to take at least some cover to provide for your family and other commitments if the worst happens.  An Independent Financial Adviser will get you the best quote and you can apply over the phone immediatly.

Looking at the Cost

There are ways you can keep your premium rates to a minimum without affecting the quality of your cover.

• Consider Term Life Insurance - Term Life Insurance is the cheapest form of life cover available and premiums are very competitive.
• Use an Independent Financial Adviser to help you find the cheapest Life Insurance premium.
• Stop smoking - premium rates for smokers are 30-40% higher than for non-smokers. If you successfully quite smoking, after 12 months you can apply as a non-smoker.  You arrange cover immediatly on smoker rates and look forward to rearranging the cover with a big saving in 12 months time.
• Only pay for the cover you need - If you are looking for term insurance and critical illness, you can make big savings by buying a combined policy. These only pay out one lump sum rather than the two that separate policies would pay, if you suffer a critical illness and then die.
• Remember the cost to your family if you die without sufficient life assurance cover.

Obviously, the cost of monthly premiums is going to be a major factor in your choice of insurer but, it should not be your only consideration.

Product Quality

There can be major differences between UK life insurance policies so it is important that you compare like with like and check the small print. This is particularly important if you are including extra’s such as Critical Illness Cover. Always read the Key Facts document carefully and look for some of the following benefits:

• Are the premiums Guaranteed? This means the premiums are guaranteed to remain the same throughout the term of your policy. This is opposed to `Reviewable´ premiums which, as the name suggests, are reviewed usually every 5 years and can increase dramatically.
• Check that the policy has terminal illness benefit included. This is a valuable extra which is now included in most Term Life Insurance policies for free and will pay the life insurance amount early if you suffer a terminal illness.
• Can the policy be written in trust? This will avoid any delay in the money going to your dependants and the risk of inheritance tax being charged on the benefit.
• Can waiver of premium benefit be included in your plan. This is a valuable extra which, if you become too ill to work for a number of months, will ensure your cover continues without you having to pay the premiums.

These matters are quite complicated which is why an Independent Financial Adviser should be consulted.