You may want to buy life insurance if your family (or other people) rely on you for financial or other support.
You will need to decide the amount of cover you want paid out on your death. This amount is known as the ‘sum assured’ or ‘policy benefit’.
If you have a young family, you may want to put life insurance in place until your youngest child has left school or college. This could mean having a policy with a 20 or 25 year term. You could also get insurance for a five or 10 year term, if your family is older. Don’t assume that workers only need life insurance – consider what you would do if a non working partner died and you have young children.
Life insurance costs in Ireland
Sample policy costs from Feb 2014 – For a 33 year old male for €250,000 level-term life cover over 25 years . The first figure for each provider is the non smoker figure – the second figure is for a smoker.
Zurich €19.89 €35.10
Friends First €19.47 €34.37
New Ireland €22.97 €40.62
Caledonian Life€20.42 €36.72
Irish Life €22.95 €39.13
Aviva €23.54 €38.66
The difference in premiums for smokers and non smokers can be as much as €20 a month. This is €240 a year – or €6000 over the life of the policy. There isn’t much difference between the insurance companies – when you compare monthly premiums – but you could save about €50 a year in the example shown below by choosing Friends First instead of Aviva.
Life Insurance Tips:
Shop around – do it yourself or get a financial advisor to do it for you.
Compare policies on a like-with-like basis.
Fill in proposal forms fully and truthfully.
Read the documentation.
Remember that you have a cooling off period during which you can cancel a policy.
Review your life insurance from time to time, particularly at turning points in your life.
Keep a list of your policies and let someone know where they are.
Couples can get Joint policies or Dual Policies
A Joint life policy pays out the sum assured if one person dies within the term of the policy. The policy then ends.
A Dual life policy provides cover for two people and continues after the first person dies. It pays out a benefit on each death provided the policy is in force.
See Money Guide Ireland – for more financial Best Buys