Life insurance: Life insurance tips

Shopping around for the best cover can save you hundreds

Expert tips

• Do your research or get independent financial advice to help you decide which product is best for you.
• Check whether you have any insurance cover already through your work or with a mortgage.
• If you need life cover, don't put off getting it – the younger and healthier you are, the cheaper it is.
• For couples, two separate policies may be better value than a joint policy. 
• Shop around for the best cover – prices vary greatly. 
• Make sure the company you buy from is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). 
• Before buying, make sure your premiums are fixed throughout the term. 
• Be honest about any existing medical conditions. Non-disclosure of an illness could make your policy invalid if your relatives later need to make a claim. 
• Write your policy ‘in trust’ for quicker payouts and to reduce the risk of relatives paying inheritance tax. 
• Make a will to ensure that your money goes where you really want it to.

Buying life insurance makes us think about dying – and that’s something none of us want to contemplate. It’s easy to think ‘I’ll do it later’ but, if you have someone who depends on you financially, life insurance is a must. And the sooner you buy it, the cheaper it will be.

Cover for debts and dependents

You might think you're off the hook because you already have life insurance to cover the mortgage. Not so if there are other people who depend upon you financially.

Having cover to pay off large debts like a mortgage is essential, but so is leaving behind enough money for your dependents to be able to carry on living and paying their bills, without your income to rely on.

Without insurance, your family could struggle to make ends meet if anything happened to you. With the right policy in place, you could leave them enough money to pay the mortgage and to live on.