Life Assurance

The future financial security of your family is something that needs careful planning, it needs organising and should be subject to regular reviews. Looking after your family and ensuring that there are adequate funds to cope with the unexpected will probably form the cornerstone of your financial planning. 

Illness, job loss or the death of a wage earner can plunge families into real financial hardship. Taking a little time to assess your risks and work out how much money you would need to cover debts and provide your family with an income for the future should be a high priority. 

You should consider the need for Life Assurance, Critical Illness or Income Protection Insurance for financial protection against death or contracting a serious illness to cover mortgage or school fees. Private Health cover may be necessary so you can plan in the event of surgery being required.  

With all the insurance products now available, a complete programme of protection could be built to meet your needs and it could be adaptable to cater for future changes in your circumstances.  Whether you are concerned with the need to provide for your family if you die or feel that your greatest risk is from illness there is a product to meet your needs. If your partner also contributes to the family income, then you could build a separate plan for them or take out a joint policy covering you both.  

We have provided brief details here about the options available, but would recommend a meeting to discuss your own unique requirements before making any proposals.

Life Assurance 

Most of us have heard of Life Assurance and appreciate that it is a policy provided by a Life Assurance Company that pays out either a lump sum or a series of payments if or when you die. These payments are normally paid without the deduction of any personal income tax, and in most instances are actually tax-free. 

It is however worth considering that any proceeds from a life assurance will be added to the deceased’s estate. If this takes the overall estate above the nil band threshold for inheritance tax, this tax would be payable for any amounts in excess of the threshold. This can be avoided by placing the Life Assurance in Trust and therefore separating out these proceeds from the ‘estate’ and keeping them tax free. 

The proceeds of a Life Assurance policy can be used:  

• to pay off a debt such as a mortgage
• to provide an income for your dependents

You pay monthly premiums or an annual sum to the Life Assurance company for either a given time span (Term Assurance) or in the case of Whole of Life Assurance normally through to death (some Whole of Life policies have a maximum age limit on premiums).

Life Assurance policies can be combined with other forms of insurance, such as Critical Illness insurance so that you receive the lump sum if you are diagnosed with a specified critical illness or on death.