You may have just started planning a family or even just welcomed your first little one into the world. Either way, becoming a parent is an important time to consider life insurance or to re-examine the life insurance you’ve already got to ensure you've got the cover you need.
Having life insurance is important at all stages of your life, but starting a family means new responsibilities. Having the right cover to protect your family if something were to happen becomes even more important.
Starting a family comes with a set of expenses that need to be paid...
- Your mortgage: The mortgage is the main expense of most households. Many homeowners will have Mortgage Protection or something similar. Starting a family is a good time to re-assess your finances and to make sure you have cover in place. No one likes to think about the worst, but if something were to happen, your family will be in a far better place financially if you’ve got insurance policies in place.
- Childcare: Kids are expensive! Childcare costs, while necessary, can quickly rack up.
- Education: School fees, expenses, putting a little aside for college...the list of education expenses is a long one. Life Insurance, again, is a fallback plan if something happens.
- Loans: While your mortgage is the big one, it’s very common to owe smaller loans: cars, holidays, credit cards, that shopping splurge from last week. Whatever it is, it all needs to be paid. If something were to happen to one or both of the breadwinners, the Life Insurance lump sum could be used as leverage against these loans.
What Life Insurance should I get?
Life Insurance makes sense, but there is no one-size fits all approach. As with all our products, we’re firm believers that you need to take out a policy that best suits you. We’re going to take a quick look at the different types of life cover that are relevant to a new parent.
1. Life Insurance
Known as Life Assurance or Life Cover, this works within a term or set amount of time. You take out a policy and should you die within your term, a lump sum of money will be paid to your loved ones. This money can be used to pay bills, the mortgage, childcare, education, loans...anything they choose.
2. Mortgage Protection
Mortgage Protection is pretty straight-forward: it clears your mortgage in the event of your death. You’re legally obliged to get Mortgage Protection when you get a mortgage. Usually, people take out mortgage protection with their mortgage provider, but it’s really recommended that you shop around first.
3. Serious Illness Cover
When you’re feeling fit and healthy, you might not really think about being unable to work in the future. Serious Illnesses, unfortunately, can happen. Serious Illness cover pays out a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a specified illness that’s outlined in your policy e.g. cancer or a heart attack.
Regardless of which policies you choose, it’s important for every new parent to look to the future and consider their options. Hopefully, your family won’t need the money from your policies for a very long time, but it’s always best to be covered just in case.
You don’t have to be a Public Sector employee to avail of our Life Insurance policies. At Cornmarket, our philosophy is all about getting the Life Insurance Policy that best suits your needs at the best price available!