Beginners Guide to Life Insurance

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Congratulations!

Now I don’t know for sure what brings you here, but I can hazard a guess it’s one of two things.

1. You are curious about what life insurance is and if it’s your bag

2. You already have a rough idea of what life insurance is, but you want another look before you leap.

Am I close?

Ah, sure, what does it matter?

There are no prizes for mind-reading.

You’re here to figure out if life insurance is what you need, and I’m here to help by simplifying the sheeeeet out of it.

So, first up…

How Does Life Insurance Work (in plain English)

It’s an insurance policy where you pay cash money (a premium) every month, so when you die, your provider/insurance company pays out a tax-free lump sum of cash to your fam to replace your income.

But I’ve heard the word life assurance used, is that the same thing?

Well, yes and no.

Life insurance and assurance pay out a tax-free lump sum if you die.

Life insurance covers you for a certain term, e.g. 20 or 25 years, whereas life assurance is the name given to a whole life policy where you are assured of a payout.

Stay with me now!

Term Life = life insurance that is only valid for a fixed and agreed-upon term
Whole life = life assurance that is valid from the moment you sign on the dotted line to the moment you meet your maker, whenever that may be.

You might be thinking,

but Nick, why the hell would anyone go for term life insurance if it doesn’t last your whole life

I hear ya, but would you be so convinced on the merits of whole-of-life cover if I told you the premiums were 15 times higher than term life?

So, if a policy that covers you for 25 years is €50 per month, the whole of life equivalent will set you back the guts of €750 smackers per month.

That’s the why!

So, Is Life Insurance Expensive?

The first thing anyone asks me is how much life insurance will cost.

My first response is always.

Not a clue, me auld flower.

I have no idea about your finances, your health situation, or how much cover you need- we have a little questionnaire for that – but I can tell you that life insurance is cheaper than you think.

There are some things you can do to lower that cost.

And here is a short list of said things that can make your life insurance premiums seem cheap as chips.

Buy life insurance when you’re young. If you haven’t bought it by now, the best time to buy life insurance is today.
Don’t smoke
Keep your weight in check (under a BMI of 33)

I’m Only 20! Why Do I Even Need Life Insurance?

Look, no one ‘needs’ life insurance, and I’m not going to try and convince, persuade or entice you into buying something you don’t need.

My job is to give you the facts and let you make up your mind.

You’re a big boy/girl.

But if you are only 20 and already considering life insurance.

Well, my friend, you have already won!

Life insurance gets more expensive the older you get, but once you lock in a premium, it’s fixed for the rest of your life.

I’m about to pull numbers out of the sky, so please don’t use them as a quote but as an example.

If you’re twenty and lock in a rather nifty price of €10 per month, you will pay €10 per month forever, even if you’re 90 and still rockin your socks.

But imagine you wait a few years before the fear of death becomes a little too real – we’ll go with the age of 60

Now, assuming you’re fit as a fiddle, your premium is €150 per month for the same cover, and you have to pay that premium knowing full well if you’d got on the ball earlier, you would have saved a whopping €140 per month.

Of course, you would have saved all those tenners per month in your 20s/30s/40 and 50s, so you have to consider that too.

The main point I’m trying to drum home here – the younger you are, the better for your pocket.

How Much Money Does My Family Get When I Die?

How much do you want them to get?

The size of your cash payout is entirely up to you.

You want a million to pay out; you buy a life insurance policy for a million.

If you think €250k is enough to keep your family financially stable, well, go and buy a policy for 250k.

You do you, boo.

Don’t worry; you don’t have to pull a random number from the sky and hope for the best.

My job is to guide you through what you need.

We’ll have some really good chats about dying and getting sick; sure, it’ll be great craic altogether.

I’ll get to know your circumstances better, and then I can suggest a few numbers that suit your needs.

Well, Can I Get A Joint Policy With My Partner?

100% yes, you can do this, but it might not be your best option.

It could leave your partner with a giant inheritance tax bill if you’re not married.

A dual life insurance policy is a better option if you are married.

Over To You….

It can feel overwhelming if you are new to the life insurance game.

Et c’est impossible to squeeze all the stuff you might need to know into one single Beginner’s Guide to Life Insurance blog post, although I did give it a try in the Life Insurance Blog

Blogs can only do so much.

Sometimes, you need to talk to an actual real-life person who knows their onions about this stuff.

And I’m the cat’s pyjamas at helping people like you get a life insurance policy so good that it will have you swinging around lampposts in the pouring rain like our good friend Gene Kelly.

So, what are you waiting for?

Complete this questionnaire, and we can get cracking

Thanks for reading

Nick