Life cover / insurance is a plan that helps you protect your family financially when you pass on, fall ill or have disabilities that prevent you from working. Please note this is not an investment or savings plan and the policy doesn’t have a cash value until the day the valid claim is made.
Life insurance pays out when the insured/named person passes on. The aim is to offer financial protection to the loved ones because they’ve lost their primary means of financial support. You have to choose a policy that will accommodate your needs and begin paying annual or monthly premiums without failing. If you don’t pay in time, you could be penalized, or your plan may stop existing. Once you have passed on, the insurance company pays the named beneficiaries the specified amount in full or installments.
This policy is ideal for people who have dependents and wouldn’t want them to have financial problems should they get disabled, seriously ill, or pass on. The insured chooses a policy depending on their goals and needs.
The main types of life insurance covers include:
Term – also known as pure life cover, this cover pays out the money if the named person passes away within the set term. But, in case the person doesn’t, nothing is returned to them. This kind of plan will attract low premiums with most of them being convertible and renewable.
Whole life – this plan combines the insurance and investment components and offers lifetime coverage; Premium rates are fixed. The accumulated cash value may be borrowed or withdrawn by the insured or beneficiary over their lifetime. The rates of returns are low.
Universal insurance – this plan offers lifetime coverage, so the premium rates tend to be high. It’s a more flexible policy that allows the insured to raise or lower the rates throughout their life.
Once you register yourself in any life cover, you’ll enjoy some benefits. For instance, the tax treatment will be favorable compared to other types of insurance, and your beneficiaries will be at ease should any financial strife happen when you’re not able to be there.
