A parent’s primary instinct is to provide for and protect their children. A recent survey shows we protect them with car seatbelts, sun creams and smoke alarms. It probably won’t surprise you then that people’s biggest concern right now is how their family could cope if they or their partner became ill or died suddenly.
Half of those questioned know a family where the main income earner died younger than age 50. So what may surprise you is that almost half of Irish adults say they have no life insurance at all.
This means that many families are extremely vulnerable to real financial strain if the unthinkable happened. At the moment, juggling family finances can feel like a full-time job. Many of us find it difficult to know what to sort out first.
In fact, when asked the most important thing to insure people said their cars, their homes and their health above insuring the most important thing of all – their own lives. Many families are aware they need life insurance but almost 7 in 10 totally overestimate the monthly cost and guess it costs an average of €35.45 per month. Actually, life insurance can start from just €15 a month.
The cost of cover depends on your age, health, amount of cover, gender and product type. You must keep up your monthly payments to stay on cover.
But to put it into perspective, life insurance costs about the same price as a family size bottle of sun cream. Life insurance does get more expensive as you get older, so it makes sense to buy as much as you can as early as possible. After all, buying some life insurance is better than having none at all.
Most of us know that we need to financially protect ourselves and our families. But with all the options available; even looking into it can seem daunting. That’s why it’s good to talk to your broker for straightforward information about the different types of life insurance available to protect your family.
So perhaps the question should be, ‘Life Insurance – can I afford not to?’