It’s natural for us mums to worry about our family’s future and COVID-19 has not helped matters. The pandemic has highlighted the need to have the right financial protection in place to ensure your family are taken care of. As a mum, you’ll want to know that your children will be protected in the event of a worst-case scenario.
Life insurance is essential in securing the financial future of your family and ensuring they don’t struggle financially should you pass away. Life insurance works by providing a payout to your loved ones should you pass away during the term of your policy.
Your loved ones can then use this payout to help cover any financial commitments. These are often things such as:
- Mortgage payments
- Bills and utilities
- Outstanding debts
- Childcare costs
- Funeral costs
- Leaving an inheritance
Whether you’re a young mum, single mum, stay at home mum or working mum, life insurance is essential for protecting your family should the worst happen.
Below are 5 top tips for securing affordable life insurance cover for mums from Hampshire-based award-winning life insurance broker, Reassured -
1. Lead a healthy lifestyle
It can be hard juggling motherhood while taking the time for yourself to
lead a healthy and active lifestyle, but doing so could help you to secure a
more affordable life insurance premium.
The price you pay for your life insurance premium will be calculated
according to the level of risk you pose to the insurer – the riskier they
deem you to be, the more you’ll pay.
At the point of application, you’ll need to provide information on your
health and wellbeing, such as:
- Your lifestyle
- Your medical history
- Your weight
- Your BMI
- Your smoking status
This information will help to paint the picture of your current health (and, therefore, the risk you pose to the insurer). Ill health, being overweight, having a high BMI and being a smoker are all factors that can lead to premiums being inflated.
This doesn’t mean you’ll need to swap quality time with your children to hit up the gym every day but simple steps such as quitting smoking, eating a balanced diet and keeping active could all work in your favour to lead a healthier lifestyle and secure a more favourable premium.
2. Secure cover sooner rather than later
Becoming a mum is often an event that triggers the need for life insurance but with so much to do it can easily become something that gets put to the bottom of the list. It’s important to know that your age also plays a part in deciding how much you’ll pay for your cover, so it’s wise to take out a policy sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, it’s likely that the older you are, the more you’ll pay for your cover. This is because at an older age your health may not be as good as it once was, leading to insurers inflating premiums. To secure a life insurance policy at the lowest price, it’s best to take out cover at a young age and when you’re in good health.
While it can be hard to know how much cover you’ll need at a younger age, as you don’t know what’s in store for your family, thankfully many insurers offer a ‘change of circumstances’ option. So, if your family grows, or you move to a bigger home, you can adjust your sum assured to meet these new requirements.
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| Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash |
3. Only take out what you
need
The best way to work out how much cover you need is to make a list of
financial obligations and add up the costs. For example:
Mortgage payments + family living costs + childcare costs + funeral costs = sum assured
By getting the sum of these costs you’ll have the level of cover you
require, you won’t be left paying over the odds for cover you don’t need
and your premium payments can easily be factored into your
budget.
4. Consider a joint policy
It’s possible for you and your partner to secure a joint life insurance policy to protect your family. Taking out a joint life insurance policy can help you to save (on average) 25% compared with two single policies.
This is because both of your lives will be covered simultaneously – meaning you’ll fill in one application form and pay one premium each month. While this can be beneficial to help you save money, you’ll need to consider that there will only be one payout which typically happens after the first death.
After this has occurred the policy will expire, leaving the surviving partner unprotected. Thus two single policies can be more expensive but will provide more comprehensive cover to protect your family.
5. Compare quotes
As a mum, it’s only natural that you’ll want the best protection for your family and comparing quotes is an essential step in securing a policy that meets all of your needs for a price within your budget.
Due to the different underwriting processes used by different providers, no two quotes will be the same, so by going direct to an insurer it’s unlikely you’ll get the best deal. You could compare quotes yourself by conducting your own research but this can be a lengthy task, especially while juggling family commitments.
Or you could let an experienced life insurance broker (like Reassured) do this on your behalf. A broker can do all the hard work for you and provide you with the details of the insurer who can offer you the most favourable terms – all while being on hand to answer any questions you may have. They can also unpick any jargon you may not understand, so you can have peace of mind that your policy is the right one for your family.
Securing life assurance, and with it, peace of mind, can seem like a complex or worrying business but with a life insurance broker like Reassured to help you, it should be an easy and painless process.
