There will be a life insurance policy that is best for your needs. As each type of life policy is best at covering different aspects of your requirements, it is best to speak with a qualified adviser. An adviser will do the hard work for you and provide peace of mind that the policy you buy is the right one for your circumstances. To obtain advice at outset avoids wasting money, time and disappointment at the claim stage.

When choosing the right provider for yourself it is important to consider:

1. The premium – is it competitive for the amount of cover?
2. Are there additional benefits which you would actually use or find useful?
3. Does the provider provide full cover without any medical or hobby exclusions or increases in premium?
4. Are the rates guaranteed not to rise during the duration of the policy i.e. are they guaranteed?
5. Does the provider have good claim rates and a history of paying claims?

There is no one life insurance policy that will offer the best value for money. They all vary according to what they are in place to cover and your individual circumstances.

Your Future Proof adviser can talk you through the most suitable options. The value of policies increases greatly with additional benefits offered for being a client with that insurer. Benefits such as private GP services, counselling, nutritional advice and rehabilitation services.

There are certain companies that are better for different types of life cover. Especially, when you consider value for money and the range of additional benefits included in the price. Your Future Proof adviser can offer you no-obligation award-winning advice. They can compare insurers for you, including those not available on comparison sites. 

Our advisers can search the market for you in order to find the best insurance provider at the best price. Including insurers that don’t deal directly with the public. Once they understand your requirements and any medical conditions that you may suffer from, a premium from them will be more precise than that from a comparison site. Our research process involves us contacting many insurers to find out the best possible outcome for our clients. This avoids any nasty shocks later on during the underwriting process. We want to avoid wasting time by making applications that may be declined. Comparison sites do not take into account any medical conditions until the application stage. 

It is not better to get a quote online. There are many reasons for this, an online quote won’t:

1. Take into consideration any medical health conditions that you may be suffering from.
2. Take into account a high-risk occupation.
3. Take into account a dangerous pastime like motorbike racing for example
4. Take into account what you need the cover for, the precise amount that needs to be insured and the correct term that the policy should run for.
5. Take into account the value you place on additional benefits such as 24-hour private GP services that come at no extra cost with some insurers. ( invaluable if you have children or like to travel abroad).

An online quote will make blanket assumptions until you get to the application stage. After this, your premium may be raised from that originally quoted online. Or, possibly a medical condition excluded.

At the start of the process our advisers will need to know about:

• medical conditions
• dangerous occupations
• dangerous pastimes

They will approach insurers who are more accepting of the factors above and can provide more precise quotes. Saving you time and money.

Every insurer that provides life insurance will have its own non-medical underwriting limits. I.e. an insured amount under which a medical will not be required. These differ between insurers.

Yet, this situation changes if you have any medical conditions (which you must disclose in your application form). Even if the amount insured is beneath an insurer’s non-medical limit, a GP report may be requested or you may be asked to attend a medical examination.

Guaranteed over 50s plans do not ask for medical information on their application forms, there are no medical exams, and you are guaranteed acceptance. However, due to this they are more expensive than fully underwritten plans, that request medical information as part of their acceptance. With over 50s plans there are also terms and conditions concerning when a payout will be given that should be noted, such as not in the first two years of of the policy.

The best option if you have a pre-existing condition is to speak with an expert adviser. One that knows all about your condition and which insurer is the most sympathetic to your specific condition. This means that they will be more likely to provide cover that includes your condition, do not raise premiums for your cover and ultimately one which accepts your application.

At Future Proof, we have access to specialist insurance companies that don’t deal directly with the public. These companies offer more specialised policies, designed to provide cover where other major providers can’t.

Our research process involves us contacting many insurers to find out the best possible outcome for our clients. Which avoids any nasty shocks later on during the underwriting process.

As a smoker there is no one ‘best’ life insurance policy. Different insurers charge different rates for smoker’s premiums and these can vary whenever insurers decide to change their rates. If you have only vaped or used nicotine patches for the last five years, you may be eligible for special vapers rates. These are cheaper than smoking rates. Although, not as cheap as non-smoker rates. The insurer that offers these rates does not deal directly with the public. Future Proof can search the market on your behalf for the most competitive smoker’s premium.

Life insurance is not an investment vehicle, the policies that we sell have no investment element in them. i.e they are like motor insurance, in that when you stop paying the premiums the insurance will stop and you won’t get anything back. Nonetheless, life insurance rates will be cheapest when you take out a policy when you are young. The best advice would be to take out a life insurance policy as young as you can, but only when you have a reason to do so. ( Buying a property, having a baby, covering a loan).

If you are over 60 and in good health generally speaking, the best cover you can get would be level term insurance. If you are looking to insure a smaller amount and are in relatively good health, this is closely followed by Whole of life cover. Whole of life cover is guaranteed to pay out and as such the premiums will be higher than a level term insurance plan to age 90 ( dependent on the amount insured). If you are suffering from ill health an over 50s plan could be the best type of cover that you can get, especially if you have been declined for both level term and whole of life cover. An expert no-obligation adviser will be able to compare quotes for you and advise on the most cost effective way of proceeding.

The best cover for a young family will usually be an increasing term policy or family income benefit.

Increasing term life insurance – pays out a lump sum should you pass away. Leaving your loved ones with a payout that they can use to maintain their standard of living once you have died. Arranging cover with an ‘index-linked option’ allows the policy benefit to increase on an annual basis. This helps to offset the effects of inflation. Most policies can be arranged to increase in line with the retail price index, or in the case of some insurers, by a specific percentage eg 5 per cent per annum.

As your sum insured increases, your premium will also rise to reflect the increased benefit. If your policy premium is not increasing each year, it is worth checking your paperwork to check whether your policy is indexed or not.

Family income benefit – is a life insurance policy that instead of paying out a lump sum when you die, pays out a monthly amount until the term of the policy ends. This can also be be index linked to keep up with inflation.

Your Future Proof adviser can advise you on which is better for your circumstances, or, maybe a combination of both. 

Life insurance is not only best suited to people over 50! Age is irrelevant when it comes to protecting your loved ones. What matters are the reasons for why you need the cover and the loved ones that you buy it for. Accidents can happen and when insurers release their claim figures each year, they often state that the youngest claimant can be in their 20’s or 30’s.

Should your partner also want cover it is better to have two single policies especially if you both have children dependent on you. This means that when each of you die there will be 2 pay outs. A joint life policy will be cheaper when it comes to the premium, but only one life will be covered and that will the person who dies first. Leaving the surviving partner with no cover going forward after the claim has been made.

At Future Proof we have experience of working with many single parents. Being a single parent is not an easy role with so much responsibility resting on your shoulders. It is important to provide your children with financial security for their future after you have passed away. 

However, it is also VITAL to protect yourself and your children from financial hardship if you become too ill to work. A horrible thought to consider, but who will pay for your bills? Who will look after your children and take them to and from school?  Even more worrying if you become seriously ill with a condition like cancer.

Did you know that the average household would only last 19 days without income? Source: Legal and General Deadline to Breadline report 2022.