If you’re earning member of your family and have dependents to support, you can protect your family’s future by purchasing life cover for yourself. Here are some tips that will help you find a life insurance policy that best fits your current and future needs.

Understand why you need life insurance

The basic reason while people purchase life insurance is to safeguard their dependents in the event of the insured person’s untimely death. Life insurance provides financial security to your spouse, children and other dependents. If you don’t have any dependents, you need not buy life cover. Some people also choose not to buy life insurance when their dependents are financially sound.

Jacob Bailey from Insurance Hero (https://www.insurancehero.org.uk/) recommends getting life insurance as soon as you are able to, as most accidents happen without any warning. If you have even one person who depends on your income, you need life insurance to help them continue with their life when you’re gone.

Compare several policies before buying one

Comparison shopping will help you pick the best life cover with features that best suit your needs. When choosing a policy, you need to consider the following.

• the amount you want to insure (ideally, this should be no less than ten times your yearly income)
• your current age and health and how they will impact the cost of you policy
• the term of your policy (your life cover should last at least until all your children have completed their education, or, if you don’t have children, it should take into account your partner’s financial dependence)
• factors such as the yearly premium amount, fixed or reviewable premium, any additional features and the provider’s terms and conditions

Avoid buying joint life insurance

While a joint life insurance policy for couples may cost you less than two single policies, such policies are no longer favored, as they used to be some years back. These days most insurance companies make a single payout on joint policies, which is generally at the time of the first death.

Therefore, insurance experts say that it’s better for couples to purchase two single life insurance policies. This ensures that both partners have adequate financial protection in case of a mishap.

Consider future costs when choosing life cover

If you plan to expand your family, take into account your future children’s education, home upgradation costs, and other family expenses. Also consider your mortgage and any other large debts your family may have to deal with in case of your untimely demise.

As you may know, policy premiums increase with advancing age and are also greatly affected by the applicant’s current health and lifestyle. For example, a smoker or a person with hypertension may have to pay a higher premium to get the same life cover as a healthy or nonsmoking person. The best time to buy life insurance is in your mid-twenties so that you can safeguard your dependent parents and later your partner against financial distress.