You know you’re starting to get on a bit when you turn on the radio to chart music (do the kids even call it ‘chart music’?) and you don’t recognise any of the songs or the singers.
What even is a Billie Eilish?
Here’s the thing: the brain stops developing at around 25, which is when the panic starts, as you’re meant to be fully mature.
But the panic reallllly beds in when you’re hitting thirty. Something about it seems irreversibly grown up.
You’re not quite sure when it happened, but it has.
You’re in your thirties and you’re reading a blog about Life Insurance.
Welcome aboard the good ship lion.ie!
You’ve chosen wisely.
Let’s get into it.
When you step into a world of pure imagination Life Insurance, you’ll generally hear four terms mentioned a lot:
While they’re not all technically types of Life Insurance (the first two should be called death insurance, the last two living insurance) they’re generally the products that insurers or brokers will offer you under the umbrella of Life Insurance. They all cover different functions:
In simple English, what do you need?
You only need Mortgage Protection if you’re getting a mortgage. Cross that off depending on your situation.
It’s a toss-up between Income Protection and Serious Illness Cover. You don’t really need both, and if it’s a choice between either, always go with Income Protection. Serious Illness Cover is grand, but the insurers are very specific about the illnesses covered so it might not be that useful to you.
Life Insurance, then, is the big one – especially as you get into your thirties and start thinking about settling down or having a family.
Of course, there’s no one way to do your thirties (maybe you intend to live out your life free from all responsibilities), but if you are thinking about life cover now’s the time to sort it.
Life Insurance, broadly falls into two more categories, which I’ll look at in the next part of this article.
*Cue trailer announcer voice.*
In a world where there are four types of Life Insurance, there’s also two more types of…Life Insurance.
Term Life pays out if you die within the term (i.e. the time period covered) of your policy.
Whole Life covers…your whole life so will pay out eventually
Term Life is costs less because there’s a chance you might actually outlive your policy meaning no cash payout from the insurer whereas Whole Life covers the whole shebang, from cradle to grave. Buying Whole of Life is the only way to Beat the House.
The negative with Whole Life is the price, it’s mucho more DeNiro than bog standard Term Life but your premiums are fixed and it’s likely the policy will eventually pay out more than you have paid in. In fact some whole of life plans will definitely pay out more than you pay in.
Just to add to the mix, there is a type of life insurance that gives you cashback after 15 years – you can see there are a lot of options, best to take advice before purchasing whole of life cover.
And, that’s before we talk about using whole of life to cover your future kids inheritance tax.
TL;DR: Whole of Life Insurance is better than term but is 10x the price.
Got that? Good.
Because I’ve been in the insurance game for a bit, I’ve also got some extra tips for you too.
You might not know what a Billie Eilish is, but youth is in your favour. The younger you are when you get Life Insurance, the cheaper the policy will be.
Sure, your knees might be starting to hurt and the last time you were in the pub you had a lengthy conversation about the exercises your physio has given you, but still: you’ll never be this young again.
Get on it now.
Future you will thank you for it.
If you get Term Insurance, make sure it has a conversion option. Apply this to any and all relevant policies you might be buying.
Basically, a conversion option lets you continue your policy when it expires – but without having to do a medical or any lengthy questioning that might otherwise raise the cost of your policy by the official insurance verbiage of…a metric shit tonne.
The most common question I get is, “how much cover do I need?”
It’s a fair question – but it really does depend.
A lot of people will talk to a friend or neighbour or spiritual guide (joke, please don’t get insurance advice from a spiritual guide) and they’ll think, “sure Jack got €300,000 cover so I should get €300,000 cover.”
Now, if Jack jumped off a bridge, would you jump off after him?
If that sentence didn’t give you flashbacks to your youth, there’s a chance you didn’t grow up in Ireland.
In all seriousness, no two cases are the same. No two people should have the same policy or cover.
Actually figuring out how much Life Insurance cover you might need depends on a couple of things: namely, how much money you’d like to leave behind you when you shuffle off the mortal coil, what you can afford, and what’s reasonable.
You can read more about the ins-and-outs of calculating how much cover you actually need in either of these two blogs:
All going well, you’re probably going to be paying for Life Insurance for a long time. Preferably until you’re about 96, when you’ve hair sprouting out of every orifice imaginable, and you’ve lived a long, happy life.
You’re going to be wedded to your policy, unless of course you cancel it – which means having to start all over again, and probably at an extra cost becuase you’re older as time is literal money when it comes to Life Insurance.
Make sure you get the right policy for you. Shop around. Compare all the insurance providers. Don’t buy into the first convincing spiel you hear.
It’s worth your while taking the time to get it right.
Trust me on this: you’re going to end up paying through the noseif you don’t do it right.
I always think that the best way to make this real is to look at an example.
Let’s say your name is Alex ? and you’ve just turned 30. You’re considering getting Life Insurance now. You want €500,000 cover and a 40-year policy.
€40 a month (NB non smoker, no health issues)
That’s less than a tenner a week.
When you think about it like that, it’s really not so bad.
Remember: you’re as young as you’ll ever be. Now is the best time to pull the trigger
Taking out a Life Insurance policy is a big deal, but it doesn’t have to be a hassle. Once it’s done, you shouldn’t have to worry about it pretty much ever again.
It’s part of your future, so make sure you get help from someone you can trust. You might be thinking, “Nick, you’re a random man from the internet who made a Billie Eilish joke.” Which is true: but I’ve also helped thousands of people get the right deal for them.
You can check out any of my 840 reviews by clicking here. #humblebrag
You’ll see loads of stories from all kinds of people who have arranged insurance with us. If you’d like me to help you work out how much Life Insurance you need, please give me a shout on 057 93 20836.
Or complete the short form and I’ll be right back.
As Ireland's leading life insurance broker, we specialise in comparing the rates and policies from the top five Irish life insurance providers and offering the very best value quotes to suit the individual needs of our clients. Our expertise lies in finding a suitable insurance plan for those with specific needs, be it a particular illness, occupation or claim history, we've got you covered in every sense!
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