Save A Massive £90,000 And Protect Your Family

Nearly half of the adult UK population – 24m – has no insurance in place to cover the loss of income from the death or illness of a breadwinner, because they have never bothered to find out how to protect their family properly. This can be so easily remedied by just speaking to a specialist adviser.

Even insured families missing £14,500 of cover

These families face financial meltdown if their main breadwinner dies. Even those who have got some form of life insurance or critical illness cover in place would find themselves under-insured by an average of £14,500 a year, according to research from Friends Provident. Often they will have tried to ‘go it alone’ when they are looking for cover, and will have found it difficult to get the right policy, at the right level. This is where a broker is a valuable asset.

Families estimate too little to live on

A third of people think they could live on less than a third of their take-home pay. The average weekly income in the UK is £489, so that means an income of just £171 a week. This is actually £300 less than the £471 spent by households on average per week. So how would you survive?

Less than half of those who have policies have any idea about how much they would be able to claim from their policy if they needed to, suggesting that they should look again at their cover.

Check your cover when your life changes

Any changes to your lifestyle should prompt you to check your life cover again. A salary increase, getting married, having children, getting divorced – all of these will have an impact on the cover you need. So you should speak to a broker sooner rather than later if you have not looked at your cover for a while.

Speak to a broker to get the best deal

Life insurance has got cheaper too. But even if you have bought your cover recently, it is still worth speaking to a broker to check you are getting the best deal. The difference between the different providers is massive although the level of cover is exactly the same. For example, the cheapest deal for a female non-smoker aged 35 with £200,000 of life cover over 20 years costs £12.08 a month with Barclays Life – £2,899.20 over the 20-year term in all, according to figures from Moneyfacts.

Even getting the 10^th cheapest policy would cost you £14.40 a month for the same cover with Zurich – £3,456 over 20 years – and £556.80 more than the best deal.

For a man of 35 who is also a non-smoker, with the same cover, the cost would be £12.60 a month for the best deal on the market – with AA Insurance Services. This works out at £3,024 over the 20-year term. But getting the 10^th best deal with LV= would cost you £3,907.20 over the term – an extra £883.20.

Smokers stung for even more in premiums

Smokers will be paying even more, mainly because the insurance company expects you to die sooner. It is harsh, but fair, at least according to the statistics.

A female smoker of the same age and with the same cover would pay £4,224 with AA Insurance Services – the cheapest deal at the moment. But at the other end of the table, you would pay £5,112 with Marks & Spencer Money an extra £888.

For a male smoker, the deal is even worse. For the cheapest policy, with AA Insurance Services you would pay £5,289.60 over 20 years. Again, at the other end of the table, you would be paying £6,388.80 with Aviva – nearly an extra £1,100 over the 20 year term.

Save £90,000 by ditching the ciggies and getting the best deal

Of course, ditching the smokes and getting the cheapest – rather than one of the most expensive – policies would save you £3,364.80 as a man, and as a woman, £2,212.80 on your premiums over 20 years.

Add in the cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes at just over £6 on average, and a 40-a-day smoker is burning through £4,380 a year – that is £87,600 in 20 years literally going up in smoke.

Cutting the fags and getting the best deal will save you nearly £91,000 over 20 years as a man, and just under £90,000 as a woman. What are you waiting for? Ditch the smokes and get in touch with a broker now.