What Life Insurance Options are there for Women?
If you die, your family could be left to struggle financially. Life insurance can be there to help make sure this does not happen. With life insurance, you could help ensure that your loved ones are financially protected if the worst happens. This is because life insurance is designed to pay out a lump sum to support your family, helping to ensure that they are financially protected if you were to pass away.
What is Life Insurance?
Life insurance is an insurance policy that can pay out a lump sum if you die. Life insurance for women works the same as life insurance for anyone. You pay a monthly premium to be covered and the lump sum can be paid out if you die during your policy term – or, in some cases, if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and given less than a year to live.
How does Life insurance work?
There are different types of life insurance cover available. Typically you pay a monthly insurance premium to be covered and a lump sum can be paid out if you die within the term you are insured for.
With term life insurance, you choose how much cover you want (i.e. how much it would pay out if you die), what kind of policy you want (e.g. level, decreasing, increasing or indexing), and how long you want to be covered for (known as the policy term).
What types of Life Insurance do Women choose?
When you choose life insurance, you can decide on the type of policy that fits your needs. The type of policy you choose can determine how the policy pays out:
- Level Term: Offers a fixed payout, with both the payout and premium staying the same throughout the length of the policy.
- Decreasing Term: Offers a payout that reduces over the term, to match a decreasing debt like a repayment mortgage. Mortgage cover is often cheaper than level cover, but can leave a gap for family cover needs.
- Increasing Term: Offers a payout that grows over time, to keep up with inflation. Premiums also rise, making it a more expensive choice.
What do Women use the lump sum payout for?
The lump sum that life insurance can pay out can be used to financially support your loved ones you leave behind, helping to give you some peace of mind that they’d be financially secure without you. The lump sum is usually used to:
- Pay off the mortgage
- Help cover rent payments
- Help raise children
- Pay for your funeral
- Cover guardianship costs
- Leave a lump sum for school or university fees
Life insurance can be important for women, as many juggle financial commitments like work, family life, and household responsibilities. If something were to happen to you, your life insurance policy can help make sure your dependents won’t struggle financially. The level of cover you choose can depend on what you need, as well as how much you can afford and are happy to spend monthly on being covered.
Why Should Women Consider Life Insurance?
Life insurance for women can be important for those with dependents. It can help to ensure your loved ones could have financial protection in your absence. Additionally, life insurance can be helpful for women with mortgages or personal loans.
This is because life insurance can also be a way of covering debts (most commonly, a mortgage, but sometimes smaller debts like car finance or personal loans) – helping to make sure no-one else is left liable for them if you die.
What can affect life insurance premiums for women?
- Health – If you are in good health, you will typically pay a lower premium compared to those with a pre-existing health condition.
- Age – The sooner you take out life insurance coverage, the cheaper your insurance tends to be.
- Coverage Amount – The higher the coverage of a life insurance policy, it will generally cost more. This will be the amount paid out to your loved ones after death.
- Lifestyle and occupation – If you have a risky job or have a higher-risk hobby, such as extreme sports, you might have to pay a higher premium. This can be the same as lifestyle choices such as being a smoker.
How much does life insurance cost for women?
Typically, the younger and healthier you are, the lower your monthly premiums can be, whilst smokers or those with pre-existing health conditions may pay a higher monthly premium for a life insurance policy.
What other insurance products can women get?
In some life insurance policies, you’re also covered if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness. This is usually referred to as terminal illness benefit. This simply means that instead of being paid out in the event of your death, the lump sum can be paid out when you receive a terminal diagnosis. Insurers usually define this as a doctor diagnosing you to have a year or less to live.
Serious illness cover is designed to pay out a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a specified serious illness.
Income protection insurance is designed to replace a portion of your income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.
Polly’s Summary
Women may want to take out a life insurance policy that can pay out a lump sum if they die, the same as it is for anyone else. It’s often an affordable way to help make sure your family would be financially secure if you were no longer around.
Our aim at Polly is to help make it easy to get suitable life insurance cover in place based on your needs and budget.
