Choosing to get life insurance is one of the most important decisions you can make and one that certainly shouldn’t be taken lightly. That said, many people are unsure about exactly how it works and whether getting life cover is the right decision for them. To make things a little clearer, we sat down with one of our in-house insurance experts to dispel some of the most common misconceptions about life insurance.
“I’m too young to get life insurance”
Life insurance is often seen as something to put off until later life, but there are a number of benefits to setting up a policy in your younger years. Our expert says: “Put simply, when you’re younger, it’s cheaper. You’re fitter and healthier, and you probably have a better chance of getting accepted for a policy. If you leave it until you’re older you may have been diagnosed with a health condition, so you may have trouble actually getting the cover.”
“Life insurance is too expensive”
Life insurance doesn’t have to be a financial strain. There are many options out there depending on the kind of policy you need or want to have, and of course these can be adjusted as your circumstances change. As our expert explains: “It really depends on how much cover you want to have and other things like your age and your smoking status. Of course, if you are looking for cover of €20,000 or more, you will pay the relevant premium. But you can get cover at extremely affordable prices these days, with minimum premiums as low as €13.13 per month.”
“I have no plans to start a family, I don’t need life insurance”
If you don’t have any dependents you may feel you don’t need life insurance, but you will still have end of life expenses which a policy can help with. Our expert says: “Even if you don’t have a family, there may be expenses such as outstanding debts or funeral costs, which would be placed on other relatives or the executor of your estate after your death. Obviously you might not need as much as someone who is married and with children, but there’s still a need for a level of cover.”
“Only the breadwinner in the family needs life insurance”
It’s a common misconception that in families with a single breadwinner, only they need to be covered by life insurance. As our expert points out, this isn’t necessarily the case: “It really depends on circumstances. Let’s say there’s a sole breadwinner and the other partner is staying at home. If the stay-at-home partner were to pass away, would the other be able to go on working full hours and bringing in a salary? Someone else might need to be brought in to mind the children, or the surviving partner might have to stay at home. In that case if the deceased homemaker had cover, it would allow for the surviving partner to pay for additional help with the children, or take some time out of work or reduce their hours.”
“I have health problems, I’ll be turned down for life insurance”
Even if you have a serious health problem, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get life insurance. The insurance company will take a multitude of factors into account when deciding whether to offer you a policy. Our expert explains: “There are many serious illnesses that don’t automatically lead to death. For example if you’re a thirty year old and you’re diagnosed with an illness, it may not impede your life at all. Therefore, insurance companies have underwriting teams who will apply rates based on the type of illness you have and the likelihood of it shortening your life. If it’s seen as high risk then you may be declined or you may be given a loading on your premium, but it doesn’t automatically mean you’re not going to be offered the cover.”
With Cornmarket’s FREE Life Insurance Comparison Service you can get the cheapest price on the market, plus a 5% discount! For your free comparison, click here or call (01) 420 0998.
We compare 6 insurers in one place and will match or beat the lowest premium on the policies that we quote. The lowest price match we offer is €13.13 for Mortgage Protection Plans and €15.15 on Term Level Plans per month. The 5% discount on the lowest price quoted is subject to a minimum premium of €20 per month.
Aviva Life & Pensions U.K. Limited, trading as Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the U.K. and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules. Telephone calls may be recorded for quality control and training purposes.