Why You and Your Spouse Both Need Life Insurance

There are many stories of people taking out life insurance policies, and then hiring a hit-man to do away with the spouse. The insured does not really need life insurance. Fraudsters do this so that they can benefit from the payout.

Couples need to decide themselves whether they must each take out separate life policies, or if they should have joint life insurance. Either way, married couples do need life insurance.

Why You BOTH Need Life Insurance

  • If either husband or wife dies without insurance, the stress and anxiety of probable outstanding debt can be a huge burden for the remaining spouse.
  • After the death of one working parent, it will be difficult to have one salary to deal with all the expenses of the children.
  • If your wife is a stay-at-home mom, and passes away without being insured, you will have the burden of suddenly paying for good child-care, someone to do the household chores, and to transport the children to extra-mural appointments, etc.
  • The working spouse who contributes an income to household expenses will be sorely missed if her salary comes to an abrupt end if she dies first.
  • If one spouse dies, the other can continue with the same lifestyle they have been used to.

Need Life Insurance

What Kind of Policy Can Insure You Both?

You need to think about potential medical costs, education of your children, any funeral costs, and general lifestyle.

Research reveals that the death benefit of a life policy needs to be about ten times your annual income. Depending on your income, your cover could be between R100,000 and R10,000,000.

You can each take out your own personal life insurance policy independent from the other.

Joint Policy

  • You are both insured on the same policy.
  • The policy is considerably cheaper.
  • It doesn’t consider the needs of the individual.
  • The policy ends when the first spouse dies.
  • When the second spouse dies, there will be no payout to pay for the children and their needs, or for any outstanding debt.
  • If the second spouse takes out life insurance after the partner dies, it will be more expensive because of age, and the possible accompanying health conditions.
  • If a couple split or divorce, the cover cannot be divided.

Dual Policy

  • This is for two separate income providers.
  • After the death and payout of the first spouse, the policy will continue until the second spouse dies. It will then pay out a second time.
  • More expensive than a joint policy.
  • Better if there is a large difference in ages.
  • Iit makes more sense if one of you has a health condition that is considered a risk.
  • If both parents die soon after each other, there will be money for the children, and to cover any outstanding debt.

 

Life Insurance Generally

  • You can choose one, or several beneficiaries, to receive a payout on your death.
  • Life insurance will not be paid out on the life of one who commits suicide.
  • There are exclusions applicable to a life policy, but this will depend on your health and lifestyle.
  • You can add-on funeral cover, terminal illness benefit, double accident benefit, and disability cover.
  • It can count towards an inheritance for your beneficiaries.

 

Premiums

The premiums depend on:

  • Age. The younger you are, the lower your premiums will be.
  • Gender. Women pay less. On average women live about 6 years longer than men.
  • Health. For any health conditions, the risk is higher, so the premiums will be too.
  • Lifestyle. Dangerous sports or occupations will have higher premiums.
  • If you are aged 24, and you take out cover for R100,000, your premium will be about R96 per month.
  • If you are between 55 and 69, and your cover is R100,000, your premium will be about R350 per month.

 

Only about 30% of South Africans have life insurance. Don’t be one of the unwise…. take out a policy for you and your spouse today. Get a life insurance quote by completing and sending the form on this page.

All info was correct at time of publishing