Life Insurance In Plain English
Many people are still uncertain what the term “life insurance” really refers to. We tend to visualize Hollywood, a glamorous party and a butler discovering his master’s lifeless body face down in the swimming pool. As he races to the main bedroom to inform the lady of the house, he finds her less than bothered with a thin cigarette in her hand. And then realize that it has all been planned.
In real life, life insurance is usually less dramatic, but it follows the same principle. There are two entities involved in every life insurance transaction: The insured and the insurer. Life insurance can be seen as a bit ironic: The investor pays a monthly premium throughout the insured period, but then the investor dies and the money goes to someone else. That is what life insurance is all about – taking care of your family once you’re not there anymore.
Forever young, I want to be forever young. Nice song sure, but the reality of life is that we are not immortal. Sooner or later we will all wave goodbye to the life of flesh and blood and even if we don’t like thinking about, we should! Will your family be taken care of if you’re not there? How will they be able to pay for the house they’re living in? Will they still be able to afford private schooling, and college or university after that? What if they don’t even have enough money for food.?
My broker handles our life insurance and he once gave me this very simple, easy to understand explanation of life insurance: Consider a household where both parents are working. With their combined income they are able to pay the mortgage on the house, the children’s school fees, food and other expenses. If one parent passed away, those expenses will remain the same, but there will now only be one person responsible for paying all the bills. Life insurance can be seen as the deceased family member’s part of the expenses. With such a sad experience as losing a family member, the last thing the family should be worrying about is if they’ll be able to survive!
It is never too soon to take out life insurance. Of course, idealistically, we will all live to be a 100 years and die of old age, but the purpose of life insurance is to act as safety net for those times when life does not work out as anticipated. Imagine you’re a young executive on your way to work to earn money for the little pink foot’s arrival. You plan to start thinking about insurance only after the baby’s birth as there are now too many expenses. The next moment you are killed by a truck that didn’t stop in time. where does that leave your wife and unborn baby?
There are a lot of affordable life policies available. Affordable cover does not necessarily mean inadequate cover! Rather start with a basic policy than no policy at all.
Taking out life insurance is not a difficult process. You can either approach your broker for guidance and advice, of if you don’t have a broker you can apply telephonically or via the internet.
Never wait until tomorrow or until the next week to do something as important as taking out life insurance. No matter how invincible you think you are, remember that life is what happens when you’re making other plans!
For more information on life insurance, go to http://www.insurance.co.za.
Readers who read this page, also read:
If You Like This Post, Share it With Your Friends & Peers
No Comment to “Life Insurance In Plain English”