Editorial:

Eight Reasons Why You Might Need More Life Assurance - by Mark Walker of Mark Walker Financial Services

As you reach different stages in your life the need for life assurance cover will change. Here are eight key stages in your life when you need to be reviewing your life cover arrangements.

You buy your first home with a partner - I think many of you are pretty switched on to the need to buy life cover when you first take out a mortgage. If you’re buying a home with someone else you need enough protection in place to make sure he or she will not be saddled with the entire mortgage debt if the worst happens to you.

You have other debts and dependents - So you’ve got your mortgage covered, but what about other debts such as personal loans and credit card balances? Make sure you take out enough protection to cover these too, because these debts may have to be paid out of your estate. You don’t want to leave your debts behind for your family to deal with.

You start a family - Bringing up a child can cost a small fortune and it can be a pretty big drain on both parents’ income. If one income is lost, you’ll need enough protection in place so the surviving partner can continue to support the family financially.

You become a stay at home parent - You might think there’s no need to buy life insurance for a parent who has given up work to bring up a child. But you would be wrong. When you set up a policy, think about covering the costs of childcare and running the home in the absence of the stay-at-home parent. These expenses can run far higher than you might expect, so having extra protection to cover them can be really valuable.

You have more children - Quite simply remember to keep stepping up the amount of protection you have as your family grows.

You move to a bigger house - Bigger homes normally mean bigger mortgages, so make a point of increasing your life cover when you move to a larger property.

Your salary increases - You’ve just had a big pay rise. Congratulations! This could be your ticket to a larger home in a more affluent area or private education for your children. In other words, if you’re starting to enjoy a more affluent lifestyle, think about upgrading your life assurance policy to help your family support it if you’re no longer around.

You rely on someone else to support you - If someone else supports you financially or provides care for you, think about taking out a life policy to insure their life. Suppose one of your children looks after you when you become older. If the worst was to happen to them, where would this leave you? You can, in theory, insure anyone else – as long as there is an ‘insurable interest'. In other words, you must have a genuine reason for insuring their life, and there’s evidence their death would have a negative impact on you financially.

Mark Walker Financial Services is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The Financial Services Authority does not regulate some forms of Mortgages and Debt Consolidation.