No matter how well off you may feel now, it is still important to ensure your family will not suffer financially after you are gone.

A bereavement is hard enough to deal with without worrying about how to cover the funeral costs or how you are going to meet the mortgage repayments every month. Taking out life insurance gives you and your family financial peace of mind, especially if you are the main income earner of the household.

It can seem sometimes that insurance is an unnecessary cost, especially if times are hard. The fact of the matter is that it’s when times are hard that it makes even more sense to be covered by insurance.

The cost of the monthly premiums may take a small chunk out of your monthly budget, but should anything happen to you then your family will have far more financial security than if you don’t hand over the premiums.

A life insurance policy lets you enjoy the time you do have left more wholeheartedly, safe in the knowledge that your family will not suffer financially when you are no longer there to support them.

A life insurance policy is designed to protect remaining family members from hardship should a death occur. There are various policy types to choose from.

Some pay out a cash lump sum while others can be tailored to suit your own family’s specific needs. For example, if you have many years left on your mortgage you may want a policy that guarantees to cover any remaining payments so your family are assured of being able to remain in their home.

Even if you have no outstanding debts a life insurance policy takes the burden of funeral costs away from grieving relatives. You could start saving money for this in a separate bank account, but in the event of an untimely death there may not be enough to cover it.

A level term life insurance policy pays out a guaranteed amount no matter how many of the premiums you have paid so far. In fact, so long as you have not left any pertinent information undisclosed then the full amount will be paid out even if you have only paid the first premium at the time of death.