Why is it a good idea?

When your family's future is secure, life feels good.

It's a natural instinct to protect the ones we love. Anyone who's seen a tigress with her cubs on David Attenborough can tell you that. And it's just the same with us.

But what if something happens to you? What if you're no longer around to take care of your loved ones? That's where our Life Protection comes into its own.

It pays out a cash lump sum or a monthly income to help make sure your loved ones are left with a comfortable home and lifestyle, rather than debts and financial worries.

Even though nobody can predict the future, with your family properly protected there's one thing you can predict: peace of mind. And with that comes the freedom to get on with your life, with one less thing to worry about.

How does it work?

If you die, we pay out. It's that simple.

Our Life Protection provides a financial payout to your loved ones if you die while your policy's in force.

You, together with your Financial Adviser, decide how long you want your policy to last and the amount of cover you need - that's the amount we pay out if you die.

The amount you pay depends on your age and health when you apply. It's worth remembering that the younger you are the lower your premiums will be.

What decisions do you need to make?

Single or dual cover?

We've certainly come a long way since the have-a-nice-day-at-the-office-darling 1950s. These days, it's quite common for both partners to go out to work, and for the family to depend on 2 incomes.

And even if there's a stay-at-home parent, it's all too easy to underestimate their value to the family. After all, the school run, child-care, shopping and housework don't do themselves. In fact, the cost of employing someone to carry out these tasks is estimated to be a whopping £30,000 a year. ^*

That's why, if you have a partner - whether they work or not - it pays to consider dual cover. Dual, rather than individual, cover pays out on the death of either partner, providing the money to maintain the quality of life for the loved ones who remain.

* www.bidvine.com, March 2017

What type of cover do you need?

There's a choice of 4:

Level Cover

With Level Cover, you choose the amount of cover you want and the length of time you want to be covered. The amount is fixed and you can also choose whether to receive a lump sum or a regular monthly payment.

Decreasing Cover

Decreasing Cover is designed to cover mortgages and other long-term borrowing. So, as the outstanding borrowing goes down, so does the cover. Because of this, the premiums tend to be lower, and it also only pays out a one-off lump sum.

Increasing Cover

They say what goes up must come down. But what about the cost of living? That only ever goes in one direction, and it isn't south. So, to keep up with rising prices, the amount of cover you get with Increasing Cover rises in line with inflation. It's more expensive than Level or Decreasing Cover, but what cost peace of mind? The payout options are the same as with Level Cover - one lump sum, or regular monthly payments - the choice is yours.

Family Income Benefit

Rather than paying out a cash lump sum if you die, Family Income Benefit gives your loved ones a regular payout for the rest of the policy's lifetime. So, if you take out a 25-year policy and die 5 years into it, your family will receive regular income for the remaining 20 years. If you were to die 15 years into the policy, it will pay out for the remaining 10 years. But remember, once the policy ends, the cover and the payouts will stop.