Life insurance, made simple
Cover designed to help your family stay in their home and keep life ticking over if the worst happens. Tell us the basics, and we’ll come back with the options that fit, explained in plain English.
What is life insurance?
Life insurance could pay your family a tax-free lump sum if you die during the policy term.
You pay a fixed amount each month, and if you die while the policy is running, your family could receive the payout. Most policies can also pay out early if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and given less than twelve months.
That’s the whole product. Everything else is detail about how much, for how long, and what happens to the price.
Why it matters
The mortgage carries on
A lender won’t pause the direct debit, so a payout large enough to clear the mortgage could help your family stay in their home. For most parents that’s the biggest thing on the list.
Work cover on its own
Death in service is typically two to four times salary, and it ends the day you leave that job. It’s a lovely bonus, and it’s usually worth having cover of your own alongside it.
It buys them time
Beyond the mortgage, a payout can buy breathing space: time off work, help with childcare, and room to make decisions slowly rather than in a hurry.
What our life insurance covers
What’s covered?
If you die during the policy term, your loved ones could receive a tax-free lump sum. They can use it however they need to — clearing the mortgage, covering the bills, or simply giving themselves room to breathe while they grieve. Most policies can also pay out early if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and given less than twelve months.
What’s not covered?
Life insurance isn’t like a savings account, so there’s no cash value and nothing to cash in later on. If you outlive the policy term, the cover simply comes to an end. And most policies won’t pay out if death is the result of suicide or intentional injury within the first twelve months.
What kind of cover do you need?
Level term
The payout and the premium both stay the same for the whole term. £250,000 on day one is still £250,000 in year twenty.
Best for: family protection, replacing income, anything that isn’t a shrinking debt.
Decreasing term
The payout reduces over time, usually tracking a repayment mortgage balance. Cheaper than level for the same starting amount.
Best for: covering a repayment mortgage and nothing else.
Increasing term
The payout rises each year, often with inflation. The premium rises with it.
Best for: long terms, where £250,000 today won’t feel like £250,000 in 2050.
Whole of life
Covers you until you die, whenever that is. Guaranteed to pay out, and priced accordingly.
Best for: inheritance tax planning and funeral costs, not general family protection.
Single or joint?
Two single policies
Both of you covered separately. If one of you dies, the other still has their own policy running. Usually costs slightly more than a joint policy, and is almost always the better answer.
One joint policy
Covers both of you but pays out once, on the first death. The survivor is then left with no cover, at an older age, possibly with a health condition that makes new cover expensive. We’ll happily quote it, and we’ll explain why we usually suggest two single policies instead.
How much cover do you need?
There’s no magic number, but the sum is simple. Add up:
What you owe
Outstanding mortgage, plus any loans or car finance your family would still be paying.
What you earn
Your annual take-home multiplied by the number of years you’d want your family to have it. Most people land between five and fifteen years.
What comes next
Childcare, university, funeral costs, and a buffer so nobody has to make big decisions in a hurry.
Then subtract any savings and any death in service cover you already have.
We’ll happily work through this with you, and it usually takes about five minutes.
Three steps and it’s sorted
Tell us the basics
Just a few questions, no confusing jargon, and you’ll be done before the kettle’s boiled.
We’ll do the digging
We’ll search our panel of insurers and come back with the options that actually fit your family, explained by a real person in plain English.
Relax
You’ve got enough on. We’ll handle the tricky bits while you get on with your day. Simple, huh?