Do I Need Life Insurance Or Critical Illness Insurance?

'Do I need Life Insurance?' or even 'Do I need Critical Illness Insurance?' are questions that you may ask yourself.

After all, when we initially think about Life or Critical Illness Insurance we find it hard to comprehend the benefit.

I mean what do you feel like you are paying for? You pay your money each month but at the end of the period if nothing happens the money seems to disappear into a big black hole.

At the end of the policy you don't normally get any money back either! What is the point, you may ask yourself.

It is this thinking which now has created a £2 trillion gap in protection. This story in the Financial Times highlights this issue. Swiss Re warning on life assurance 'protection gap'

It is not the experience of Life or Critical Illness insurance why you buy it. If you don't die or become ill during the period then your health will be pretty uneventful.

You don't buy Life or Critical Illness insurance for the prosperity. It's not something you can show to your friends or neighbours.

Forget insurance for the moment and let's concentrate on you and, if you have one, your family.

Do you like your current lifestyle?

Even if the answer to this question is no (Which I hope it's not!) how about the question: Would you swap your current lifestyle for a worse one?

The answer to that question 9 times out of 10 will be no. Of course we don't want to have a worse lifestyle than we have now. But that's what over thousands of people in the uk are risking each day.

Now I have even heard 'I haven't died yet' or the classic 'I wont die in the next 3 years' It is human nature to be uncomfortable about death and even to think that we are invincible. However people do die. We all will die at some point and it doesn't matter how much we think we can predict it, we don't know when we will.

Before you carrying on reading take a minute out to imagine the financial impact of you or your partner dying. I know this is not a pleasant thing to think about however bear with me for a moment.

It is not only the loss of an income but the loss of a friend, partner, mother or father. It is impossible to imgaine that the next day after a tragic event all these people without insurance get up for work the next day. Not only do they get up for work but magically they get a pay rise to pay for all the childcare costs or the household bills that the partner used to cover.

You may be thinking 'I'm single so it doesn't matter' You are right. In terms of life insurance being single means you probably don't need it. Unless you want to leave some money for someone.

What you may have not thought about is who is going to pay you if you can't work because you are too sick due to cancer.

Maybe now you are thinking insurance could protect your lifestyle that you have worked so hard to get. If you are then it is never too late. In fact the earlier you buy it the cheaper it is.

Many people wait until something happens to their health before they buy. This increases the price heavily. But surprisingly healthy people don't feel they need to buy it.

It is not as expensive as you may think, for example a male non-smoker, aged 35 next birthday can get £100,000 worth of Life and Critical Illness cover for 25 years at only a cost of £34.90 per month (At todays rates).

When you consider the statistics that 1 in 3 males from the age of 30 will have a stroke, cancer or heart attack before the age of 65 is price really an issue?

Even if cost is too much for your budget. Cover can start as low as £5 a month so some cover is better than none.

So in conclusion the answer to the questions 'Do I need Life Insurance?' or 'Do I need Critical Illness Insurance?'

If you have a life style to protect then there is only one answer.