ROUTE
Term Life Insurance
If your family or mortgage depends on your income, term life insurance covers the worst case for 5β15 β¬ a month. How much, how long and the expensive mix-up to avoid.
β Checked: 18/07/2026
Term life insurance is not for everyone but for those whose income supports other people: a partner without their own earnings, children, a joint mortgage. Where no such dependency exists it is simply not needed β and saying so honestly matters more than selling a policy.
βΊ More about this route
This two-step route provides the sober calculation: who genuinely needs this protection and what sum insured makes sense, and how to conclude the contract with the details that matter for couples.
The route deals separately with a widespread error β confusing this with savings-based products. Pure risk cover is cheap precisely because it contains no savings element; combined products cost several times more and usually lose to keeping insurance and investment separate.
WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME
- Buying a combined product instead of pure risk cover. The savings element inside a policy costs more than insurance and saving kept apart.
- Insuring too small a sum. It should cover the outstanding mortgage and several years of family support rather than being symbolic.
- Answering the health questions carelessly. Inaccuracy lets the insurer refuse at exactly the moment the family is relying on payment.
- Not thinking through the contract structure for couples. A clumsy arrangement can bring the payout within inheritance tax, which is easily avoided in advance.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE
Who genuinely needs this cover?βΎ
Anyone whose income supports others: a partner without their own earnings, children, a joint property loan. A single person with no dependants and no debts generally does not need it.
What sum should I insure?βΎ
As a guide, the outstanding mortgage plus several years of income for the period in which the family reorganises. Too small a sum creates the appearance of protection without solving the problem.
How does it differ from whole-of-life savings policies?βΎ
There is no savings element here: you pay only for the risk, which is why the premium is low. Combined products bundle protection with saving, cost considerably more and usually lag behind keeping the two separate.
What should couples watch out for?βΎ
The contract structure: who is the policyholder, who is insured and who is the beneficiary. With cross-written separate contracts the payout usually falls outside inheritance tax, whereas a clumsy structure can bring it within.