A growing family:

Although it’s an unpleasant thought, have you considered what would happen to your new baby and spouse if you became critically ill or died? How would they manage financially? Life insurance is designed to protect your loved ones from the financial impact of your death or illness. It’s the difference between your family struggling to make ends meet, and being assured of long-term financial security. Single parents are the caregivers, breadwinners, cooks, chauffeurs and much more. Yet nearly four in ten single parents have no life insurance, and those who do have coverage say they need more than they have. With so much responsibility resting on one parent’s shoulders, you need to make sure that you have enough life insurance to safeguard your children’s financial future.

Besides taking care of your family, life insurance can also protect you, as a small business owner, and your business. What would happen to your business if you, one of your fellow owners, or perhaps a key employee, could no longer work? As much as we like to hope that we will live free of illness, life can throw curveballs our way. This requires preparing for the unexpected. In the event that you’re diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer, stroke or heart attack, having critical illness cover will ensure that you’re paid out a tax-free lump sum to allow you to continue living as you did before you got sick. Depending on the size of your estate, your heirs could be hit with a large estate tax payment after you die. The proceeds of a life insurance policy are generally income-tax free and can be set up to avoid probate, allowing heirs to take care of estate taxes, funeral costs and other debts without having to hastily liquidate other assets. Finally, if your insurance programme is properly structured, the proceeds from your life insurance policy won’t add to your estate tax liability.