Life insurance and protection advice, built around you.

If someone depends on you, life insurance can help them manage the financial impact of your death. That might mean clearing a mortgage, covering everyday bills or paying for childcare while your family adjusts.

The starting point is understanding what they would need money for — and how long they would need that support.

1. Look beyond the mortgage balance

Paying off the mortgage could remove a significant expense. But your family would still have food, utilities, transport and other living costs.

Think about the practical contribution you make, too. If you look after children or another family member, replacing that unpaid care could cost money, even if you don’t earn a salary.

Start with the debts you would want cleared, then consider ongoing expenses and any income or savings your family could reasonably rely on. This gives you a more useful starting point than choosing a round number.

2. Match the cover to what you want it to do

Level cover keeps the insured amount the same throughout the policy term. It can suit a need for a fixed lump sum.

Decreasing cover reduces over time and is often used alongside a repayment mortgage. It does not automatically track your actual mortgage balance, so the amount, term and assumptions need checking.

Increasing cover allows the insured amount to rise, helping address inflation. Premiums normally increase too.

The lowest monthly price is only useful if the policy still does the job you need it to do.

3. Check what your employer already provides

Your workplace may provide a death-in-service benefit. Find out how much it pays, who would receive it and when the cover applies.

Include it in your planning, but remember that it will usually stop when you leave that employer. A benefit linked to your current job may not meet your family’s needs for the whole period you want to protect.

4. Understand whether a joint policy pays once or twice

A joint policy covering two people on a first-death basis normally pays once, after which that cover ends. Two separate policies can each provide a payout following a valid claim.

That difference matters if the surviving partner would still need insurance. I’ll explain the options alongside their cost, rather than treating joint cover as the automatic choice.

Term life insurance covers a specified period. It normally has no cash-in value and does not pay simply because you reach the end of the term.

Book your free life insurance review

I’ll help you work out what you want to protect, check existing cover and explore an amount and term that fit your circumstances and budget.

Your income supports far more than your mortgage or rent. It pays for food, transport, utilities and the commitments that continue when you are unwell.

Income protection can replace part of your earnings if illness or injury prevents you from working, subject to the policy’s definition and terms. It does not normally cover redundancy.

1. Work out the monthly gap you would need to fill

Start with essential spending. Then check how much income would continue through employer sick pay, your partner’s earnings or other dependable sources.

For example, if essential bills total £2,200 a month and £900 would continue coming into the household, the gap is £1,300.

That is a starting point for discussion, not confirmation that an insurer would offer or pay that amount. Insurers limit benefits in relation to earnings and may take other continuing income or insurance payments into account.

If you are self-employed, I’ll also check how the insurer measures your earnings. Business turnover is not the same as personal income.

2. Match the waiting period to your sick pay and savings

The deferred period is how long you must remain unable to work before benefit becomes payable.

A longer deferred period can reduce premiums, but you need a realistic way to cover the gap. Check your actual sick-pay entitlement rather than assuming your employer will keep paying your full salary.

Also check when the first payment would reach your account. Some policies pay monthly in arrears, so completing the deferred period does not mean money arrives that day.

3. Separate the policy length from the claim-payment limit

A policy could run for many years while limiting payments for an individual claim to a shorter period, such as one or two years.

Other policies can continue paying a qualifying claim for longer, potentially until recovery or the policy’s end date.

When comparing prices, I’ll explain both how long you have insurance and how long it could support you during an extended absence.

4. Check what “unable to work” means

An own-occupation definition assesses whether illness or injury prevents you from doing your own occupation. Other definitions may consider whether you could do alternative work suited to your experience, or any work.

That distinction can materially affect a claim. The occupation definition, medical exclusions and benefit limits deserve as much attention as the monthly premium.

Book your free income protection review

I’ll help you check your sick pay, calculate the potential income gap and compare cover with waiting periods and payment limits you understand.

A mortgage-free home can make a significant difference to a family. But food, energy, transport and childcare still need paying for.

Family income benefit is a form of life insurance designed to provide regular payments following a valid death claim during the policy term. It can help support ongoing household spending instead of providing one large lump sum.

1. Start with the income your family would be missing

Think about what would continue coming in, which expenses would remain and whether your partner might need to change their working hours.

For example, if your family would need £2,500 a month and could reasonably rely on £1,000 from other sources, the shortfall would be £1,500.

That does not automatically mean £1,500 is the right cover amount. It gives you a practical starting point for discussing your family’s needs.

2. Understand that payments run for the remaining term

This is one of the most important features to understand.

Imagine a policy providing £1,500 a month with a 20-year term:

• If a valid death claim arose five years into the term, payments would normally continue for the remaining 15 years.
• If it arose 15 years into the term, payments would normally continue for the remaining five years.

The original 20-year term does not restart when a claim happens. These figures illustrate how the structure works; actual payment arrangements depend on the policy.

3. Choose an end date that fits your family

You might want support until your youngest child reaches a particular age or until another expected change in your household finances.

Consider inflation too. A fixed monthly benefit may buy less in future. Some policies offer increasing benefits, normally with increasing premiums.

I’ll explain how any increases work both before and after a claim, so you understand how the cover could support your family over time.

4. Coordinate it with any lump-sum life cover

A lump sum could help clear a mortgage, while family income benefit could support the household expenses that remain.

The calculation should reflect that. If another policy would repay the mortgage, I’ll take this into account rather than automatically counting the same mortgage payments again when estimating the ongoing shortfall.

Family income benefit is not insurance against losing your job or being unable to work through illness. Standard term cover also has no savings value or payout simply because you reach its end date.

Book your free family income benefit review

I’ll help you work out the monthly support your family might need and how this could fit alongside any existing life insurance.