Whatever s special about your family life, make sure you protect it

Transcription

1 Whatever s special about your family life, make sure you protect it

2 Your family is special, so make sure you protect it When something awful happens, it feels like normal life stops. But, even for a family trying to come to terms with a difficult time, life goes on. Getting back to normal, sliding back into familiar routines, these are the things that can help a family cope with what s happened. If something happened to you, how would your family cope? Emotionally, it s always going to be a tough time, but when everything else is sad and frightening and so very different, the last thing they need to worry about is money. As a parent, you do so much for your children from teaching them little things like how to tie their shoelaces to teaching them to ride a bike to helping them with homework. If you re not there to look after your children, who will? It s likely that your partner will need help, but that will cost money. Life insurance isn t about leaving your family a legacy, it s about protecting what s most precious to you. It s about acknowledging that life goes on for those left behind, even when it feels like everything has shuddered to a halt. It s about helping them get back on track; get a slice of normality in an upside down world. Sometimes that can be as simple as getting back into a routine with swimming or dance lessons, or keeping up a family tradition like Saturday movie nights or Sunday morning bike rides. Life insurance doesn t have to be about facing up to the unthinkable. It s about protecting what s special about your family and making sure that life goes on as smoothly as possible for those you love the most. Did you know that only 39% of UK families have protection. 2 Family protection from Aviva

3 Taking positive steps Your family is the most important thing in your life, so it makes sense to protect them from financial hardship. You may think that financial protection for your family is too expensive, out of your reach, but that s not necessarily true. This guide will help you decide if family protection is right for you. It will take you five minutes to read it, but you may be really glad that you did. Some things you should think about: The type of protection you need both now and for the future How much you want to spend If you currently have cover, whether it s sufficient and up-to-date. aviva.co.uk 3

4 So, what is family protection exactly? Family protection generally means life insurance, although it can include other things, like critical illness cover, mortgage life insurance and income protection. Life insurance is something you can sort out quickly and easily, but it could make the world of difference to your family if the worst happens. With life insurance, your loved ones won t have to worry about keeping their heads above water financially as they deal with the emotional turmoil they re going through. The cash sum from a life insurance policy can help cover expenses, pay off debts or simply help them keep up their standard of living. It will ease their financial worries just when money is the last thing they want to worry about. And knowing that you ve done all you can to protect those you love will give you peace of mind. Talk to your financial adviser to find out more about family protection and what options are open to you. You ll be glad you did. A third of parents spend up to three hours a week reading bedtime stories to their children.* * Source: YouGov/Aviva Family Household Survey January Family protection from Aviva

5 Protecting your family today and tomorrow We all try to look after ourselves and our families these days by eating more healthily or taking more exercise for example and the good news is that it s starting to pay off. In general, we re all living longer, healthier lives. The average life expectancy is now years for men and 81.9 years for women. But, no matter how well we take care of ourselves and our loved ones, you never know what s round the corner. Accidents and illness happen, that s a fact of life. And it could happen to anybody. Over a quarter of families children they * Source: YouGov/Aviva Family Household Survey January play games with invented themselves.* For most of us, it isn t worth gambling with your family s welfare. So, isn t it wise to take steps now to take care of yours? With the right life cover, your family could get a lump sum if anything should happen to you. So, whatever the future holds, you can rest assured they ll still be able to enjoy the simple things like day trips out in the school holidays and Friday night pizzas. aviva.co.uk 5

6 Protect your family, not just your belongings Many of us take out insurance for our mobiles, cars, homes or holidays. But what about your family s future? Protecting the people you love is more important than anything else. No doubt you try to make sure they re safe in many other ways, with everything from seatbelts to smoke alarms, but family cover is often something people put off. Why bother with life insurance? With a bit of forward planning now, you can make sure your family will get a cash lump sum if any happens to you. By making a few simple arrangements now, you can be sure that they ll be able to meet their daily expenses and perhaps even afford a few extras. Life cover can give you: Freedom Convenience Affordability Simplicity Peace of mind pick a plan that most suits your needs. a single plan that lets you choose how long you want the cover and how much cover from as little as 5 a month, depending on your individual circumstances one application, one direct debit mandate knowing you ve taken care of your family s financial future if the worst happens can be a weight off your mind. 6 Family protection from Aviva

7 It s cheaper than you think to protect your family Many people put off taking out life insurance because they think it s expensive. So, would it surprise you to know that you can get Life Insurance from as little as 5 a month? It doesn t have to cost an arm and a leg. It all depends on your personal circumstances, the amount of cover you want and for how long. It s easy to under-estimate your monthly expenses and it s easy to let life insurance slip down your list of priorities, especially when money s short and the list of expenses is getting longer. The thing is, it s so easy to waste money on small things like a cup of tea or a bar of chocolate every afternoon. Wouldn t it be nice to know that you ve used that money to buy peace of mind for you and your family instead? Here s some food for thought about how life insurance can be both cheaper than you think and really valuable: Over a year, the cost of buying a coffee every working day at 2 works out more expensive than taking out a life insurance policy (based on monthly premiums of up to 35). The average household spends around a month on gambling. Life insurance can cost as little as 5 a month. According to a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a couple with two children need 29,200 a year to achieve a basic, but acceptable standard of living. In 2009, the average weekly household expenditure in the UK was 455. Would your family still be able to cover this without your income? aviva.co.uk 7

8 Three simple steps to protecting your family We ve made it easy for you to work out how much cover you d need if anything happened to you or your partner. Just follow these three simple steps: Add up any existing cover or income that your family would still get after your death Work out your monthly outgoings Minus your monthly outgoings from your income and you ll be left with the amount of cover you may need. This is just a guide and doesn t take into account things like inflation and changes in your personal circumstances. If you d like a more accurate figure, talk to your financial adviser. They will be able to help you work out exactly how much cover you need. 8 Family protection from Aviva

9 The family protection myth buster There are many myths about life insurance, but they re just not true. Let us tell you about some of them. It s too expensive Life cover doesn t have to be expensive. It depends on personal circumstances, but it s often a lot less than you might spend on car or house insurance. There are also things you can do to help drive down the price of life cover. The state will pay The state may give you 2,000 if you re bereaved, but not everyone qualifies. You may be entitled to other state benefits, but you won t get enough to repay a mortgage or keep up your family s standard of living. Visit to find out more about state benefits. I have life cover through work Many employers provide life insurance as a benefit within the company pension scheme. However, this is limited to a maximum of four times your income, and you ll lose this if you leave the company. It s a big help, but it may not be enough to pay for the lifestyle your family are used to. It s complicated Life cover doesn t have to be confusing. You can find a lot of information online, but if you d like some help, talk to a financial adviser. They will ask you a few simple questions and then work out how much cover you need. aviva.co.uk 9

10 So why choose Aviva We know how important it is to protect your family should the unthinkable happen to you. By taking the time to sort out some cover now, you can help safeguard the most precious thing in your life - your family. You can trust us Doing the right thing is important to us. We ve been looking after people s finances for more than 300 years and now we re the UK s largest insurer. We make it easy Getting the right cover is key. That s why we offer you a range of value for money products to choose from. We keep our promises We re proud to say that, in 2011, we paid 99.7% of all life insurance claims and 94.1% of all critical illness claims. 10 Family protection from Aviva

11 How can we help? It s easy to protect your family s financial future. Life insurance is the most obvious way, but there s more to family protection than that. We can offer you: l Life Insurance l Mortgage Life Insurance l Term Assurance l Guaranteed Whole of Life Insurance l New Parent Free Life Cover Just a step away from protecting your family Now you know the options available, your adviser can help you choose the one that s right for you and your family. Once you have decided, they can help you set up cover straight away. aviva.co.uk 11

12 Aviva Life Services UK Limited. Registered in England No Rougier Street, York, YO90 1UU. Aviva Life Services UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FSA Registration No aviva.co.uk PT /2012 Aviva plc