Understanding life insurance

Family life insurance: considerations when choosing your coverage

When selecting life insurance, it’s important to choose insurance that meets your needs, your family’s needs, and also your budget. You will need to take into account your family, personal and professional situation, as well as your life goals. Dealing with a financial security advisor will help you determine the type and duration of insurance that’s right for you in your situation. But before choosing a product, you should know about the various options:

What types of life insurance are there?

There are three types of life insurance: term, permanent and universal. Here are their main features:

1. Term life insurance

   Term life provides flexible, affordable coverage for your temporary needs. It protects you and your family for a predetermined length of time, covering your financial obligations in the event of death. This is the perfect solution if you have dependent children and a limited budget, or if you have loans to pay off in the short and medium term, like a mortgage loan, and your budget is tight.

2. Permanent life insurance

   This type of insurance will cover you for your whole life and will provide permanent coverage to your family and estate. It is typically taken out by those who want to leave an inheritance, ensure the continuity of their business or simply remain insured even if their health goes downhill or is diagnosed with a critical illness.

3. Universal life insurance

   Finally, there is universal life insurance, a combination of permanent life insurance and savings. By opting for this insurance, you will be covered for your whole life and could save by enjoying some tax benefits. This solution lets you leave a more sizable inheritance and to protect the value of your business. It’s also a good savings option if you’ve already maxed out your RRSP et à and TFSA contributions.

4. Participating life insurance

   Participating life insurance is permanent coverage that allows you to increase your net worth is a fiscally advantageous manner. They key advantage is that it allows you to earn dividends, which increases the value of your death benefit and your surrender value.

   It's a more expensive insurance solution designed to meet the needs of those who want to maximize the value of their estate, generate cash flow or diversify their investments.

But why choose family life insurance?

Taking out life insurance is an important step since in the event of a premature death, this coverage could make the difference and help your loved ones cover your final expenses and your debts while still maintaining their standard of living.

You should know that you’re never too young to get this type of insurance. It’s actually a great idea to get life insurance when you’re younger since your premiums will cost less.

Don’t know where to start? Why not meet with a financial security advisor to make sure you’re getting the ideal coverage for your needs? Once you’ve taken out a life insurance policy and you know that you are covered, it will be easier for you to focus on your future plans.