There are different types of life insurance and you should understand the basics before you go ahead and take life insurance cover out. Just as you would not enter into an equity release scheme without basic knowledge and an equity release calculator , you should not commit to life insurance without knowing the facts.
If you have a mortgage, then you will be required to take out life insurance so that if you die then the house will be paid off. You can also usually get mortgage life insurance with critical illness cover. This means that if you are diagnosed with a terminal disease then the house will also be covered and you can at least spend the rest of your life without worrying about losing the house.
It is also possible to buy life insurance with a redundancy option in case you lose your job and are unable to keep up the mortgage payments which can be an excellent safety net in this day and age.Many people also choose to take out additional life insurance so that if they die prematurely then a lump sum will be paid to their surviving spouse or children.
However, this type of insurance policy is usually a fixed term policy and will only be paid out if you die before a certain age. The risk with this is that you could potentially be paying money into it for years with no gain.
Life insurance whether mandatory for you or not, is something that is very useful to have. To get all the information you need about what is available and what will work best for you, it is advisable to speak to a financial advisor before taking out any policies.