Life insurance is important for cohabiting couples who live in their own property because it provides them with some security in case of loss of income, Sainsbury’s Bank says.
Taking out a life insurance policy will protect your home, as it is a way to hedge the risk of one of the partners stopping work.
There are two main types of life insurance, decreasing term which decreases roughly in line with the way a repayment mortgage reduces, and level term, which pays out a set lump sum.
Seeking advice when deciding which type to choose is recommended if you are unsure what is right for you.
Research from Sainsbury’s Life Insurance shows that 38 per cent of cohabiting couples doe not have life insurance although almost half (46 per cent) of them say they doubt they would be able to meet all their financial commitments if one of them loses their job or is not able to work for some reason.
Scott Gorman, life insurance manager at Sainsbury’s Bank says:
“Neglecting to take out life insurance could be a costly oversight, because when mortgages are held in joint names, both parties are equally responsible for paying it.
Urging people to consider a life insurance, Scott adds: “Some homeowners, especially, young buyers may think that life insurance is an additional expense too far, but even taking out some cover to assist with mortgage payments would be better than nothing.”