Life Insurance
Life Insurance
Having Life Insurance is a must for any person that is working and that has any debts and dependents. Life insurance can help your loved ones to not only maintain their standard of living when you are no longer there, but also is used to pay estate taxes. This is all done to protect your legacy when you are no longer there. Some reasons why life insurance is a must
Life Cover for your Dependents
(Actual or Financial)
While alive, you have certain obligations towards your spouse, children or even family members like your mom or father whom you assist financially every month. If something happened to you and you died, they would no longer be in the same position to continue with their standard of living they have become accustomed to. For this reason, Life Insurance is an absolute must to protect your legacy when you are no longer there.
Life Insurance for your Debts
One of the things we are always conscious of when helping clients plan for their estate needs is to do an analysis of their assets and liabilities and bequests (i.e leaving items to a spouse or children). We then calculate the total liabilities and the relevant estate costs including estate duty, conveyancing costs and capital gains tax which is often overlooked by clients.
How to Choose an Appropriate Provider
There are many great Financial Services Providers in South Africa, and it can be a bit daunting sometimes trying to navigate and make a decision. At Wallstreet Financial Services we offer you proposals with Liberty, Discovery, Old Mutual, Momentum or Brightrock and consult with you about their offering in more detail with you once we have done your financial needs analyses and consulted with you.
Things to Consider when Buying Life Insurance
1. Decide how long you need coverage
Life insurance is designed to either last a certain period (called term life) or a lifetime (whole life benefit). If you only need insurance for a specific period, then consider term like 20 years when trying to protect your mortgage. If, however, you need life insurance for as long as you live, consider permanent coverage.
2. Calculate how much life insurance you need
One way to determine the cover needed is through the “DIME” method. DIME stands for:
D - Debt (bonds, student loans, car loans, credit cards, etc.)
I - Income replacement (Consider the life expectancy of your spouse, dependents or anyone who depends on your income. Then consider how much they would need per month.)
M - Mortality (burial wishes and costs)
E - Education (Do you want to fund education expenses for your dependents? What about childcare? If you have children in day-care, do you want your policy to pay for their remaining years in day-care?)
3. Think about other objectives
Some permanent life insurance policies can be used as savings. Permanent life insurance policies are lifelong and have cash value that is meant to increase over time. These permanent policies contain a death benefit which is the amount paid at the time of death, and a cash value that grows over time on a tax-deferred basis, like retirement or tuition savings plans.
4. Name a beneficiary
Your life insurance beneficiary is the person or entity who will receive the proceeds of your life insurance policy. When choosing a beneficiary, avoid naming a minor child (children may not be able to receive funds) or your estate (it could have tax implications). If the policy is to benefit your business, you may want to have a formal plan in place for how the proceeds should be used.
Explore your best options for choosing a beneficiary by speaking with your Financial Adviser.