Insurance World

In common with the rest of Europe, life expectancy in Britain is increasing. A man can now expect to live to 76.2 years and a woman to 80.7 years. This is wonderful news, but unfortunately we also learn that Britain is not keeping pace with most of Europe in another health aspect.

Healthy life years, as well as life expectancy have been the subject of a recent EU study and the results were based on questionnaires which were completed by some 60,000 householders. The focus of the study was on death, sickness rates and overall health.

We learn that although the average British male can expect to live to 76.2 years of age, he can only expect 61.5 of these years to be free from a disabling condition. This puts us in the unfortunate position of being the fifth unhealthiest group in the EU.

Research into these findings, still at an early stage, has not yet found the reasons for the wide variations across the EU. It seems that as far as cardiovascular disease is concerned, there is an increasing risk the further north you go and Help the Aged feel that a lack of respect for the cold in Britain constitutes a risk to health.

Italy holds the top position in the healthy living stakes, with an expectation of 70.9 healthy years and a life expectancy of 76.8 years. The healthy Italian diet, including lots of fish, vegetables and unsaturated fats, may be a key factor in their country’s excellent health record. A spokesman for Help the Aged comments that diet, smoking, the weather, smoking and health service could help to explain the differences

Interestingly, in a published table showing both healthy years and life expectancy, as far as healthy life goes, Italy tops the table, followed by Spain, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, UK, France, Hungary, Portugal and Finland. It will be interesting to see what the final conclusions turn out to be.

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At the bottom of the scale - if you come from Finland, life expectancy for a woman is 81.8 years, but you can only expect 56.5 of these to be without a disabling condition.

Bearing all these facts in mind, it’s obvious that, for Mr and Mrs Average, it would be as well to give some serious thought to the provision of both critical illness cover and life insurance. It’s a serious thought that the expectation of a disabling health condition precedes retirement age by between three and half and eight and a half years. Many men now expect to be able to work until they are 70.

Critical illness insurance will pay out a specific sum if you’re unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with one of a list of specified conditions, such as cancer, stroke or heart trouble. Read the policy carefully to check which conditions are covered. The effect of critical illness on your lifestyle can be immense. You may have to adapt your car or your home and even change your employment to suit your new circumstances. Critical illness cover will give you peace of mind should illness strike.

As far as your family are concerned, it would be a good time to take out, or review, your life insurance plans. Would their lifestyle be affected should the worst happen?

Both of these insurances can be taken care of easily. The internet is the place to go for immediate attention and a range of competitive quotations. Contact an on-line broker, who’ll offer you all the help you need.

Then sit back and prove the tables wrong.

In general, may people understand that having life insurance in any form is a necessity. The policy of life insurance is an excellent method of providing protection for your family members in the event of your death. While many people understand that is important to have life insurance they may not understand that there are many different types of policies available in the world today.

One type of life insurance policy is called “Whole Life Insurance”, this type of life insurance is effective provided you continue to make the monthly payments upon the premium. This is a very popular type of life insurance because it allows you to build a cash value on the policy and is on a basis that is tax-deferred. The way this works is that a portion of the premium you are paying is put into an account of savings that the policy invests into. All interest that is earned upon the policy is put into the savings and helps to build the cash value. Once the cash value reaches a higher level, you could be required to pay the premium after age or you could be allowed to borrow against that cash value.

Another attractive benefit of having a whole life insurance policy is that your premium will always remain the same. At no time will the amount change at all, therefore as long as you continue to pay the premium each month, you will remain at the same amount for the entire time. If you choose to take a loan out on the cash value you have earned, the only difference you will have to pay is paying back that loan. One downside to this policy is the fact that you will have no control whatsoever over how the company chooses to invest the dollars you pay on your premium.

Another type of life insurance is the term life insurance policy. This policy is selected for a specified amount of time. If you should happen to pass away during the term of this specified time, then your family would then receive payment in the form of a lump sum as the contract specifies. Typically, the premiums upon this type of policy is far cheaper than other types and it does not allow you to build any type of cash value. With this type of life insurance, your premium can change or increase on a yearly basis and it generally does increase each year. It is the more expensive type of insurance that is available however it will provided your family with complete protection in the event of your death.