Term Insurance for 25 years

Here are some tips for buying term insurance:

a) Buy a term insurance for 25 years. You need insurance protection for this period. After this period, you do not need life insurance protection any more, as your children would have grown up and can take care of their own financial needs.

b) Even if your children still depends on you financially, you would have accumulated sufficient savings during the 25 years (provided that you invest in the right products that give you a fair return).

c) Buy a term insurance to cover 5 to 7 years of your earnings. If your earnings is $40,000 a year, you will need $250,000 (say).

d) If you wish to reduce the premium, you can choose a decreasing term insurance (where the sum assured reduces yearly over 25 years). Alternatively, you can buy an income benefit that pays 50% of your earnings over the remaining years.

You can read these examples in my book TKL Financial Planning.

To recap: at the end of 25 years, you do not need any life insurance cover. If you still have a housing loan, you can cover it separately under a mortgage insurance policy. Do not allow an agent to frighten you into buying a whole life policy, with the argument that you will not have any cover after the term insurance expires.

Tan Kin Lian