Joint life insurance

Joint life insurance involves making one application which will include information regarding both applicants.

It'll take into account key information regarding your age, health, smoking status and the cover you require.

This information will then be used to determine the level of risk you pose to the insurer as a collective and a premium will be calculated accordingly.

This monthly premium will cover both parties simultaneously.

Once in place, cover protects both lives under the same terms until either the expiration of the policy or one party passes away.

If either party passes away during the period of cover, a claim can be made and a pay out issued.

As discussed, joint life insurance only pays out once, usually upon first death.

Upon the passing of one policyholder, a lump sum pay out will be made to the remaining policyholder.

At this point, cover expires, and the surviving party is no longer covered.

On occasions, cover may be arranged on a survivorship basis, (see below). This means a pay out will be made on second death, as opposed to first.

In both instances, if the term of cover ends before either party dies, no pay out is made and cover expires.

As with all forms of life insurance, the sum assured (pay out sum) forms part of the policyholder’s estate, making it subject to inheritance tax, (40% over £325,000).

However, it's possible to detach the sum assured from the estate by ensuring your policy is written in trust, (see below).

The best life insurance to meet your needs will depend on what it is you're looking to protect.

Generally speaking, it's only possible to arrange term life insurance on a joint basis, limiting the types of life insurance available.

However, there are still a number of term life insurance policies available, each suited to protecting particular elements within your life.

Ultimately, you should consider what aspects of your life you're wanting to protect and select the most appropriate form of cover.

To determine the best type of life insurance to suit your needs, contact Reassured.

We'll provide you with all of the information you need to make an informed decision.

Similar to level term life insurance, decreasing term life insurance provides cover for a specified length of time and if you pass away, a lump sum pay out is issued.

However, the sum assured decreases in value throughout the policy term, making it best suited to protecting aspects which reduce in cost over time.

For example, a repayment mortgage.

Because the risk to the insurer diminishes over time decreasing term is normally the cheapest policy type.

When arranged on a joint basis, the lump sum pay out will be made directly to the surviving policyholder.

To receive your free quote for joint decreasing life insurance or to compare against level term cover, contact Reassured.

Whole of life insurance is a form of life assurance.

Cover lasts for the rest of your life and a pay out is made when you die, not if, (as with insurance).

Due to this guaranteed pay out, it's not possible to arrange whole of life insurance on a joint basis.

Whole of life insurance is best suited to those who are in later life and in good health.

This is because it's possible to pay more into the policy than the sum assured and your medical well-being is taken into account when calculating the cost of premiums.

If whole of life insurance seems well suited to meet your needs, contact Reassured to obtain your free quote.

Joint life insurance covers all of the causes of death an individual policy does.

This includes any natural or accidental cause of death.

No exclusions are made, regardless of the high-risk factors identified by either party during application, instead, the cost of premiums is adjusted accordingly.

As with individual cover, suicide won't be covered for the first 12 months and any causes of death which occur due to non-disclosure will also invalidate the policy.

For example, if an applicant declares during application that they don't smoke and are later found to have passed away due to a smoking-related disease.

As a result, it's important to always be honest and forthcoming during the application process.

For any specific questions regarding what life insurance covers, contact our team who'll be able to provide you with all of the information you need.

It's not essential to be married to arrange joint life insurance.

Whilst being married may seem like the pretence for joint financial commitments such as life insurance, theoretically, joint cover can be arranged between any two adults.

However, this is most commonly married couples or those entered into a committed relationship.

When the first party passes, the second receives a pay out from the policy.

Therefore, arranging joint life insurance is usually carried out between those who are dependant financially on one another.

The application process for joint life insurance if you're not married, is identical to those who are.

Taking out a joint life insurance with a business partner offers protection for the business to remain functioning should the worst happen to either party.

Whilst a joint policy may not be the best option for couples (particularly with children) as only one pay out is provided, this may not be the case for business partners.

The pay out could be used to pay off business loans, invest in new a partnership or even to maintain the running costs of the business.

All term-based policies arranged through Reassured come with the option to include critical illness cover.

This means, if you're diagnosed with a serious, yet not life-threatening illness, you can make a claim.

The pay out could be used to make necessary adaptations to your home, replace a lost income or simply enjoy with family.

The cost of critical illness cover is also based on the likelihood of a claim.

Therefore, if either partner experiences high-risk factors, it could result in the other partner paying over the odds for their critical illness cover.

To secure the best deal, contact Reassured and allow us to compare critical illness quotes on your behalf.

A joint funeral plan can secure the cost of a funeral at today’s prices and only involves making one set of payments.

If you’re only looking to cover your funeral, or are unable to obtain life insurance, taking out a prepaid plan can secure the cost of your funeral at today’s rate.

Similar to joint life insurance, it’s possible to take out a joint funeral plan which will cover two people simultaneously.

This is again cheaper than paying for two single funeral plans but will only pay for one funeral.

Once the funeral plan has paid out, it’s no longer valid, leaving the remaining partner (or more likely their loved ones) to fund the second funeral.

Whilst the estate or savings can be used to fund the second funeral, these proceeds will have to go through probate, probably requiring loved ones to pay out before they can be reimbursed.

For this reason, it’s likely to be most beneficial to take out two funeral plans, to ensure both partners funerals are secured at today’s prices.

As a result, we don't offer the option of joint funeral plans.

If you would like to obtain a quote on individual funeral plans, or simply understand the options available, get in touch.