With this ultimate guide to life insurance in Ireland, you can quickly discover the different types of life insurance, which insurance companies offer the best coverage, and most importantly, how to ensure that you always get the lowest fixed price.
A life insurance policy is a plan that provides a pay-out on the death of a policyholder, but can also include policies, offering additional optional specified serious illness protection.
Ultimate Guide to Life Insurance
Life insurance policies can be bought directly from most life insurance companies, through a bank, a broker, or even through well-known health and car insurance brands, such as the VHI and the AA.
So, instinct might say if I go direct I’ll get the best deal, or perhaps given that I already have my car, health, or home insurance with a particular company, I’m going to get the best deal by being loyal and going back to them for my life insurance too – well that’s simply not the case and here’ why:
1. Whilst core policy benefits may be the same, the best-added features and benefits can only be obtained by comparing the market.
2. Even with a discount on their own price, no individual life insurer will ever beat a financial broker because of their ability to add additional broker discounts, by reducing their commission.
3. Whilst any financial broker can compare the market on your behalf – online financial brokers will offer the maximum discount.
Ultimate Guide to Life Insurance Policy Types in Ireland
There are many different types of life insurance, with each designed for its specific purpose, so let’s begin by taking a look at which type of life insurance policy may best suit your needs:
1. Term Life Insurance – Life insurance is designed to protect your family at a fixed price. Cover is available up to a maximum of age 91, with a maximum policy term of 50 years.
2. Term Life Insurance with Serious Illness Cover – Life insurance with added specified serious illness coverage, designed to protect you and your family, at a fixed price, available up to age 75.
3. Term Life Insurance with Partial Whole of Life Cover – Life cover which allows you to stop paying the premium after your chosen cover term, but with a proportionate lump sum still being paid out, no matter how long you might live.
4. Mortgage Protection Insurance – Life insurance that will pay off your mortgage loan, with the payout going directly to your mortgage lender. The policy can be a single or two-person policy, where the cover level reduces in line with your loan balance, to minimize its cost.
5. Mortgage Protection Insurance with Serious Illness Cover – Life insurance that will pay off your mortgage loan, with the pay-out going directly to your mortgage lender, but with an optional amount of serious illness cover also included. The Serious Illness Cover amount can be as little as 10% of the life cover amount or match it.
Ultimate Guide to Life Insurance Companies in Ireland
In all, there are 6 life insurance providers currently operating in Ireland; Acorn Life, a small Irish insurer, and then the big household names that include: Aviva, Irish Life, New Ireland, Royal London, and Zurich Life. Standard Life offers investment products here, but not life insurance.
The best life insurance is always going to be the policy that offers the best core benefits to suit your needs, together with the most suited complimentary features at the cheapest fixed price!
Now we are ready to examine each life insurance company’s current offerings, based on the life insurance policy type, but before doing so, I want to point out that each of the recommendations below will consider all six factors that govern the best value, as follows:
- Core Benefits – main costed benefits.
- Secondary benefits – complimentary features.
- Price – the cheapest fixed price with a discount.
- Flexibility – the ability to adapt your cover to your changing needs.
- Underwriting – their approach to health conditions, GP reports, and medicals.
- Service – efficiency in the policy setup and at the claim stage.
Ultimate Guide to Life Insurance Deals
1. TERM LIFE INSURANCE
Life insurance is designed to protect your family, with a fixed price cover, available up to age 91.
TIPS
- For the best value choose a dual cover over joint cover.
- Most people go for cover to age 65, and add in a conversion option.
- Most people opt for 8-10 times the salary or a lower amount as affordable.
- Where a spouse is not earning a salary, then cover them for half your cover amount.
For straightforward term life insurance, the best value life insurance policies are offered by Royal London Ireland and Zurich Life, so depending on your needs one or another insurer, will offer the best value solution, although Royal London allows greater discount.
Why choose Royal London, for best value term life insurance?
- They allow cover up to age 91 next birthday.
- They allow later policy conversion (term extention) than any other insurer.
- They give you the first month free.
- They include free Children’s Life Cover.
- They include Terminal Illness life cover payouts.
- Advance payment funeral expense benefit is included.
- Inflation protection or indexation is better value than Zurich.
- If you miss payments, they allow up to 120 days for reinstatement.
- They offer Helping Hand – (counseling, support, and rehabilitation benefits following an illness, or death)
- They offer a second medical option on the diagnosis of serious health conditions.
Why consider Zurich Life, for best value term life insurance?
- Uniquely, you can convert up to €150,000 of your life cover into monthly payments, towards long-term care between age 60 & 65.
- The policy includes Terminal Illness Life cover payouts.
- A free cover period applies, even on poor health medically rated policies.
- You can choose to add both personal accident and hospital cash benefits.
- Their free children’s Life Cover is the highest on the market at €7,000.
- Advance payment funeral expense benefit is included.
- If you miss payments, they allow up to 90 days for reinstatement.
- They periodically grant cash back on initial premiums.
2. TERM LIFE INSURANCE WITH SERIOUS ILLNESS COVER
For term life insurance with serious illness coverage, the best value life insurance company is: Royal London Ireland.
Why Royal London Ireland?
- Leads the market in providing the most comprehensive serious illness coverage.
- Allows lower levels of serious illness coverage, than competitors if required.
- Offers the cheapest premium with the first month free.
- All of the other benefits listed for Term Life Insurance above.
3. TERM LIFE INSURANCE WITH PARTIAL WHOLE OF LIFE COVER
For term life insurance with a partial whole of life cover, the best value life insurance company in Ireland is New Ireland as they are currently the only insurer to offer it!
With this type of policy, you stop paying the premium after your chosen cover term, but a proportionate lump sum of up to €50,000 will still be paid out, no matter when the life insurance claim occurs. Although with standard term life insurance, you can maintain the full coverage up to age 90, this can be a preferred option for some people, as for an extra cost you are guaranteed a pay-out.
5. MORTGAGE PROTECTION INSURANCE
This is standard reducing life cover, which your bank will insist on you having in place alongside your mortgage loan. For straightforward single, or dual-life mortgage protection, to satisfy your bank, opt for Royal London Ireland.
Why Royal London Ireland?
- They offer the cheapest fixed premiums.
- They offer dual cover for the same price as joint cover.
- The first month is free, even if health issues affect your premium.
- Where medicals are required, they offer online nurse medicals, meaning less hassle.
- They are the fastest to produce policy documents, with easy online delivery.
- They offer “Helping Hand” (counseling, support, and rehabilitation benefits following a claim situation.)
6. MORTGAGE PROTECTION WITH SERIOUS ILLNESS COVER
If you wish to protect your mortgage against the threat of serious illness occurring, then you want the best Serious Illness coverage, as well as the best price, in which case the best insurers dependent on the level of optional serious illness cover you want is: Royal London Ireland.
Why Royal London Ireland?
- Leads the market in providing the most comprehensive serious illness coverage.
- Allows lower levels of serious illness coverage if required.
- Offers the cheapest premium with the first month free.
RECOMMENDED BEST VALUE LIFE COMPANIES BY POLICY TYPE
- Term Life Insurance: Royal London or Zurich – Single, joint & dual cover!
- Term – Partial Whole of Life: New Ireland – Single, joint & dual cover!
- Level Term Life & Serious Illness Cover: Royal London – Single, joint & dual cover!
- Indexed Term Life & Serious Illness Cover: Royal London – Single, joint & dual cover!
- Mortgage Protection: Royal London – Single & dual cover!
- Convertible Mortgage Protection: Royal London – Single & dual cover!
More Information
Here at One Quote Financial Brokers, we provide “real value” financial protection meaning fair and full benefits comparison, hassle-free application, and a best value guarantee.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us or simply call 01 845 0049
