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Home / - Life Insurance and Life Assurance
Life Insurance and Life Assurance policies originally offered quite different benefits, however in common usage today they have come to mean much the same thing.
Technically speaking ‘Assurance’ policies are policies where the payment of a promised sum is guaranteed, whether on death or at the end of a policy term. ‘Insurance’ policies however provide for payment of the sum insured only in certain circumstances.
Because the vast majority of Life policies arranged today are ‘Pure Protection Term Policies’ (they do not have any investment element and they stop providing life cover after the selected fixed number of years) then technically they are Insurance policies because the ’certain circumstances’ rule applies, although some people still describe them as Term Assurance.
The confusion lies in the fact that death is assured for all of us, but not always within the term of a policy set up to run for a fixed number years.
All policies offered through Direct Life are ‘Pure Protection Term Policies’ and therefore we call them Life Insurance policies and not Life Assurance policies, although some of the insurance companies, who’s products we offer, still describe them as Life Assurance on their documentation.
NEWS
Childhood obesity 'not getting better'
02 May 2008 10:31:32
Generations of British people could be jeopardising their families' chances of finding cheap life insurance in the future, it has emerged.
Representatives for the British Nutrition Foundation singled out the rise in childhood obesity rates as a key consideration in the future of the nation's health.
"At this stage I do not think there is any evidence to say that it is getting better," said Bridget Aisbitt, a nutrition scientist at the organisation.
She suggested that although the government has pledged to halt the rise of childhood obesity by 2010, there has been "no indication yet about whether that will actually be achieved".
"The problems we are seeing now are the result of changes over the last 20 or 30 years, and little has really been done about that until relatively recently," Ms Aisbitt continued.
Consumer publication Which? claims in its Kids' Food Campaign that children are currently being "bombarded" with a range of increasingly sophisticated marketing tactics encouraging them to eat foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar.
Please click here for advice on UK life insurance, life insurance policies and a life insurance quote
BHF supports salt research
29 January 2008 13:37:33
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has welcomed new research into the amount of salt contained in food consumed by children.
According to the Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) report which was conducted by Netmums, in some cases, food contains half the daily maximum limit for a six-year-old child.
Such high levels of salt could have serious implications for people's health in later life, which may in turn impact upon life insurance premiums.
Betty McBride, director of policy and communications for the BHF, said: "We know that high salt intake is linked to raised blood pressure and is a major risk factor for heart disease - the UK’s biggest killer."
While the research revealed that there are "alarming levels" of salt in some foods, shoppers are often left confused by the labels appearing on food, making it difficult to identify options that are low in salt.
Cash organises National Salt Awareness Week at the end of January each year, with this year's event focusing on children.
The organisation is looking to promote awareness of a number of issues, including encouraging children to eat less salt than adults, identify the main sources of salt in children's diets and to offer practical information to parents and carers.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, and critical illnesslife insurance policies online
Life insurance: An important safety net in uncertain circumstances
24 January 2008 14:25:36
Although the UK is "hugely uninsured" when it comes to life cover, financial advice and comparison websites are playing an important role in plugging the gap.
That is the conclusion of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), whose representatives noted that such websites help increase awareness of the need for a "safety net" in the form of life insurance or other cover.
"Anything that helps to spread the message among consumers and provide choice to people… has to have contributed in some way to helping raise awareness," confirmed Nick Kirwan, the organisation's head of health and protection insurance.
He added: "Of course, anything that gives people more choice about how they buy is a good thing."
Mr Kirwan pointed out that while most people take out life insurance alongside their mortgage- in order to pay the loan off in the event of their death, fewer consider such cover at other significant times in their life - such as when they start a family.
He remarked: "There might be other life events that would trigger the need for [life insurance]; for example, if somebody goes self-employed.
"That's a time when they might well be giving up some life insurance that their employer has been providing in the past. All of a sudden they become responsible for all of their own benefits – they don't get sick pay any more."
He speculated that a large proportion of people do not realise how affordable life insurance is, particularly as budgets become stretched after the birth of a first child.
"But life insurance is very cheap, [particularly] at the ages when people typically start a family, in their twenties and thirties," he said.
Recent figures from the ABI suggested that one in three Britons have no life insurance at all, while a further one in three have not renewed their life cover for five years and therefore may be underinsured.
In 2005, the Telegraph reported that Swiss Re - the world's largest life and health reinsurer - had estimated that there was a £2.3 trillion "protection gap" between the expenses of UK families and what was actually covered by life insurance policies.
Financial expert Paul Wolf underlined last year that there is no "right time" to purchase life insurance, although most people prefer to leave at least enough money to cover the cost of their funeral.
"Aside from that, many people feel they don't need life insurance unless, and until, they have surviving dependants, debts or other liabilities to be paid off," explained the president of Innovative Benefits Consultants.
In Mr Wolf's opinion, people's life insurance needs change in line with their lifestyles - each lifestyle change brings a potential need for more or less life insurance, meaning coverage should be reviewed at every point.
Earlier this month, the importance of life insurance, income protection and other such "lifelines" was further underlined as popular provider PruProtect revealed the financial pressure put on British families as a result of the global credit crunch, falling house prices and growing consumer debt.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
02 May 2008 10:31:32
Generations of British people could be jeopardising their families' chances of finding cheap life insurance in the future, it has emerged.
Representatives for the British Nutrition Foundation singled out the rise in childhood obesity rates as a key consideration in the future of the nation's health.
"At this stage I do not think there is any evidence to say that it is getting better," said Bridget Aisbitt, a nutrition scientist at the organisation.
She suggested that although the government has pledged to halt the rise of childhood obesity by 2010, there has been "no indication yet about whether that will actually be achieved".
"The problems we are seeing now are the result of changes over the last 20 or 30 years, and little has really been done about that until relatively recently," Ms Aisbitt continued.
Consumer publication Which? claims in its Kids' Food Campaign that children are currently being "bombarded" with a range of increasingly sophisticated marketing tactics encouraging them to eat foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar.
Please click here for advice on UK life insurance, life insurance policies and a life insurance quote
29 January 2008 13:37:33
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has welcomed new research into the amount of salt contained in food consumed by children.
According to the Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) report which was conducted by Netmums, in some cases, food contains half the daily maximum limit for a six-year-old child.
Such high levels of salt could have serious implications for people's health in later life, which may in turn impact upon life insurance premiums.
Betty McBride, director of policy and communications for the BHF, said: "We know that high salt intake is linked to raised blood pressure and is a major risk factor for heart disease - the UK’s biggest killer."
While the research revealed that there are "alarming levels" of salt in some foods, shoppers are often left confused by the labels appearing on food, making it difficult to identify options that are low in salt.
Cash organises National Salt Awareness Week at the end of January each year, with this year's event focusing on children.
The organisation is looking to promote awareness of a number of issues, including encouraging children to eat less salt than adults, identify the main sources of salt in children's diets and to offer practical information to parents and carers.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, and critical illnesslife insurance policies online
24 January 2008 14:25:36
Although the UK is "hugely uninsured" when it comes to life cover, financial advice and comparison websites are playing an important role in plugging the gap.
That is the conclusion of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), whose representatives noted that such websites help increase awareness of the need for a "safety net" in the form of life insurance or other cover.
"Anything that helps to spread the message among consumers and provide choice to people… has to have contributed in some way to helping raise awareness," confirmed Nick Kirwan, the organisation's head of health and protection insurance.
He added: "Of course, anything that gives people more choice about how they buy is a good thing."
Mr Kirwan pointed out that while most people take out life insurance alongside their mortgage- in order to pay the loan off in the event of their death, fewer consider such cover at other significant times in their life - such as when they start a family.
He remarked: "There might be other life events that would trigger the need for [life insurance]; for example, if somebody goes self-employed.
"That's a time when they might well be giving up some life insurance that their employer has been providing in the past. All of a sudden they become responsible for all of their own benefits – they don't get sick pay any more."
He speculated that a large proportion of people do not realise how affordable life insurance is, particularly as budgets become stretched after the birth of a first child.
"But life insurance is very cheap, [particularly] at the ages when people typically start a family, in their twenties and thirties," he said.
Recent figures from the ABI suggested that one in three Britons have no life insurance at all, while a further one in three have not renewed their life cover for five years and therefore may be underinsured.
In 2005, the Telegraph reported that Swiss Re - the world's largest life and health reinsurer - had estimated that there was a £2.3 trillion "protection gap" between the expenses of UK families and what was actually covered by life insurance policies.
Financial expert Paul Wolf underlined last year that there is no "right time" to purchase life insurance, although most people prefer to leave at least enough money to cover the cost of their funeral.
"Aside from that, many people feel they don't need life insurance unless, and until, they have surviving dependants, debts or other liabilities to be paid off," explained the president of Innovative Benefits Consultants.
In Mr Wolf's opinion, people's life insurance needs change in line with their lifestyles - each lifestyle change brings a potential need for more or less life insurance, meaning coverage should be reviewed at every point.
Earlier this month, the importance of life insurance, income protection and other such "lifelines" was further underlined as popular provider PruProtect revealed the financial pressure put on British families as a result of the global credit crunch, falling house prices and growing consumer debt.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online