How can I protect my family? (continued)

The best way to home in on the figure you need is to ask yourself a series of questions.

• Firstly, how much would your partner and/or dependants need to survive?
• How long would this money need to last for?
• Would the money need to pay off any debts before it starts to benefit your family?
• How much do you and your family already have as savings and investments?
• Could you rely on an income from this?

You shouldn't forget to take practicalities into consideration such as how much can you reasonably afford to pay towards a policy each month. This should be a balance between ensuring the cover you need is in place and leaving enough disposable income for enjoying life - after all the best outcome is a claim never needs to be made on life insurance.

• Do you have any existing life assurance policies?
• Is this designed to replace or complement them?

You should be clear on your current policy position before you start to make sure you're not paying out unnecessarily.

Next: How do I decide on the length of term?

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