Serious illness cover, also called critical illness cover, pays out a lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of the specific illnesses or disabilities that your policy covers. This money can then be used to cover household bills or medical expenses that are not covered by your health insurance.

A lump sum is paid to the company should a key employee die or become seriously ill.

Personal Shareholder Protection: Shareholders enter into a legal agreement with one another to “buy out” a deceased shareholder’s shares should any of them die. Each of the shareholders takes out life assurance on themselves, which pays a lump sum to the other shareholders should they die. This provides the funds to buy out the deceased’s shares.

Corporate Shareholder Protection: In this case, the company itself takes out life assurance on each of the shareholders. Should one of the shareholders die, the company uses the lump sum from the life assurance policy to buy back the shares of the deceased. The cost is completely borne by the company.

Life insurance pays out a lump sum to your beneficiaries should you die. In return, you pay regular premiums to the life insurance company. Whole life policies cover your entire life so that a lump sum is paid out regardless of when you die. Term life insurance only covers a specified length of time. This can be useful for parents who want to ensure there will be a sum of money for their children while they are still young and going through education should the worst happen.

If the worst happens and you pass away while still paying off your mortgage, it can lead to huge stress for your dependents. Mortgage protection insurance pays off your mortgage in the event of your death, ensuring your family won’t have any worries about remaining in their home.

Permanent Health Insurance (PHI) will provide you with an income if you become unable to work due to illness or disability. The cost of PHI is determined by several factors, the most important of which is how hazardous your occupation is.

Section 72 insurance is a type of policy that pays out on the death of the holder. The proceeds of the policy are tax-free if they are used by the person inheriting it to settle an inheritance tax bill. This can be useful if children are likely to face a large inheritance tax bill on an illiquid asset (such as the family home).