If you die prematurely, become disabled or critically ill, will the loss of income be financially as well as emotionally devastating? Whilst this is unpleasant to consider, they're truths that have to be faced and there's no better time to start making financial plans for such eventualities than with the birth of your first child.

Why Do You Need Life Cover?

Life cover is designed to provide financial protection for your family if you should die or, with some policies, for you too if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. You can also include additional cover to pay out the benefit amount if youe are diagnosed with a critical illness covered by the policy. The last thing your family will need to worry about, if the worst should happen, is whether or not they can afford to remain in the family home, let alone keep up their current lifestyle. A lump sum payment doesn't make up for the death of a treasured parent, but it does mean that your children will not have to go without the necessities of life.

Get Affordable Life Insurance When You're Young

Finding affordable life cover may be problematic for a young family - this is a time when money is often tight. However, this is also the best time to purchase life insurance. When you're young and healthy, premiums are inexpensive, and this is the best time to take advantage of the fact that premium costs will only increase as you age. Worse yet, if you develop a medical condition later in life, you may end up with soaring premium costs, or even be un-insurable. You never know what might happen tomorrow, or next year, or in ten years time, and life insurance is all about protecting you and your family against anything that life throws at you.

Getting good life protection is important even if one spouse is not earning an income. A full-time parent is worth nearly ?25,000 per year in terms of the work they do in the home, and that's a lot of money that must be found if that parent is suddenly unable to care for the children. Child-rearing is expensive, and that's true even if you don't need to employ a house-keeper or carer, and life insurance can provide the financial means to get this kind of help when it's needed.

Other Important Factors to Consider

Giving your family the best protection means carefully considering all your available cover options. Choosing between a joint policy for you and your spouse, or two separate policies, is definitely a less expensive option, but in the long term it can prove to be a disadvantage as the policy terminates after one claim is made, leaving the other partner unprotected, and if they're over forty or in poor health, getting new cover will prove expensive.