What is whole of life insurance cover.

Hi maysie and welcome to the forum.

A whole of life insurance policy is one that runs for the life of the insured person and pays out on their death. During that term, premiums are normally fixed and payable throughout the term. Sometimes premiums are payable up to a certain age and then the 'sum assured' remains in force until the eventual death of the life assured - older policies are more typical of this.

Premiums on 'Whole of Life' policies are more expensive that 'Term' or 'Temporary' assurance as the payout is guaranteed for the life of the assured person, whereas temporary assurances ( i.e. those that only pay out during a specific period ) are restricted in their risk as claim statistics show that only up to 3% of death claims occur on these temporary assurance policies.

Whole of life policies vary from company to company but the basic theme is that you decide on a level of cover and pay the agreed premium until you die.