03 October 2017

Times Are Tough But Don't be Tempted to Cancel Your Life Insurance

South African consumers have been hit hard in recent months. From electricity to food and petrol, prices are soaring. Consider, for example, our latest fuel price increase: petrol went up by 93c a liter and diesel by 69c. According to the Automobile Association, this latest increase is the highest in South African history. As a breadwinner you battle to contain your family's monthly living expenses, stretching your budget to the limit every month and cutting corners where possible. It is at times like these that we are tempted to cut back on our life insurance premiums, a cost that we can do without surely? Think again.
The joint income that you and your partner bring home every month is your family's livelihood. It puts a roof over their heads and covers daily living expenses, including transport costs and the food on their plates. It pays for their education and takes care of your medical aid premiums. For those families that are lucky enough, it might even allow for an annual holiday, extra maths lessons or ballet classes. It goes without saying that raising a family is expensive.
As you tackle your budget this month take a moment to think about how your family would survive if you or your partner died? How would he/she provide for the family on just one salary? What would it mean for the family? A smaller house in another suburb, perhaps even a flat? More affordable schools perhaps? Would the family medical aid have to be sacrificed? It is not inconceivable that your family would survive without your income or that of your partner but at what cost to their education, their health and their safety?
Enter life insurance. Life insurance is the financial lifeline your family will need in the event of your death. Quite simply, your life insurance pay-out will replace the salary you brought home every month. A life insurance policy means that in the event of your death your family is provided for and will not have to sacrifice any part of the life that you have worked so hard to build for them.
As tempting as it might be to cancel your life insurance policy in tough times, remember that life insurance is about providing your family with the future income they will need to survive without your or your partner's salary. It is your guarantee that they will be looked after just as you look after them now, that your dreams for them, from a university education to that overseas holiday, will be kept alive. Don't deprive your family of the future they deserve.