Is life insurance on your list?

Should life insurance be on your ‘must-haves’ list?

When it comes to buying a home, we all have different ‘must-haves’ on our list: family-sized kitchen, vege patch, fireplace, sunny garden, good storage … but there’s one that often gets overlooked in the excitement. Life insurance.

Protect the life you’re building.

Regardless of whether you’re purchasing your first home, buying a new home to accommodate your growing family, purchasing an investment property or holiday home, or even downsizing as you approach retirement, buying property is likely to be the biggest investment you'll ever make – and for most it’ll mean an ongoing mortgage commitment. That’s why it’s important to consider the protections you have in place to cover the mortgage if you were unable to make the repayments.

If two steady incomes are required to meet those mortgage repayments then, ideally, you’d want to have a life insurance policy in place to help protect your home and your family’s financial future if you were to fall terminally ill or pass away. The financial assistance they receive could help cover things like mortgage repayments, living costs or simply by leaving a legacy. It could be the difference between your loved ones keeping the family home or needing to sell (or the bank forcing a mortgage sale!) during what is already an upsetting time.

So how much do you need?

While having life insurance as a homeowner’s not compulsory, it’s certainly worth considering. Your decision about what’s the right amount of cover might depend on some or all of the following factors:

• the amount and length of your mortgage
• the size and age of your family
• your partner’s earning power
• the lifestyle you would like your loved ones to continue to enjoy
• affordability

If you already have life insurance in place, it’s important to review your policy and ensure that it provides you with enough cover if your debt’s increased. It’s also worth looking at the waiting period, the benefit period and what you’re covered for.

A name you can trust.

Life Cover from AA Life, New Zealand’s Most Trusted Life Insurance Brand, is a simple insurance policy that pays out a tax-free lump sum up to $1 million if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness. It also allows up to $15,000 of your cover to be paid early to help with funeral costs.

With AA Life Cover there are no complicated medical checks on application and you’ll be protected from the moment your cover is confirmed. And better still, you can get a quick quote in under 2 minutes online, plus apply online, at an AA Centre or over the phone with our New Zealand-based team. 

There’s even a 5% AA Member discount available on all new policies.

Don’t overlook this important must-have. Protect the life your family’s building inside your new home with AA Life Cover.