Insurance: How financially fit is your family?

Oguntoye Durojaye had a family of five including his wife and four children. Having retired as a general manager in an engineering company in 2010, Durojaye by virtue of his position, was expected that he would have given his family a reasonable level of comfort in terms of feeding, accommodation and a certain level of education before his death in late 2013.

Four of his children were at the early stage of their education at the university when he passed on November 28, 2013 following a protracted sickness, which unfortunately took major part of his savings.

Durojaye’s Children would be needing N10m to complete their education as well as pay up house rents for at least two years before probably one or two of them complete school and secure employment.

Unfortunately, what was found in Durojaye’s bank account is only N3m, meaning that they would require extra N7m to survive the remaining years before the family begins to earn income.

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This situation has left Durojaye’s widow who incidentally never worked while her husband was alive helpless.

The question is: Is it supposed to be so? Is there something Durojaye could have done to protect the family even in his absence? Does insurance have any role to play in this situation? What kind of insurance would have helped the Durojayes?

Life Insurance is foundation of financial fitness and any family that does not have such a financial plan that would take care of his or her dependants should the unexpected happen is suffering financial misfit, George Onekhena, deputy commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commissioner, has said.

According to him, if your family needed N7m to pay for their needs when you are not there then you are financial misfit by that amount. Onekhena advised that people should take up term assurance cover for the protection of their family and dependants.

Term insurance is a type of life insurance policy that provides coverage for a certain period of time, or a specified “term” of years. If the insured dies during the time period specified in the policy and the policy is active – or in force – then a death benefit will be paid.

Term insurance is initially less expensive when compared to permanent life insurance. Unlike most types of permanent insurance, term insurance has no cash value.

There are many different types of term insurance policies available. Many policies offer level premiums for the duration of the policy, such as 10, 20, or 30 years. These are often referred to as “level term” policies.

While premiums for these level term policies remain level for a set number of years, after this time period the premium increases significantly, making the policy cost prohibitive.

Most term policies have an in-built privilege to convert to a permanent policy regardless of any changes in the insured’s health.

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