Life insurance - it’s not as morbid as it once was!

Death is a hard thing to sell. People shrink away from the declarations of life-insurance companies and funeral-planning services (“you’re guaranteed to be accepted for a funeral plan if you’re 50 or over”), dismissing them as unpleasant, and unsurprisingly, morbid. Attempts to bring death into the public domain have largely been unsuccessful; a couple of years ago IDEO, a leading global design firm, sought to “redesign death” in the form of a slick app to help put one’s affairs in order. Although a curious idea, it was abandoned, with few prospects for uptake.

Another “Death-Positive Movement” wanted to “teach our repressed society how to explore its relationship with death”; running a website called Ask A Mortician so that fears, thoughts, and feelings regarding death could become part of the wider cultural conversation. It did find a cult following, but, as to be expected the movement did not break death’s commercial taboo.

A previous exhibition at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery did, however, achieve what IDEO and other death-positive projects had not. Entitled “Death: The Human Experience”, the exhibition repackaged DEATH into welcoming jewel-pink tones and soft lowercase letters, like death, yet didn’t shy away from the frank presentation that surrounded death. Eye-opening for many, one of the key themes taken away from the exhibit is nobody is ever ready for death, however being prepared can help those left behind.

The Amicable Society was the first company to offer life insurance policies. Founded in London in 1706 by William Talbot and Sir Thomas Allen, they charged members a set contribution and paid out annually to widows and children of those who had died in the previous 12 months. Insurance in some form dates back to Roman times, but life insurance is among the oldest financial products out there. Today it is a vast industry; life and health insurers employ over 800,000 people in America alone. It protects hundreds of millions against the risk of dying early, through death benefits, or the risk of living longer than expected, for example through annuities.

Do you need life insurance? Not everyone does. If you are single or your partner earns enough for your family to live on you most likely won’t need it. But if you have dependents: children; a partner or other relatives who hinge on your income to cover the mortgage or other living expenses – then life insurance can provide for them in the event of your death. Nowadays you cannot expect to rely on the government to look after your family and the money they would receive from the state is much lower than one would expect.

If you are interested in life insurance policies, there are many different options out there and it’s best to do some research before committing. A lot of life insurers now offer ancillary series that nudges people to live a healthier life. AXA, a French Insurer, gives its customers access to check-ups. Union Life, a Chinese one, guarantees policyholders a place in an old people’s home and advises them on activities in retirement. Desjardins, a Canadian insurer, offers advice during treatment and recovery from illness. Remember to take stock of your circumstances and don’t be afraid to talk about death. Ultimately a good, cheery and honest talk could be the way to change our gloomy perspective of death.

If you would like to learn more about Life Insurance policies and how to protect your family please feel free to get in touch [email protected]