Dying prematurely, becoming disabled or suffering from a critical illness are all major events that would have a substantial impact on you and your family’s financial situation.

Life assurance is the simplest and most effective way in which a person can, for a reasonable monthly outlay, convert a potential estate into an actual estate should death intervene before he/she has had enough time to develop his/her resources to the full.

The primary purpose of life assurance is to provide cash for dependants in the event of an early death, it also provides useful and attractive benefits for the policyholder during their lifetime.

"The rule of thumb" suggests an amount of life insurance equal to 8 to 10 time’s annual earnings.

Another more accurate way to decide how much life insurance you need is to figure how much cash and income your dependants would need if you were to die. You should think of life insurance as a source of cash needed for expenses for final illness, paying taxes, mortgage or other debts. It can also provide income for your family's living expenses, educational costs and other future expenses.

1) What your dependants would have if you were to die now, and

2) What they actually need.