So you're young, ambitious and optimistic about the future. The last thing on earth that you want to think about is your own mortality, but it is a fact that in the UK in the 21st century the death rate is exactly 100%! That's right, every single person who is born eventually passes over to a better world than this, and if you have a family that depends on you to keep the bills paid you may well be wondering just how they would cope if the inevitable happened a little sooner than we would like it to. The answer of course is insurance.

As if life was not complicated enough already, there are lots of different types of life-insurance for you to try to get your head around! You could have for instance an indemnity policy which is often sold as just a glorified savings scheme, which may be advantageous if you want to build up some capital in the future and you don't need a great deal of life cover. There is whole of life insurance, which pays out a lump sum when you pass away, whether this is next year (you usually have to wait a year or so before it comes into effect, in case you have suicidal tendencies, or know something about your immediate future that the insurance company doesn't know!) or 75 years hence; this can be very useful if you want to ensure that there is something in the pot to leave to your descendants upon your demise. And then there is the subject of this article, which is term assurance.

Term assurance is a policy which only runs for a fixed length of time, and pays out if you die within the contract period. If you live for a week, a day or even a few seconds past the contract period the payout will be zilch! This is not such a bad deal as it may seem at first sight however, because since there is no residual value in the policy the premiums that you pay go towards paying for the insurance and nothing else. This means that the insurance company can afford to make a much higher payout should a valid claim be made within the stated term. Term assurance is, therefore, often purchased by people whose children are growing up but who will have flown the nest by a certain date under normal circumstances, after which we all like to feel that the funds will no longer be necessary.

What I've written so far is an extremely simplified account of a financial product which, the world being what it is, is usually far more complicated and involved so if you are interested in term insurance your next stage is to speak to a professional adviser who can help you make the right choice, considering your own unique circumstances..