He left his wife and children with a nightmare

A few nights ago my mother rang me. A close family friend had passed away.

Although I was not close to this person I went to the family home to pay my respects.

I decided to do the decent thing and not say anything. I didn’t want to put my foot in my mouth.

However on listening to what was being said it was clear that the family had a few financial worries.

The deceased had no life insurance and hadn’t paid for the funeral in advance. Worse still he hadn’t left a will.

This is in stark contrast to what my Dad did the day after I turned 18. The day after I turned 18 he ensured I took out life insurance, critical illness insurance, private medical insurance and I made a will. A few years later when they became available I was advised to take out a plan to pre-pay my funeral.

This was my Dad’s reasoning.

Whilst you are young and healthy the premiums are dirt cheap. If anything happens to you then the insurance company is stuck with you. You wait until you are 45–50 when most people take out such insurance and you will pay through your nose.

I pay some £4.99 for my life insurance. There are people who are younger than me who have to pay over £150 per month for the same level of cover. My funeral is already pre-paid.

So my take home message is ensure you take out such insurance today and the day your kids turn 18 you get it for them. Every year on your birthday review your will.

All I ask is that you don’t use a price comparison website. Please find a good insurance broker who will do this for you. A good insurance broker will get you the best level of cover for the best price. If I had my way price comparison websites would be shut down. They compare price- not cover!