You met that special someone, fell in love, and got married. Together, you have embarked on a shared journey through life that you hope will last, as your wedding vows indicated, until death parts you.

However, both you and your spouse want to be prepared in case the worst happens. You want to ensure that if one of you were to pass away, your spouse and any children you might have will be financially secure. As you know, death benefits from life insurance have an important role to play in this. But what is the best life insurance for married couples?

Joint Life Insurance for Married Couples Versus Single Life Insurance

Single life insurance means that you take out a life insurance policy in your name. When you die, the death benefit is paid to your beneficiaries. With single life insurance, married couples can decide whether to take out life insurance for one partner, or whether they should each apply for life insurance. If you decide that you both should be insured, each of you pays a separate premium and if you were both to die while covered by life insurance, two sets of death benefits would be paid.

Joint life insurance means that you take out a single policy together. When doing so, you choose between first-to-die and last-to-die options. In first-to-die joint life insurance for married couples, death benefits are paid as soon as one of you dies. The surviving spouse is now no longer insured. In last-to-die life insurance, death benefits are only paid when both of you have died. Most married couples who opt for this type of life insurance do so in order to leave a legacy for their children.

Both single and joint life insurance can be term life insurance or whole life insurance. Term life insurance means that you take cover that ends after a specified time period. It’s used by people who want to cover debt and provide for dependent children. Once they have paid their debts and their children are grown, they don’t see death benefits as a necessity. Whole life insurance means that you continue paying premiums until the day you die, or in the case of first-to-die joint life insurance, until one of you dies, regardless of when that may be.

Why Opt for Joint Cover?

Most married couples who choose joint life insurance cover do so because they can pay lower premiums for the two-in-one policy. But do remember that it’s really only one policy that covers two people. There aren’t separate death benefits for both of you.

Many insurance experts say that joint life insurance for young, healthy couples may not be as much of a saving as they think. Their premiums for single life insurance are likely to be quite low to begin with, and since there are two policies, there is potential for two sets of death benefits. All the same, joint life insurance covering the first to die fulfils the couple’s goals if the amount they settle on when signing up for life insurance covers their family’s needs. These could include important things like income replacement, paying off a mortgage, and funds for the education of any children they may have.

However, a surviving spouse in a partnership protected by first-to-die life insurance has no life insurance at all after their partner dies. If he or she wants to be insured, they will be older by this time and will pay more in exchange for lower death benefits.  

What Happens to Joint Life Insurance on Separation?

Joint life insurance isn’t only life insurance for married couples. Business partners also use joint life insurance policies to ensure that their business can survive if one of them were to die. That means you don’t have to be married or live together to continue having a joint life insurance policy.

If you were to separate, you and your spouse will have to decide whether you will continue paying for joint life insurance or whether you will cancel the policy. Many insurers will offer the option to convert a joint policy into a single life insurance policy covering one spouse. However, premiums are likely to rise along with this decision and the partner who no longer has insurance will have to get single life insurance of their own if they want cover.

What is the Best Life Insurance for Married Couples?

In terms of costs, joint life insurance will cost less than two single policies. But since it only pays out once, it could turn out more costly when compared to two single life insurance policies if you or your surviving family were to claim. It can also lead to complications if your marriage were to end and you decide to cancel the policy and opt for single life insurance instead. Since time has passed, you may end up paying more for single life insurance than you would have if you opted for single life insurance at the outset.

Term life insurance, in either case, will be cheaper than whole life insurance. You choose the term during which your family would need death benefits to keep their financial affairs in order and tailor your policy to match that. If you don’t die during the term, your policy ends. You don’t pay premiums, and there will be no death benefits if you were to die. Since the need for extra money in the event of your death no longer exists or has become more modest, you can decide whether to take out a new, smaller policy or simply leave things as they are.

Most life insurance professionals recommend term single cover over joint life insurance cover for these reasons.

Life Insurance When One of You Has Type 2 Diabetes

When applying for joint life cover, you will both have to fill in a questionnaire that insurers use to determine the level of risk they are taking on. If one of you has Type 2 diabetes, you are likely to find that the application process involves medical checkups, access to your medical history, and a months-long wait for more expensive life insurance.

If you both apply for single life insurance, the partner with diabetes will experience the same kind of problem - unless they choose Blueberry Life. Blueberry Life offers insurance without medical checkups for people with chronic conditions. A few basic metrics on a straightforward questionnaire, and an insurance offer that takes your efforts to manage your condition into account soon follow. Best of all, Blueberry Life strives to outperform the insurance market by offering lower premiums while ensuring that you get approval faster.

Would you like to know more? Discover the facts that are making the insurance industry, the media, and people living with diabetes sit up and take note. Crafted uniquely for you, our life insurance policies for people with chronic conditions are as distinctive and different as you are. It’s as easy as filling out an online application - all you need is 5 minutes to tell us about yourself.

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This is a blog and should not be taken as financial advice.