Endowment life assurance is the best way forward

In an article of some time ago, I mentioned a number of globally famous people I have danced with, dined with or sipped champagne with but whom all met an untimely demise.
I mused as to whether any had life assurance as certainly they all had future plans, were full of promise and left families in deep shock and if not, whether their families suffered as badly as so many seem to do so here in Uganda when a loved one passes on with no life assurance.
Recently, families of both well known and not so well known citizens have been bereaved, often in desperately sad circumstances and I fear that few, if any, will have any support whatsoever from any form of life assurance.
Life assurance is a way of ensuring that the shock and loss of both princesses and paupers alike is at least managed in terms of financial support.
I have written about it before but please, take another minute to consider what really happens if the sole bread winner of a family of five children succumbs to malaria, or suffers a fatal accident or any of the disasters that haunt us on a daily basis.
Who would take care of the five orphans? Families are wonderful in times of need but will these sons and daughters get the love of both a mummy and a daddy? Would their school fees continue to be paid or would they be packed off back to “the village” to act as house helps to an aged aunt whose patience and sensitivity may not be perhaps as it once was.
Destitution, degradation, possibly even prostitution and crime may be the only future for these five innocents and whilst these words might make disturbing reading I make no apology.
I am repeatedly told by self appointed experts that the population here in Uganda is simply not culturally ready for the life assurance concept whereby someone else benefits by a person’s death and possibly the image of a large sum of life assurance cash can actually act as an incentive for the named beneficiary to hasten the conclusion of the insured’s the life cycle, i.e. the dreaded “d” word… death.
There is a solution, take out any reference to the “d” word and replace it with the concept of Savings for a critical but expensive “life” event that also has a life assurance cover if the unthinkable happens during the “life” of the savings plan.
It is called endowment life assurance and for a relatively small monthly premium, paid through the direct debit system, a person’s “life” objectives such as a child’s school fees, a young person’s university costs or perhaps even a wedding can be planned for.
At the end of the savings period, you receive the full savings made plus interest and bonus and hopefully wave your children off to school, university or toast the bride at her wedding.
Endowment life insurance may be the answer to any cultural concerns that are seen to exist as the concept is for the insured be very much alive at the end of the endowment plan period so perhaps burying the concept that life insurance only benefits someone else from your demise. It doesn’t!
Such endowment schemes are available from licensed life insurance providers and if you need to know who they are, simply ask your friendly insurance broker who will only be too happy to assist.
In this way you will provide your family with a savings mechanism to plan for the funding of expensive, key family events as well as providing “life after life” funds should nature deprive your family of your presence at the “life” the moments we all cherish.

Mr Corbit is the Managing Director of ICEA Limited.