56 questions, 56 straight answers.

Pure protection for a set sum assured and a set term: if the insured person dies during the term, the insurer pays the sum to the named beneficiary – with no savings element, which is why a small premium buys a large cover. More detail: what term life insurance is.

The term form only protects – that is what makes it inexpensive; endowment and unit-linked policies combine protection with savings, with a more complex cost structure, and in a unit-linked policy the policyholder bears the investment risk. The two worlds also serve different goals: decision map.

Anyone whose income other people rely on: dependants, mortgage repayments, shared plans. If none of that applies, cover is typically not urgent – and we say so openly: when is it not worth it?

No – a life insurance policy cannot be taken out on an insured person under the age of 18. In truth, this is not what would protect the family anyway: a child's security comes from well-sized cover on the earning parent's life – and the child can be given a role as beneficiary: a minor as beneficiary.

The base cover pays if the insured person dies during the term – whether the cause is illness or an accident, subject to the exclusions set out in the policy terms. Disability, critical illness and incapacity for work can be covered by riders: what it covers and what it does not.

For as long as someone relies on that income: until the youngest child stands on their own feet, until the loan ends, until the working years close – matched to the longest commitment: choosing the term.

The insured event doesn't occur in that case, since the insured person is still alive, so the contract itself doesn't end. The duty to keep paying the premium typically passes to the policyholder's legal successor, or the parties name a new policyholder in agreement with the insurer – the exact process varies by insurer. It's worth sorting this out promptly, so the family's cover doesn't lapse over a missed premium: clarifying the roles.

Term life insurance ends at the end of its term: according to the guidance of the MNB (Hungary's central bank and financial supervisor), if the insured person is alive at expiry, the contract ends without any payment, and it has no maturity benefit or surrender value. There is typically no automatic extension; continuing in that case means a new contract, with a new proposal, a new health declaration and new underwriting, and a premium based on your age at that time – which is why many people find out over the age of 60 that cover has become more expensive, can be accepted only with an exclusion, or can no longer be taken out because of the maximum entry age. Some insurers' policy conditions include an option to extend the term or to change the term before expiry, but this differs from insurer to insurer, and the policy conditions determine whether new underwriting is required for it. If you want longer cover, it is therefore better to set the term when you take out the policy, matching it to the end of a loan or to when the children become independent, or to look at the whole-of-life version, where – as the MNB describes it – the term is the insured person's remaining lifetime, and premium payment is typically limited up to a certain age. If you let me know before expiry, I prepare the comparison of new offers and the paperwork; the expiry notice is sent by the insurer.

Signing the proposal does not in itself give you cover: a life insurance contract comes into being in the sequence proposal, underwriting (risk assessment), policy document, and the insurer's cover starts on the day set out in the policy conditions, which varies from insurer to insurer – several Hungarian policy conditions tie it to the first day of the month following the signing of the proposal (in these cases the first premium is due when the proposal is signed or on the start date), while elsewhere the start date is the day after the proposal is handed over or the first premium is received. The Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.) lays down a rule on when the contract comes into being: if you made the proposal as a consumer, on the insurer's proposal form and in line with its premium tariff, and the insurer does not respond within 15 days of receiving it – or within 60 days if a medical examination is required for underwriting – the contract is concluded with the content of the proposal, with retroactive effect to the day the proposal was handed over; if, however, the insurer rejects the proposal within this period, there is no contract and you get back the premium you paid. If the insured person dies while the proposal is being assessed, under the rule in the Civil Code the insurer may reject the proposal only if it expressly drew attention to this possibility on the proposal form and it is evident that the risk requires individual underwriting – with a life insurance contract taken out with a health declaration this is typically the case, so in practice a proposal that has not yet been assessed and whose premium has not been paid does not give you cover. For this period the Civil Code recognises provisional cover (előzetes fedezetvállalás), but it is not automatic: it protects you only if the insurer expressly undertakes it in its policy conditions or in a separate statement – this varies by insurer and by product, and several Hungarian life insurance policy conditions do not include it at all, so you should ask about it before taking out the contract. Practical advice: before taking out the contract, read the “start of cover” section of the policy conditions, pay the first premium in the way and by the deadline the insurer requests, and check the start date of cover on the policy document; if underwriting drags on and you let me know, I help where I can.

No: under the life insurance rules of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), the insurer may not cancel a life insurance contract – except where the insured risk increases significantly – and Hungarian life insurance policy conditions typically adopt this rule in this form. Getting older and an illness that develops during the term are not such cases: the insurer underwrote and priced the contract on the basis of your age and state of health when it was concluded, and during the term – unless you ask for an increase in the sum insured or a new supplementary cover – it does not ask for a new health declaration or for renewed underwriting; the duty to notify changes set out in the policy conditions typically concerns changes in your occupation, dangerous sports or long-term stays abroad, not a deterioration in your health. Nor does the premium change according to a later, individual decision by the insurer; it is set according to rules fixed in advance in the policy conditions – for example the indexation accepted when the contract was concluded, or an age-related premium table disclosed in advance; this varies from insurer to insurer, so it is worth checking the premium rules in the policy conditions before taking out the contract. Under the policy conditions, the exception for a significant increase in risk typically concerns a change, notified or coming to light during the term, that materially alters the risk the insurer has accepted; in such a case the insurer may propose an amendment to the contract or may cancel it in the manner set out in the policy conditions – what counts as significant is defined by the policy conditions and varies from insurer to insurer. This is precisely one of the differences compared with a bank's group credit protection insurance: you are not the policyholder of the group contract, and what happens to it and on what conditions is decided by the bank and the insurer, whereas a stand-alone term life insurance contract in your own name remains yours, on the conditions agreed, until the end of its term, as long as you pay the premium. During the term, cover is typically ended by non-payment of the premium (after a reminder and a grace period) or by your own cancellation, not by a decision of the insurer – so over 50, too, the thing to watch is that your premium payments continue without interruption, rather than worrying about “termination in old age”.

Loans, the family's annual outgoings and the number of years of income to be replaced together give the figure – plus education, if that is one of your goals. We size it from your own numbers, not from a rule of thumb: the principles and the worksheet.

On the insured person's age and health, on smoking, on the sum assured, on the term and on the riders – which is why we do not publish "general" premiums: the real figures emerge from competing offers from several insurers.

Because they would be misleading: the same protection is available to two families at meaningfully different premiums, depending on age, health and structure. What we do commit to: we set out the principles of sizing the cover openly, and we optimise the premium by obtaining competing offers from several insurers – after a quote request you see exact figures.

It can change in two regular ways: through indexation at the policy anniversary (the tool for keeping pace with inflation – it is your decision) and if you change the sum assured or the riders. Beyond those rules the premium does not "drift": indexation and inflation.

The policy terms provide a grace period, and there is typically room to reduce the premium or restructure the policy – the key is to flag it in time: missed premiums and reinstating a policy.

With pure term insurance, no – just as with home insurance: in return for the premium the family lived protected for the whole term, and that is the service itself. If you want a payout at maturity, the savings-type forms are the ones for you – knowing their price: endowment life insurance.

The premium for pure term life insurance typically doesn't qualify for its own personal income tax credit, unlike some long-term savings or pension-purpose products – and corporate arrangements (e.g. key person insurance) follow a different accounting logic. Always confirm the exact, current position with an accountant or the tax authority's guidance: tax and duty questions.

Yes, the policy can also be cancelled beyond the 30-day withdrawal period, typically as of the next anniversary or as set out in the policy terms, in writing. Since this is pure term cover with no savings element, cancelling typically doesn't return any amount, and cover ends on the day the cancellation takes effect. Before deciding, it's worth considering reducing the sum assured or rescheduling the premium instead: more on what to do after signing.

Yes, it can: the company can be the policyholder and can also pay the premium for term life insurance taken out on your life as the insured person – under Sections 6:475 and 6:478 of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), the contract and the designation of the beneficiary require your written consent as the insured person – but since January 2019 this has not been a tax-free benefit: the earlier tax exemption, which was set in proportion to the minimum wage, has been abolished. Under the Personal Income Tax Act (Szja tv.), the premium for risk insurance paid by a paying entity (kifizető) for the benefit of a private individual is taxable income of the insured person, taxed according to the legal relationship between the company and you: in an employment relationship, as wages (personal income tax and contributions on your side, social contribution tax at the company), and in a managing director's or company member's legal relationship, under the rules of that relationship. With an individual contract, the part of the premium attributable to you can be clearly determined, so treatment as a “certain specified benefit” (egyes meghatározott juttatás), taxed at the payer's level, is out of the question – that can arise only with a group contract where the premium cannot be divided among the insured persons even by proportional allocation. The identity of the beneficiary decides the matter from the other side: if the company paying the premium is exclusively entitled, without restriction, to the insurer's payment – this is the logic of key person insurance – then under Section 7(1a) of the Personal Income Tax Act you do not earn income when the premium is paid, but the death benefit also goes to the company, not to your family; if the beneficiary is you or your family, the premium is your income. The insurer's death benefit is tax-free for the beneficiary under the tax-exemption annex of the Personal Income Tax Act, and on the company's side, the premium taxed at the individual's level is typically a recognised expense – it is worth having the exact accounting confirmed by your accountant, because the details depend on the legal relationship and on how the roles in the contract are allocated. As a broker, I see that the clean solution is often for the company to raise your salary by an amount equal to the premium, or for you to pay the premium from your net income: the tax burden is similar, but the contract and the beneficiary designation remain yours and do not depend on your employment or company membership continuing.

Typically not: you are free to bring your own cover, and what the bank expects is an appropriate sum assured, an appropriate term and a stipulation in the bank's favour. A standalone policy can be put out for competing offers, and it stays with you even if you refinance: bank policy vs. standalone.

Start from the goal: if you need protection, the term form gives the most from the least; if you also want savings, keeping the two separate is typically more efficient than bundling them together – it is worth going through the numbers: decision map.

The four main directions: accidental death (an additional sum), disability (a lasting loss of capacity), critical illness (pays out during your lifetime on a serious diagnosis), incapacity for work (long-term sick leave) – plus the premium waiver, the protection of the protection: types and riders.

For the diagnoses listed in the policy terms it pays a lump sum during your lifetime – the definitions are strict, and they differ from insurer to insurer. It does not replace the base cover, and it is not health insurance: what it can and cannot do.

It is a valuable base, but it is typically tied to your employment, and its cover amount rarely matches what the family actually needs. The two complement each other – we write about the group form on the csoportos.biz site.

Typically two tailored policies – often with cross cover: each partner takes out a policy on the other's life. That way the sums assured and the riders can be sized to the individual: for couples.

Some insurers offer an option along these lines – often called something like an "indexation-independent sum increase" – that lets you raise the sum, within limits, on specific life events, without new medical underwriting. The terms, the range of qualifying events and the extra cost vary significantly by insurer, so it's worth asking about specifically at the quote-request stage. If this flexibility matters to you, we give it particular attention in the comparison: reviewing the sum at your anniversary.

Yes, this is common and legitimate: term life insurance isn't indemnity insurance, so the death benefit typically isn't reduced just because you hold more than one policy – each insurer pays its own sum under its own terms. This is one way of layering cover across several smaller policies: several small policies or one large one. At inception, though, every insurer needs to be told about any life cover you hold elsewhere – that's part of the duty of disclosure.

A declaration is typically required; a medical examination only for a larger sum assured, at a higher age or following certain answers – typically at the insurer's expense: when an examination is needed.

If the duty of disclosure is breached, the insurer may be released from its obligation to pay under the applicable rules – which is why honesty is not a risk but the basis for the payout not being contested at claim time: what is at stake, honestly.

Typically yes: insurers accept a large share of stable, treated conditions on standard terms or with a loading – and underwriting practices differ, which is why obtaining competing offers from several insurers is worth the most here: with existing conditions.

A smoker rating means a noticeably higher premium – the exact difference varies from product to product. The good news: after the smoke-free period fixed in the policy terms you can ask to be re-rated: smoking and rating.

Higher-risk occupations and sports can bring a loading or a targeted exclusion – with practices that vary widely from insurer to insurer, so we obtain competing offers on this too: sports and occupation.

The insurer's medical assessment process – under confidentiality and data protection rules. The broker organises the process; the medical details do not end up with the broker: the path your data takes.

Pregnancy on its own is typically not an exclusion, and in many cases the application can be assessed without complication – the health declaration does ask about it, though, and with certain pregnancy complications the insurer may set an extra deadline or a post-birth review. If growing your family is already on the horizon, it's worth starting the process as early in the pregnancy as possible, since the health picture is typically simpler then. Exact practice varies by insurer, so it's worth asking about this directly before taking out the policy: the health declaration prep guide helps here too.

Body weight, blood pressure and cholesterol level are standard criteria in term life insurance underwriting, but unlike smoking, they rarely lead to an automatic risk classification: the insurer weighs the BMI calculated from height and weight, the fact of treatment and the follow-up readings together, using its own tables, which differ from insurer to insurer. Moderate overweight typically still results in a standard premium or a small loading; in the obesity category, a loading expressed as a percentage of the premium is the typical response, and postponing the decision or rejection typically comes into question only with a very high BMI or a combination of several risk factors (overweight, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar at the same time). High blood pressure that is well controlled with medication and free of complications, as well as treated high cholesterol, can be accepted by many insurers at a standard premium or with a moderate loading, but this typically requires a recent medical report, a blood-pressure diary or lab results; diabetes is assessed more strictly: the well-controlled, complication-free type 2 form can typically be accepted with a loading, while type 1 diabetes or diabetes with complications may, depending on the insurer, even lead to rejection. For the basic death cover, a cause-specific exclusion is rare; it is rather with the supplementary covers (disability, critical illness) that the insurer may exclude events related to the condition in question. Since every insurer works with different tables, the same person may receive a standard offer from one insurer and an offer with a loading from another – so it is worth comparing the underwriting decisions of several insurers and giving accurate figures in the health declaration (weight, blood pressure, medication taken), because under the Hungarian Civil Code's (Ptk.) rule on the duty of disclosure, inaccurate disclosure can jeopardise the payout. If you later lose weight or your blood pressure settles down for the long term, several insurers allow you to request a review of the loading – a separate FAQ answer covers this.

Yes, it can be requested, but it is not automatic and it varies from insurer to insurer: the loading does not necessarily apply for the whole term; during the term, you can request in writing a review of your risk classification if the reason for the loading – smoking, overweight, a treated illness – has ceased or has settled down for the long term. For smoking, Hungarian policy conditions typically require a verified nicotine-free period of a specified length for non-smoker classification – its length varies by insurer, with around one year or longer being typical – and the insurer may ask for a declaration, a medical certificate or even a cotinine test result, and during the term it may, under the policy conditions, be entitled to check your smoking habits. For a loading due to illness or overweight, the improvement must be supported by recent medical reports, lab results and a certificate from your treating doctor; the insurer treats this as a new risk assessment and may decide to reduce, remove or maintain the loading – under the policy conditions, it typically has no obligation to reduce or remove it. The reclassification typically applies from the premium following the decision, and you generally do not get back the loading paid earlier retroactively; if your own insurer is not flexible, taking out a new policy with another insurer can also be a route, but waiting periods start again there, and because of your higher age the base premium may also be different, so the comparison is not only about the loading. The reverse is also true: if you take up smoking during the term, you must report it in accordance with the policy conditions, because a concealed change in risk can jeopardise the payout under the Hungarian Civil Code's (Ptk.) rule on reporting changes. If you let me know, I help where I can with putting together the review request and – if the new assessment is not favourable – with comparing the alternatives; you have to obtain and sign the declarations and certificates yourself.

Essentially, yes: under the life insurance rules of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), if five years have already passed between the conclusion of the contract and the occurrence of the insured event, the insurer can no longer refuse to pay the benefit by relying on a breach of the duty of disclosure at the time the contract was concluded – some policy conditions put it this way: the insurer may exercise its rights arising from such a breach only during the first five years of the contract. For an insured event occurring within the first five years, however, the main rule applies: if a material circumstance was concealed or disclosed inaccurately, the insurer's obligation to pay does not arise, unless it can be proven that the insurer knew of the circumstance when the contract was concluded, or that the circumstance did not contribute to the occurrence of the insured event. The five-year limit applies to breaches of the duty of disclosure, not to every ground for refusal: the exclusions set out in the policy conditions, waiting periods and the statutory cases in which the insurer is released from paying (for example a serious intentional criminal offence committed by the insured person) apply regardless, and for a breach of the duty to notify changes during the term, the policy conditions typically count the five years from the notification deadline. If you later increase the sum insured and a new health declaration is required for this, the count may restart for the increased portion under the policy conditions – this varies from insurer to insurer, and the “duty of disclosure” section of the policy conditions tells you how it works. As a broker, I see it this way: the rule is not there for “waiting out” an inaccurate declaration – in the first five years the full amount is at stake – so the way to go is an accurate and honest declaration when you take out the contract.

The named beneficiary – and in the absence of a designation, the heirs, on the timetable of probate. A designation by name is therefore one of the greatest advantages of life insurance: why name a beneficiary.

A payout due to a named beneficiary is typically not part of the probate proceedings – so it reaches the family weeks or months sooner. This is not legal advice: it is worth clarifying the exact legal detail with a lawyer: beneficiary vs. estate.

Yes, at any time by written statement of the policyholder – and if the insured is a different person, with their consent. When your life situation changes, this is the first administrative task: how a change is made.

The primary route is always the insurer's own customer service and online portal – the contact details are on the policy document and on the insurer's website. If a case stalls or becomes disputed, I help the client as a broker: how to file a claim.

It depends on the type of event: typically a claim form, identity documents, a civil registry certificate and medical records – the exact list comes from the insurer, and we have collected the usual sets here: required documents.

Assessment follows the policy terms, and it depends most of all on how complete the documentation is – promising a deadline would not be fair, but giving a picture drawn from experience is: typical processing times.

Yes: once an adoption is legally final, an adopted child is a member of the family in law just like a birth child, so they can be named as beneficiary in exactly the same way, and a parent can, as legal representative, take out a child's life policy on them too. In practice the only difference is that the insurer's declaration may ask for a document confirming the adoption is final. The general rules on a minor as beneficiary apply here too: a minor as beneficiary.

Under Section 6:484 of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), the contract terminates without payment of the sum insured if the insured person died as a result of suicide committed within two years of the conclusion of the contract – with term life insurance there is then no surrender value either that the insurer could refund. Once the two years have passed, the law does not exclude payment, and under Hungarian term life insurance conditions the death benefit is then typically payable; the exact wording differs from insurer to insurer, and the policy conditions may deviate from the Ptk. only in the client's favour. With a new contract, the two years run from the conclusion of the contract, and in the case of a significant increase in the sum insured some policy conditions recalculate them for the increased part. Previous psychological treatment must be disclosed in the health declaration, because a breach of the duty of disclosure can make payment disputed even after the two years. If a case gets stuck or disputed, I help where I can, acting on the client's behalf; in emotional crisis, the 116-123 emotional first-aid helpline can be called free of charge, day and night.

For life insurance, the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.) names only intentional conduct by the beneficiary, an intentional serious crime by the insured person and suicide within two years; insurers deal with drink-driving, driving without a licence and driving under the influence of drugs in their own policy conditions. There are two techniques: with an exclusion, the cover does not extend to the event in the first place; with exemption, the insurer may be released from paying the benefit on the grounds of gross negligence, but it has to prove this on the basis of the official documents and the blood alcohol or drug test. Several Hungarian policy conditions name a blood alcohol level above 0.8 per mille, driving without a valid driving licence and being under the influence of drugs, and some conditions apply this only if the circumstance contributed to the death. These clauses appear almost invariably in accidental death riders; for the basic death cover (death from any cause), whether they appear differs from insurer to insurer – so it is worth reading this section before taking out the policy and looking at it as a separate line item when comparing quotes. If a claim is refused, ask in writing for the clause of the policy conditions relied on; if a case gets stuck or disputed, I help where I can, acting on the client's behalf, and the dispute can be decided by the insurer's complaints handling, the Financial Arbitration Board (PBT) or the courts.

The sum insured paid to a beneficiary designated by name is not part of the estate, so the other heirs cannot “inherit it back” – for the compulsory share, however, the logic is different: under the compulsory-share rules of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), the basis of the compulsory share includes not only the net value of the estate but also any gratuitous gift made by the deceased to anyone during their lifetime, and legal literature may regard a life insurance beneficiary designation as such a gratuitous benefit. According to several legal views, what may be taken into account in such a case is not the sum insured paid out but the total of the premiums paid by the deceased – this, however, is a disputed question that has not been settled by consistent case law, and in a dispute it is ultimately decided by a court, not by the insurer. The inclusion also has statutory limits: a benefit given more than ten years before the death, one not exceeding the customary level, or one given before the relationship giving rise to the entitlement to a compulsory share came into existence does not count. Only the deceased's descendants, spouse and parents are entitled to a compulsory share, and only if they would be statutory heirs, and under the law the claim becomes time-barred after five years – so what can be “challenged” is not the payout itself; rather, a monetary claim for the compulsory share can be enforced, for which the heirs are primarily liable and, if the estate is insufficient, the person who received the gift may be liable. In a blended family, or where a larger sum is involved, it is worth discussing this with a lawyer experienced in inheritance matters as early as when the policy is taken out; as a broker I help where I can on the insurance side, but I do not give legal advice.

If the contract has a beneficiary designated by name, the sum insured is not part of the estate: the beneficiary receives it in their own right, directly from the insurer, so the creditors of the deceased cannot touch this amount on the grounds of an estate debt – under the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), the heir is liable for estate debts with the assets of the estate and their proceeds (and, if these are no longer in the heir's possession, with their other assets up to the value of what they inherited), and the payout does not belong to the estate. This is one of the main practical purposes of designating a beneficiary, which is also why I write about it in a separate article on the two separate paths of the beneficiary and the estate. Three exceptions are worth watching out for: if there is no designated beneficiary (or the designated beneficiary died first), under the law the insured person's heir is the beneficiary, and the payout is tied to the probate proceedings, where creditors' claims can also appear; if the contract was designated in favour of, or assigned to, the bank as security for a loan, the bank's claim is satisfied first, and only the remainder goes to the family; finally, relying on the rules on contracts depriving creditors of recovery (fedezetelvonó szerződés), a creditor can challenge the situation in court if the deceased demonstrably moved their assets into insurance premiums to keep them out of their creditors' reach – this, however, is a matter for the court's case-by-case assessment. The payout is not protected against the beneficiary's own debts, however: by then it is their property, to which their own creditors can lay claim. Where the estate is burdened with debt, it is worth clarifying the order of claims with the notary conducting the probate proceedings and with a lawyer; on the insurer's side – where the primary route for filing a benefit claim is the insurer's customer service – I help where I can if a case gets stuck.

The claim is not automatically lost, but time is indeed working against it. Under the general rule of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), claims become time-barred after five years; however, the policy conditions may stipulate a shorter limitation period in writing, and several Hungarian life insurance policy conditions set a limitation period shorter than five years – two years, for example – while elsewhere the five years under the Civil Code apply, possibly with a different starting point; this varies from insurer to insurer. So the first step is to look at the “limitation” section of the policy conditions that go with the policy document, and to submit the claim for the benefit to the insurer even if the deadline appears to have passed – bearing in mind that submitting the claim or a complaint does not in itself interrupt the limitation period; under the Civil Code, only an acknowledgement of the debt, a settlement or court proceedings do that. This is because limitation does not extinguish the claim; it means that the claim can no longer be enforced through the courts: the insurer may refuse to pay by relying on limitation, but it may also decide to pay. Another important rule is that if the person entitled was unable to enforce the claim for an excusable reason, the limitation period is suspended, and a further year (three months where the limitation period is no longer than one year) is available from the time the obstacle ceases – whether not knowing about the contract counts as such a reason depends on the circumstances of the case, so once you learn of the contract, do not put off submitting the claim. If the insurer refuses on the grounds of limitation and you dispute this, after the insurer's complaints procedure you can turn to the Financial Arbitration Board (PBT) or to the courts; if a case gets stuck or is disputed, I help where I can.

If the beneficiary dies before the insured person, the nomination loses its effect under Section 6:478 of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), and in the absence of a valid beneficiary the insured person's heir becomes the beneficiary – the heir receives the amount in their own right, not as part of the estate, but typically has to prove their status as heir with a final order transferring the estate issued in the probate proceedings (hagyatékátadó végzés) or with a certificate of inheritance, which can delay payment by months. If the insured person and the beneficiary die at the same time – for example in the same accident – and the order in which they died cannot be established, the beneficiary is to be treated as not having survived the insured person (for the purposes of inheriting from one another, the Civil Code treats persons who die in a common accident as dropping out of the succession), so the consequence is the same: the insured person's heirs are entitled to the payment, not the family of the deceased beneficiary. The situation is different if the beneficiary dies after the insured event but before collecting the money: in that case the amount was already due to the beneficiary, so it goes to the beneficiary's heir – this is also how insurers' information notices for heirs describe it. This is why a secondary (substitute) beneficiary matters: on many insurers' forms you can specify who receives the amount if the primary beneficiary is no longer alive – so even in this situation the payment is not held up until the end of the probate proceedings, and it is not the order of succession (intestate succession or a will) that decides who gets the money. The policyholder can change the nomination at any time until the insured event occurs, by a written statement sent to the insurer (if the policyholder is not the insured person, with the insured person's written consent), so it is worth reviewing it when your circumstances change – a death in the family, a divorce, the birth of a child; typical nomination mistakes are collected in the article “Common mistakes in naming a beneficiary – and how to correct them”.

I assess your needs and inform you about the options – the decision is always yours. As part of that I compare competing offers from several insurers. I do not charge a fee for the advice; the intermediary's remuneration is paid by the insurer.

I request competing offers from several insurers – the exact set is narrowed by your situation (sum assured, riders, health picture). I do not promise a number: the goal is not many offers, but well-compared ones.

The way the remuneration works is public and follows the same logic across the market; what safeguards independence is obtaining competing offers – offers from several insurers in one table, with the arguments for and against. And I say it plainly if none of the offers is right for you: the honest article.

No – and this is an important boundary: I am an insurance broker. I explain the legal framework in plain language, but this is not legal or tax advice: it is worth clarifying the inheritance and tax detail with a lawyer and an accountant, and the investment decision is the client's: what I am NOT.

To nothing. The 20-minute conversation and the table of offers are free of charge; after that you decide – including deciding not to act for now. But we do talk honestly about the price of putting it off: the premium rises with age.

Life situations change: the loan shrinks, a child is born, income grows. At the renewal date, if you let me know, I look again at the sum assured, the riders and the beneficiary designation – cover should follow your life, not the other way round: annual checklist.