Joint life insurance for married couples

Joint life insurance policies are most often used by spouses and business partners. It provides a type of coverage that is best suited to some kind of interdependent relationship, where if one of the key members or one of the partners dies the other(s) would be left out in the cold or up the river without a paddle sans the coverage.

There is a variation on this theme, however: there are joint life insurance policies that pay out on the second death, not the first. This type of joint life insurance policy might be used where two people who have high risk occupations have a similar interest in protecting the same people or assets. For instance, second-death life insurance policies can be used as trusts written in the name of a man and woman’s children. When the second parent dies the children will receive the money without having to go through probate court.

Many may wonder if it is better to use a joint life insurance policy with its higher premiums, or just buy two individual life insurance policies each for the same amount of coverage. The answer depends on the circumstances.

For one thing, a single joint life insurance policy might cost more than a policy that covers only one death, but two individual policies might add up to more than that one joint premium, too. Financial planners usually recommend a joint life insurance policy in business settings, therefore, as businesses must find every means possible of saving money.