When it comes to buying life insurance it is important that you purchase a policy that is suited to your needs and that of your family.

A policy will usually be bought through a broker or insurance agent and by purchasing this way, commission will normally be taken for your premium. This money is for the time that the broker will have spent finding you a suitable policy and for advising you on the type of insurance that is most suitable for you.

You are also able to buy an insurance policy through a financial advisor who will help you to select a policy while taking a set fee for doing so.

If you are in work and your employer has a scheme such as a group plan - which most big companies do have - then you can take your insurance through this, however this type of policy is for employees only and as such you would have to take separate insurance for the family if needed. The premiums taken for this type of insurance will normally be deducted from your wages and can often be considerably cheaper than taking your own cover.

If you take out a large loan, credit card or mortgage then sometimes lenders will offer life insurance alongside these to cover the repayments should you die.

If you are purchasing your cover independently then the best way you can make great savings is to buy online from a specialist broker. While doing it yourself sounds attractive as you can go online and make comparisons with several different companies quickly and easily by getting online quotes, taking specialist advice is the safest way of getting the protection you want.

In order for the broker to get the best idea of the most suitable quote you should have already worked out how much cover you require and also the type of cover that you need. The cost of the premium on life insurance does vary from company to company sometimes considerably and your broker will check with lots of different companies before suggesting a policy.

Do remember that you should always read the small print and exclusions within a policy and know what you are covered and are not covered for. It is also imperative that you be totally honest with the insurers. For example if you have an existing condition then you should make sure you tell them about it, otherwise you could be seen as misleading the company and as such the ones you leave behind will get nothing but a fight on their hands.

Critical illness insurance is taken out to cover you either for life or for a set period of time against certain critical illnesses, diseases and medical conditions. It differs from life insurance in that life insurance pays out should you die. Critical illness insurance pays if you become physically or mentally impaired through illness or disease.

A policy to cover you for critical illness will pay out a tax free lump sum if you should fall victim to one of the illnesses defined within the policy. All that is needed to make a claim is the diagnosis by your Doctor of one of the illnesses or conditions defined in the policy; there is usually no requirement for you to prove loss of earnings or for you to need any special medical treatment.

Points to consider when thinking of taking out this form of insurance is that the sum and terms are decided at the outset when you take out your policy.

In order for the policy to pay out then you must survive for at least 28 days after the condition or illness has been diagnosed.

Once the set time of the policy has passed and you haven't been diagnosed as having a serious illness or condition then there is no payout and the policy simply ceases.

Before deciding on whether or not to take out critical illness insurance you should take several factors into consideration. The most important thing to decide is how much money you would need if you were to become critically ill and then decide how long you would need the cover for.

You will also have to take into account the various illnesses that are covered as these can vary from company to company. Another thing to take into account is that different companies have different exclusions within the policies so it is important that you read all the small print.