Life insurance in the UK is becoming more and more popular with many people now realizing the importance and the benefits of a good life insurance policy. There are two main types of popular life insurance, both of which offer a range of invaluable benefits to UK consumers.

Level Term Life Insurance

Level term life insurance is the most popular type of life insurance policy with UK consumers, and this may be because it is also the cheapest form of insurance. With level term insurance, you and your family can enjoy peace of mind at an affordable price. If you die during the term of this insurance policy, your family will receive a lump sum payment, which can help to cover a number of costs as well as provide some degree of financial security at what will inevitably be a difficult time. The money could assist with costs such as:

• Mortgage repayments
• Funeral costs
• Education costs for the children
• Day-to-day living

One of the reasons that level term life insurance is a fair bit cheaper than other life insurance is because the insurer only has to make a payment if the insured party passes away, and even then the insured party has to die during the term of the policy for the next of kin (or the named beneficiary) to be eligible for a payout. One of the great things about levels term insurance is that you can benefit from cover for just a few pounds each week, and because the payments remain the same throughout the term of the policy, you’ll never have to worry about rising payments.

The reason why a level term insurance policy is so called is because the repayment remain level throughout the term of the policy, so you will never have to worry about the cost of your policy rising. The policy is also taken over a fixed term, which is where the ‘term’ part of the policy comes in. This means that you can enjoy easy budgeting and low cost repayments, and you’ll know exactly how long you will be making payment for. On the downside, once the policy expires you will not be able to reclaim any money and the policy will be cancelled, so you will then need to look at taking out alternative life insurance cover.

The average term of a level term life insurance policy – unless otherwise specified – is fifteen years. There are a variety of factors that contribute to the cost of the policy such as whether you go for the most basic package or whether you include a bolt-on such as critical illness cover, whether you are a smoker, your general health, and the term over which you take the policy out.

Whole Life Insurance

Unlike level term life insurance, whole life cover offers a guaranteed payout, which to many people makes it better value for money in the long run. Although the repayments on this type of cover are more expensive than level term insurance, the insurer will make pay out whenever the insured party passes away, so the higher monthly payments will guarantee a payout at some point.

There are a number of different types of whole life insurance policies, and consumers can select the one that best fits their needs and their budget. As with other insurance policies, you can tailor-make your whole life insurance cover to include additional cover such as critical illness insurance. The variations on whole life insurance cover include:

Non-profit UK whole life insurance policies: This is the simplest form of whole life cover, and enables you to enjoy the convenience of level payments through the term of the policy until you die. Upon death, your family received a payout and the policy becomes null and void. If you want to pay a little extra, you can take out a policy that is fixed over a specified term, which means that you will only be making payments for a certain amount of time, but your family will still receive a payout when you die.

With-profit UK whole life insurance: This is a cover and investment type scheme, where your monthly payments are split between your cover premiums and the investment side of your policy. You will enjoy a guaranteed assured sum, and you may find that your insurer adds discretionary bonuses.

Low cost UK whole life insurance: One of the cheapest forms of whole life cover, this type of policy features a decreasing term plan, and the policy is combined with a profits fund. As bonuses are added to the profit side of the policy, the policy term decreases. This provides a cost effective solution for those that want to enjoy the benefits of whole life insurance cover without having to make high monthly payments.

Unitised UK whole life insurance policy: When you purchase this type of whole life cover, you will also be investing in with-profit units. This means that when the insurer makes a payout, the sum awarded will be dependant upon the value of the units in comparison to the value of the death benefit (the payout will be based upon whichever is the highest in value). Each month units are cancelled in order to increase levels of death benefit cover, with reviews carried out from time to time to ensure adequate levels of death benefit cover.

Summary

Both level term insurance policies and whole life policies offer valuable peace of mind to policyholders. The cost of this type of life cover is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that comes with being protected, and you can increase this peace of mind by adding extras such as critical illness to your policy for just a small extra fee.

As a nation, we like to insure just about everything we can…our cars, our homes, our belongings, our pets, and even our credit repayments. It therefore makes sense that we should insure the most important thing of all – our lives.

Many companies have a formal performance review process, but it’s amazing how few of them actually conduct reviews or give informal feedback to their people. In fact, conducting performance reviews is probably the most disliked part of a manager’s job. However, giving positive, constructive feedback is one of the best ways to grow a company!

Years ago, it may have been true that “no news is good news”. But in today’s workplace, that old adage no longer holds true. To your employees, “no news” could mean that the company doesn’t value them or care enough to talk with them. When that happens, many employees become disgruntled and their performance declines, creating even more problems for managers.

People have an innate need to:

• Know they are doing a good job
• Understand what and how they should improve
• Understand how they affect company success
• Know how they can affect their status and pay
• Know how they can get ahead in the company
• Be heard and appreciated for their efforts
• Have open dialogue with their managers
• Have input into their goals

Let’s look at the formal review process.

Written feedback allows a strong performer to see their accomplishments documented and reinforces their efforts. A struggling employee receives a clear message on areas requiring improvement and the encouragement to get there. The process itself provides an opportunity for the manager and employee to develop a stronger relationship, discuss where the company is going and explore how the employee fits into the big picture.

Tips for conducting a performance review:

• Schedule the meeting at least one week in advance.
• Allow 1-½ hours of uninterrupted time.
• Consider the employee’s performance over the full period, not just the past week or month.
• Provide detailed examples to support your evaluation.
• Ask the employee to complete a self-evaluation and compare their evaluation with yours. (This creates an opportunity to discuss any differences and provides a better understanding for both parties.)
• Encourage the employee to discuss their perspective.
• If appropriate, modify the evaluation to reflect legitimate employee issues.
• Discuss areas of improvement and new goals. (Develop timelines and ask how you can support the employee in being successful.)
• Limit the number of goals (5-7) and be specific to increase the likelihood they will be accomplished.
• Ask the employee to sign the review and provide them with a copy. (Their signature does not mean they agree with the review, only that they have received it. Should they choose not to sign it, make a notation to that fact, then sign and date it yourself.)
• Place the original review in the employee’s personnel folder.

The review doesn’t stop once the formal process is complete!

Ongoing, consistent informal feedback is critical to support employees and in changing their behaviors. Don’t wait until the next formal review to tell them what’s going well and what needs to change. Catching people in the act of doing things “right” and telling them so, reinforces desired behaviors and attitudes. If an employee exhibits negative behavior or makes a mistake, discuss it when it happens. Nothing changes behavior faster than letting someone know, in a positive way, what needs to change at the time it happens or very shortly thereafter. Positive feedback is descriptive, specific, directed at changeable behaviors (not at personal traits), timely and understood.

When providing informal feedback, you should:

• Speak directly to the person.
• Provide details and specifics.
• State how you feel and why.
• Explain what they did well and why it was effective.
• Explain what they did ineffectively, what they could have done and why this behavior would be more effective.

When was the last time you conducted formal performance reviews with your employees? How often do you catch them in the act of doing the “right” things and telling them? Keeping your employees productive and happy is easy, it just takes a little time and effort.