Life Insurance Benefits: Living and Death Benefits Explained

Financial protection is the main benefit of life insurance. Should something happen to you, your beneficiaries will receive your policy’s death benefit. 

However, life insurance benefits are not limited to death benefits. There are also living benefits of life insurance, which are features you can access while you’re still alive.

In this article, learn more about the five life insurance benefits the insured and their beneficiaries can receive. 

5 Life Insurance Benefits You Should Know About

Life insurance provides living and death benefits depending on the type of life insurance policy. For instance, certain life insurance policies help build wealth through cash values that the insured can access while alive.

Learn more below:

🛡️ Final Expenses

Those you will leave behind will have to shoulder funeral expenses, a big financial burden. They will have to take out a loan or dip into their savings to pay for the costs.  

But if you have a life insurance policy, the death benefit your beneficiaries will receive can cover all funeral, burial, and cremation expenses. They can also use it to pay unsettled medical bills and even estate settlement expenses.  

FWD’s The One for Life, for instance, includes a critical illness benefit of ₱190,000, a death benefit of ₱290,000, and an accidental death benefit of ₱490,000. Select your plan, benefits (death, accidental death, and critical illness), and coverage amount based on your needs and lifestyle. 

🛡️ Living Expenses

Do you have dependents who rely heavily on your income? Should you pass away, the death benefit they will receive from your insurance policy can help them avoid significant financial crises. 

They can use it to pay for their daily living expenses, such as utility bills, groceries, mortgages, and more. It can also help secure their future even if you’re no longer around. 

🛡️ Critical Illness Benefits

As mentioned, you can access living benefits while you’re still alive. For instance, living benefit riders pay out a part of the death benefit for medical treatments if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness. 

Most life insurance companies offer policy riders to adjust or enhance the coverage, allowing you to access to some or all of the death benefits before you pass away. 

Check out FWD’s Set for Health Critical Illness Insurance. The coverage amount is from ₱500,000 up to ₱10 million. Get 100% of the benefit amount if you're diagnosed with any of the 42 major critical illnesses. 

FWD Life Insurance benefits also include a minor critical illness benefit. Get 20% of the benefit amount if you're diagnosed with any of the covered 15 minor critical illnesses. 

Plus, get 100% of your total paid premiums as a Healthy Life Benefit if you never make a major critical illness claim and your policy is still active until its expiry date. 

🛡️ Cash Value

One of the benefits of whole life insurance is the cash value. Accumulate cash value when you purchase a whole, universal, or variable universal life insurance policy. 

As you pay your premiums, the cash value grows. You can withdraw or borrow against your policy when needed. Use it to make a down payment for a house or a car or to beef up your retirement fund. 

FWD's Set for Life Investment-Linked Insurance is an insurance plan you can customize to your financial goals while enjoying lifetime protection. Aside from the death and accidental death benefits, you also have these package options to choose from: 

• Set for Life Health Bundle - Additional critical illness coverage and hospital cash benefit
• Set for Life Family Hero - Protection and investment package for OFWs
• Set for Life Babyproof - Insurance for babies as young as 15 days old

You can also opt for add-on death, multiple critical illness, critical illness, and hospital cash benefits.

🛡️ Return/Waiver of Premium

If you get a return-of-premium rider and outlive your policy term, you will be refunded a portion or all your insurance premium payments. 

Meanwhile, if you have a waiver of premium rider, your insurance premium payments will be suspended should you find yourself with a disability and unable to work. However, the policy will remain in force. No need to worry about your policy lapsing—the insurer will pay the premiums and you will be refunded any premiums paid during the waiting period. 

For example, the five- and ten-year payment plan for FWD Set for Life Investment-Linked Insurance offers a waiver of premium^[1] if you become permanently disabled or get diagnosed with any of the 42 major critical illnesses.  

Read more: 

• Beginner's Introduction to Life Insurance: What it is and How it Works
• Do You Really Need Life Insurance? Yes—Here's Why

Final Thoughts 

A life insurance policy is like a backup fund. It's one of the most significant financial purchases you'll ever make. To plan for your and your family’s long-term financial needs, it’s essential to know life insurance benefits. 

These benefits will ensure you have money to pay for living expenses in case of disability or for medical treatments when you get critically ill. Most of all, they can take care of your loved ones financially when you’re gone. 

Compare insurance policies to find the ideal one for you and your family. Most importantly, choose a trusted life insurance provider like FWD to help you pick the right protection against life's uncertainties.  

DISCLAIMER: This article was created in partnership with FWD Philippines. While we are financially compensated for this collaboration, we ensure to maintain our editorial integrity to provide you with the best recommendations that can help you make smarter financial decisions.

Source: ^[1] Waiver of Premium Rider: Definition, Purpose, Benefits, and Cost (Investopedia, 2022)