The following is based on a real life claim’s details from MSV Life and should only be used as an illustration of how life insurance could benefit to you. The names have been changed for confidentiality. 

My name is Charles. Elizabeth and I were teenage friends from the village square and after some time, we began dating. At the age of 22, we got married and decided to go travelling for six months. I had inherited a property in shell form, so when we returned from travelling, we lived with Elizabeth’s parents while I finished working on the property and we moved in after a couple of years.

In 1987, we were blessed with the first of our three beautiful daughters, Jane. In 1991, Marie was born and we sold our property in order to buy a plot of land to develop a larger home, which we moved into 18 months later. In 1999, Ann was born to make our family complete. Life couldn’t be better. We owned our own property and I had established my own business which was going from strength to strength. Elizabeth was happily running the family home and bringing up our children.

In 2008, we began to realise that something was wrong. Elizabeth was suffering from severe back pains and was not able to sleep at night. After extensive tests, our worst fears were confirmed. Elizabeth was diagnosed with cancer and was given less than 12 months to live. Through tremendous strength, courage and the wonderful work of specialists in Malta and overseas, Elizabeth was able to maintain her dignity throughout the treatment but sadly lost her fight in 2011. The last three years of our family life were dedicated to Elizabeth.

In 1999, when our third daughter was born, a friend had recommended that my wife and I speak to an insurance intermediary who had given them some advice when they had their first child. We found the intermediary very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Besides advising us on the best way to save for our children’s future, he drove us to think about what life would be like if one of us died. We realised that our family wouldn’t have sufficient money to live on and our standard of living would change dramatically.

Obviously, neither of us wanted that to be the case and so we took out a savings plan which included life insurance should either one of us die. We took out a policy which would pay a lump sum equivalent to five years' worth my income at the time. The days after Elizabeth’s death were a blur. While we had time to talk and plan about life, once she was gone, the reality was tough.

The life insurance policy for me was a life saver. The money it provided enabled me to pay off a small house loan, repay debts we had built up in travelling for Elizabeth’s treatment (sometimes 18 times a year), but most importantly meant I didn’t have to work for six months. That bought me invaluable time to concentrate on trying to put everything back in place. I had to learn practical matters such as cooking and helping teenage daughters shop for clothes.

The financial support provided by the life insurance policy allows you to plough through the difficult times that always lie ahead following the loss of your spouse. Being able to spend quality time with my daughters and having the ability to treat them to small things now and again helps to ease the pain and means we can be strong for each other. I would definitely advise everyone to take out life insurance. You don’t want to ever have to claim, but if you do, it will help you more than you could ever imagine.