HOLDERS of life insurance policies in Slovakia should check to see whether their policies still cover all their needs.
“The average life-cycle of a life insurance policy is less than 10 years,” Peter Világi, senior analyst of Fincentrum, told the Sme daily.
Világi cited an old insurance policy signed in 2000 by an 18-year-old client for 15 years. The death benefit was Sk40,000 (about €1,333), and the accidental death benefit was Sk100,000 (about €3,333). The insured paid Sk318 (€10.6) per month. If this policy were still active, the client would receive an insurance payment of €1,327 plus 25 percent as a special bonus from the insured sum in 2015.
“This is really not a policy that fits the needs of a client who is 32 years old today,” Világi said.
An increase in indebtedness due to the fact that now more Slovaks have mortgages than 20 years ago has also affected life insurance. According to the Statistics Office, 80 percent of those in the 20-35 year-old age group who have died were men, which is also the age range in which clients take on mortgages the most.
