Can somebody explain life insurance/assurance to me please?

[cupofteaplease]

dh and I would like to take out some form of life insurance as a matter of urgency, but don't know where to start!

We know we'd like cover to about ten times dh's salary, but how does it all work?

Are there schemes that pay out a small lump sum at end of payment if you have not died (much like a savings scheme)? What about if we die together- do the children receive a pay out?

Sorry this is a bit of a morbid topic, but it's something we need to get sorted.

Look at somehting like moneysupermarket to compare deals, they also have a good guide to different types.

Basic life insurance is fairly cheap, but as you say only pays out when you die and if you are still alive at the end of the term you get nothing.

you can get endowment policies which are savings vehicles which have a life insurance element which pays out when you die, but you should get a lump sum at the end if you don't.

BTW the difference between insurance and assurance is that insurance protects you against something that may or may not happen (e.g. car accident). Assurance protects you against something that will definitely happen (i.e. death).