Richard Cayne - A Gift Called Life Insurance

With life being full of uncertainties, Richard Cayne, Managing Director at Meyer International says that life insurance is one of the strongest tools in financial planning that helps ensure that your family continues to lead a normal lifestyle and grow long after you are gone. Richard Cayne says that in his experience of working in Tokyo, Japan for many years at Meyer Asset Management Ltd, he realized that though most people understood the significance of having life insurance, they invariably did not have appropriate coverage.

Richard Cayne stresses that having a life insurance policy, without appropriate coverage, may be as good as having none at all. Life insurance is not just about leaving your family with a certain amount of money; rather it is about leaving them with an adequate amount that will help them lead a regular lifestyle even in your absence. Especially if you are the sole earning member, you should ensure that your policy has enough coverage that your family members are able to meet their basic needs such as housing expenses, payment of monthly bills, education, medical treatment, etc. in a comfortable manner.

According to Richard Cayne, your life insurance coverage is not supposed to be based on the amount of your current expenses, but should also take into account the rate of inflation. It is common knowledge that the amount of money that is considered adequate to meet basic necessities today, will prove to be short say in about the next five years. Also, Richard Cayne mentions that what may be considered a luxury today might turn into a necessity in a couple of years, just as owning your own vehicle has transformed into a basic need these days from its once luxury status. Therefore, your life insurance coverage should be decided on the basis of the rising cost of living as well as the rate of inflation. Richard Cayne suggests that the best way to arrive at the right amount of coverage for your family is to take the help of a professional financial consultant, who can work out your future cost of living as well as recommend a payout sum that does not prove to be a big burden on your current income, helping you give the gift of life insurance to your family in the right manner.

There are many other uses of life insurance says Richard Cayne of Meyer such as extate tax planning, wealth transfer uses or corporate keyman solutions which will be discussed in future articles.

Richard Cayne has been involved with offshore funds and structuring in Asia for over 17 years.  He is currently Managing Director of the Meyer Group consisting of Meyer International Ltd and Meyer Asset Management Ltd and based in Bangkok, Thailand. The Meyer Group is wholly owned by Asia Wealth Group Holdings a London, UK listed company with ties to over 200 global financial institutions.