A recent survey by Mintel showed that 26% of adults with children under 15 felt their family would be left financially vulnerable should they or their partner die. None of us know what life has in store for us, but consider the financial consequences of dying prematurely.

If you are married or have a partner, your loved one will need all the help they can get to cushion the blow of suddenly being on their own, this will include being able to meet any financial commitments. And with the number of one parent families increasing all the time children of lone parents could be left vulnerable.

We take out insurance to protect valued possessions, so it makes sense to protect the people who are most valuable to you. This means life assurance. There are several types to choose from, one of the most important is Term Assurance.

Level Term Assurance is the most basic type of life assurance. If you die within the term of the plan it pays out a cash lump sum which could be used in many different ways such as paying off any outstanding debts, including a mortgage, or simply invested to produce an income.

Decreasing Term Assurance is similar to Level Term Assurance, but instead of the life cover remaining level, it gradually reduces over the term of the plan. This makes the cost of this type of cover lower. Decreasing Term Assurance is most often used together with a repayment mortgage, with the sum assured reducing in line with the amount outstanding on the mortgage.

The Office of National Statistics estimates that, on average, 15 years of men's and 19 years of women's lives will be affected by longstanding illness. But could you afford to be permanently off work or reduce your workload with bills still coming in? You may feel forced back to work rather than concentrate on recuperating. And could your partner cope if you need someone to look after you?

- Approximately half of all deaths in the UK are caused by cancer or heart disease.
- Every two minutes someone in the UK has a heart attack (Note 3), around half of these are fatal.
- Each year over 100,000 people in England and Wales suffer a first Stroke. - Approximately 70% of people who suffer a stroke in the UK survive longer than a year.
- 90% of strokes affect those over the age of 55, but that means that around 10,0001 strokes a year occur in people younger than that.
- One in three people are at risk of developing cancer with 50% of sufferers between the ages of 25 and 44 surviving at least three years.
- One person in the UK dies every 5 minutes from smoking-related diseases. Nobody wants to become ill but many of us will do so - in fact, one in four adults will suffer a critical illness before the age of 65.

So, in addition to life assurance, it may be prudent to consider Critical Illness Cover. This pays out a guaranteed lump sum on diagnosis of a specified critical illness. This could help reduce any financial worries at a time when there would, no doubt, be plenty of other things to worry about. You may have to employ nursing or domestic help, finance long term private medical treatment or make essential alterations to your home that will make it easier for your family to cope with disability or illness.

Overall, some 42% of adults do not have (or do not know if they have) life assurance. This figure rises to 83% of those under the age of 25. You can't predict the future but you can take steps to protect yourself and your family if you become critically ill or die prematurely. So if you would like to know more ring Nationwide Direct on 0800 30 20 10 or get a free quote online at http://www.a-life-insurance-website.co.uk

Distributed by PR Newswire on behalf of Nationwide
By Mark Jenkins, Managing Director Nationwide Life