If you're buying insurance primarily to cover a financial obligation such as a repayment mortgage or a loan — where the amount left to pay will decrease over time — you may want your cover to decrease too, rather than stay at the same level for the length of the policy. Bear in mind that your total amount of cover — including any Critical Illness cover — will decrease over time, not just the amount you've allocated to cover your mortgage or loan.

Alternatively, you may want to protect the value of any payout against inflation and the rising cost of living. By choosing increasing cover, the amount of cover will go up every year in line with the Retail Prices Index. Your premiums will also increase to reflect the higher amount of cover provided.

Finally, if you choose for your cover to stay the same, be aware its value in real terms will decrease over time. For example, if inflation is 2.5%, in 20 years, £10,000 will buy only the same as £6,100 buys today.

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