Every investment that you make today is targeted to cater to a future goal. Ideally, you expect that once your investments mature they would help you meet your future goals. But till the time the investments mature and help the family achieve its goals there is always an element of risk. Should something happen to you midway, this investment could very well be liquidated and prematurely withdrawn to fulfil the family's current needs. Even the corpus left after the partial liquidation will not suffice to meet the family's goals, be it child's higher education or spouse's retirement.

The risk to financial security of your family is much higher during the first half of your work life. Be it goals, such as your child's higher education or wedding, or, your own retirement, your savings remain very low in the initial phase.

For instance, if you are targeting to save Rs 50 lakh for your child's higher education 20 years down the line, and your investment earns a post-tax annual return of 8%, then you would need to save Rs 8,793 per month to achieve your goal. But you will be able to accumulate only Rs 6.45 lakh in the first 5 years and Rs 15.93 lakh in the first 10 years, surely the sum that will not help your child fulfil her need for higher education.

It is in situations such as these that the life insurance coverage comes to the rescue and ensures that your family is able to fulfil the desired goals even in the event of your untimely demise.

During the course of your work life, your income will help you accumulate various assets, such as household appliances, gadgets, land, residential property, gold and deposits. Over a period, certain assets will generate enough income to take care of your family's regular expenses.

But if you are no longer there, acquiring these assets could remain just a wish, unfulfilled. Here, a life insurance cover could provide that bridge when there aren't many income generating assets available. Also, big-ticket items like car and home are typically bought with the aid of loans. In the event of your untimely demise, your family would be left with no choice but to sell them off to repay the outstanding loan.

This is where unit linked insurance plans (Ulips) from life insurance companies works so well. They not only protect your family in your absence by covering living expenses but also allow your family members to keep enjoying the car and home bought with loans. Besides providing life cover, Ulips allow you to invest in equities which typically provide high growth during tenures of 10 years or more. The life cover ensures that other high growth investments such as those in equities besides the investment portion of Ulips still keeps growing. What's more, the cost of life insurance is quite low, especially for online plans.

With an adequate life protection to take care of your family, you are better placed to take higher risk for higher reward investments such as equities. This will also help you go a long way in helping you save more in the long-term of 10 years or more.Clearly, combining insurance with investment by investing in a combo product likes Ulip provides you with more benefits than what meets the eye at the first instance. The key is investing in the right Ulip.**Calculations shown in this article are based on assumptions which are mentioned therein and are not related to any product and are just for illustration purpose.