When life includes a partner, two sets of finances become one. Whether you are legally married, living together without registering, or an LGBTQ+ couple, the intention to look after each other is the same — but the legal tools supporting each situation are not equal. This article plans insurance for couples so that love is genuinely protected, not only felt.
Why couples need to think about insurance more seriously than single people
Life as a couple automatically creates shared financial dependency: renting or paying a mortgage together, planning a future on two incomes. If one income disappears suddenly, the other person carries everything immediately. The starting question is the same for every kind of couple: if only one of us were left, could they carry on? Each partner's sum insured should answer that question, in proportion to how much the other depends on their income.
What unregistered and LGBTQ+ couples must know: inheritance law does not see you automatically
This is the heart of the article. Without planning, the assets of the person who dies are divided among the statutory heirs, which the law counts by blood relationship and marriage registration. A partner without a registration is not in that order at all — however many decades you have lived together. The home you paid for together and the money you saved together may pass entirely to the other person's birth family. Life insurance is one of the few tools that lets you name a recipient directly, which gives it a special role for these couples.
Can you name your partner as beneficiary?
This must be said plainly: naming a beneficiary who is neither a blood relative nor a registered spouse depends on each insurer's approach to insurable interest. That approach is not uniform and is developing towards greater openness as society and the law change [check the latest information]. Some insurers accept it on evidence of a shared life — a joint account, a joint mortgage — while others add further conditions. A practical recommendation: ask about this before choosing an insurer, and make it one of your first selection criteria. Keep evidence of your shared financial life systematically.
The backup that should always go alongside: a will
However smoothly the beneficiary designation goes, couples without a registration should always make a will as well. Insurance only covers the claim proceeds; all other assets — the house, the car, deposits, investments — still follow ordinary inheritance law. A properly made will is the tool that sends everything to the person you intend. This matters enough that we would treat it as part of the same package as the insurance: do both and finish the job.
An insurance checklist for couples
- A sum insured for both partners in proportion to dependency, not only for the higher earner.
- Health and critical illness cover for both, because caring for each other through illness is a real financial burden.
- Beneficiaries named clearly and kept updated, with evidence of the shared financial relationship.
- A will covering the assets insurance does not reach.
- Each partner knowing where the other's policies and documents are kept, and who to contact.
In short
Love looks after people day to day, but in a crisis the law and the paperwork decide. Every kind of couple — particularly those whose relationship is not yet recognised by registration — should use life insurance and a will together as a pair of shields, so that the person you love most does not become an outsider on the day that matters most. If you would like to plan for your own situation, message us on LINE any time. Every family is welcome here, equally.
This article was inspired by material from the Thai Financial Planners Association (TFPA) and has been entirely rewritten.