PROTECTION
Learn more about protection. Ensuring you have sufficient health cover is vital.
Have you ever considered what would happen to you or your loved ones if you couldn’t work due to a long-term illness or injury which results in a loss of earnings?
Protecting yourself and your loved ones If the worst were to happen.
Financial protection benefits have become more important as financial foundations have shifted, government resources have been strained, and costs have climbed. When people need them most, benefits such as disability, accident, critical illness and life insurance protect against financial hardships that can derail their stability
Understanding Life Insurance.
It’s not easy to think about how you would secure your family’s future if you were no longer around. Understandably, we would rather not think of the time when we’re no longer around. But it’s important to protect the things that really matter – like our loved ones, home and lifestyle – in case the unexpected happens
Two basic life insurance types There are two basic types of life insurance: ‘term life’ and ‘whole-of-life’. But within those categories, there are different variations.
The cheapest, simplest form of life insurance is term life insurance. It is straightforward protection – there is no investment element, and it pays out a lump sum if you die within a specified period. There are several types of term insurance. The other type of protection available is a whole-of-life insurance policy, designed to provide you with cover throughout your entire lifetime. The policy only pays out once the policyholder dies, providing the policyholder’s dependents with a lump sum, usually tax-free. Depending on the individual policy, policyholders may have to continue contributing right up until they die, or they may be able to stop paying in once they reach a stated age, even though the cover continues until they die.
Have you tried our Life Cover tool?
Use our life cover calculator to see how much cover you need and if you have a shortfall.
Being prepared for the unexpected will protect you and your family. from sudden and long-term financial hardship. It goes without saying that we need to enjoy our wealth today, but at the same time ensure it remains there for us and our family tomorrow.
Critical Illness Cover
Pays a lump sum on a diagnosis of a critical illness
It’s easy to think ‘I’d cope, that’ll never happen to me’, but most of us know someone either directly or through friends and family that has been affected. Any of us can become ill at any age – and with appropriate critical illness cover in place, it could help to give some financial security at a difficult time. Critical illness cover can help to minimise the financial impact on you and your loved ones. For example, if you needed to give up work to recover or if you passed away during the length of the policy, the money could be used to help fund the mortgage or rent, everyday bills, or even simple things like the weekly food shop – giving you and/or your family some peace of mind when you need it most.
Surviving Financial Hardship
After surviving a critical illness, sufferers may not be able to return to work straight away (or ever) or may need home modifications or private therapeutic care. It is sad to contemplate a situation where someone survives a serious illness but fails to survive the ensuing financial hardship. Preparing for the worst is not something we want to think about when feeling fit and healthy, but you never know what life is going to throw at you next.
Tax-Free Lump Sum
Critical illness cover, either on its own or as part of a life assurance policy, is designed to pay you a tax-free lump sum on the diagnosis of certain specified life-threatening or debilitating (but not necessarily fatal) conditions, such as a heart attack, stroke, certain types/stages of cancer and multiple sclerosis. A more comprehensive policy will cover many more serious conditions, including loss of sight, permanent loss of hearing and a total and permanent disability that stops you from working. Some policies also provide cover against the loss of limbs. But not all conditions are necessarily covered, which is why you should always obtain professional financial advice
Exclusions & Limitations
The illnesses covered are specified in the policy along with any exclusions and limitations, which may differ between insurers. Critical illness policies usually only pay out once, so they are not a replacement for income. Some policies offer combined life and critical illness cover. These pay out if you are diagnosed with a critical illness, or you die – whichever happens first.
Pre Existing Conditions
If you already have an existing critical illness policy, you might find that by replacing a policy, you would lose some of the benefits if you have developed any illnesses since you took out the first policy. It is important to seek professional advice before considering replacing or switching your policy, as pre-existing conditions may not be covered under a new policy.
Lifestyle Changes
Some policies allow you to increase your cover, particularly after lifestyle changes such as marriage, moving home or having children. If you cannot increase the cover under your existing policy, you could consider taking out a new policy just to ‘top up’ your existing cover.
Survival Period
Very few policies will pay out as soon as you receive diagnosis of any of the conditions listed in the policy, and most pay out only after a ‘survival period’. This means that if you die within this period (even if you meet the definition of the critical illness given in the policy), the cover would not pay out.
There are many things to consider when looking to protect you and your family – premature death, Inheritance Tax, illness and loss of income, to name but a few. These events all need to be considered in an effective protection planning strategy. To review your situation, please contact us – we look forward to hearing from you
Income Protection Insurance
How would you pay the bills if you were sick or injured and couldn’t work?
Being unable to work can quickly turn your world upside down. No one likes to think that something bad will happen to them, but if you couldn’t work due to a serious illness, how would you manage financially? Could you survive on savings or sick pay from work? If not, you may need some other way to keep paying the bills – and you might want to consider income protection insurance.
Providing Monthly Payments
Income protection insurance is a long-term insurance policy that provides a monthly payment if you can’t work because you’re ill or injured, and typically pays out until you can start working again, or until you retire, die or the end of the policy term – whichever is sooner.
Keep your finances healthy as you recover from illness or injury:
Replaces part of your income if you become ill or disabled
It pays out until you can start working again, or until you retire, die or the end of the policy term – whichever is sooner
There’s a waiting period before the payments start, so you generally set payments to start after your sick pay ends, or after any other insurance stops covering you. The longer you wait, the lower the monthly payments
It covers most illnesses that leave you unable to work, either in the short or long term (depending on the type of policy and its definition of incapacity)
You can claim as many times as you need to while the policy is in force
Private Medical Insurance
There’s nothing more important in life than your health
Nothing is more important to you than your health and the health of your family. If you or your loved ones were to experience worrying symptoms, private medical insurance can offer reassurance and control at a difficult time. Private medical insurance (often also referred to as health insurance) gives you access to private healthcare for conditions that develop after your policy has started. One of the main benefits of private medical insurance is the speed of access to medical treatment. You’ll pay a monthly premium which covers all or some of the costs for your treatment. You’ll be covered for conditions that begin after joining which can be cured. These are known as ‘acute conditions’.
What does it cover?
Like all insurance, the cover you receive from private medical insurance depends on the policy you buy. Basic private medical insurance usually covers the costs of most in-patient treatments (tests and surgery) and daycare surgery
Main benefits of private medical insurance are:
Shorter waiting times for treatment on the NHS
Better facilities
Faster diagnosis
Choose from a range of private facilities
Choose a convenient time for appointments and treatments