Your life is going well and you’ve a well-paid job, nice home, good health and maybe a young family. It’s taken time to build this lifestyle and it costs a lot each month to maintain it. With luck, all aspects of your career and family life will keep running smoothly, but that’s not guaranteed. Thousands of families suffer misfortune each year with financial hardship piled on top of emotional stress.
It’s good to have a positive outlook, but awareness of the financial hazards of everyday life isn’t negative; it’s just good sense. Buildings and contents insurance on your home is a no-brainer, but ponder this worst-case scenario: a fatal accident or illness striking a breadwinner. How would the mortgage and all the bills be paid then? Life assurance can provide a lump sum or ongoing income on death during the policy term.
Family finances can also be hit hard if something stops you working for a while, or even permanently. Critical illness cover pays a lump sum after diagnosis of a specified serious illness; an income protection policy can replace earnings lost due to an accident or other event. If illness or accident does strike your family, timely treatment and rehab covered by private medical insurance can speed recovery. All food for thought?
Insuring your home and everything inside it is good sense. Losses due to fire, subsidence, storm, flood or burglary can be huge and that’s not a risk worth taking. You’ll need to be sure that rebuilding costs and value of contents aren’t more than your cover. Your adviser can help with the sums.
No one’s immortal, as a fatal accident or illness can occur at any age. You’re unlikely to fall victim, but you could. You need life assurance to make sure those left behind would cope financially. Paying off the mortgage, household bills and much more could be taken care of after death during the policy term.
Being told you have a serious illness is not only an emotional shock but can change your life in other ways, not least financially. With critical illness cover you can expect to receive a specified lump sum if you are diagnosed with an illness that qualifies under the terms of the policy.
A non-fatal accident or illness could keep you off work for months. If your sick pay would fall short of your monthly spending, you could think about starting an income protection plan. This could help to pay the bills for an agreed period. Some plans also cover loss of income due to redundancy.
There are other providers of Payment Protection Insurance [Short-Term Income Protection] and other products designed to protect you against loss of income. For impartial information about insurance, please visit the website at https://maps.org.uk/en#
Long waits for NHS medical treatment are often in the headlines. Some employers offer private medical insurance as a benefit, but you can take out your own cover and include your family. Access to private services may mean earlier tests, treatment and rehab that aid progress on the road to recovery.
