Accident, Sickness & Unemployment: Cover Your Lifestyle
June 22nd, 2008
Many of us live to our means – it doesn’t matter how much we earn, we quickly get used to a lifestyle that comes hand in hand with our income.
Typically if you earn more, you may buy a bigger house and take out a larger mortgage, or commit to private schooling for children.
This is why the impact of the recent Credit Crunch should be enough to make everyone sit up and take notice of how at risk you are if you were to have an accident, be taken ill or made redundant.
The problem is that many mistakenly believe that the only ones who will have their fingers burnt are those on a low income with heavy personal debts or a mortgage they find difficult to pay.
The truth is that those on high incomes are just as likely to have the same proportional levels of debt. This is backed up by Transact, a financial charity which has seen its services being used by more and more middle class people struggling with debt, such as a mortgage, a business loan or an investment such as buy-to-let property.
If you are reliant on your income you should be taking steps to protect yourself financially. What would you do if the flow of cash coming into your home stopped? Would you be able to pay your mortgage and other bills? If not, would you have to find the money from elsewhere?
You may have life insurance that provides a lump sum of money, but that is only if you were to die. What if you were injured, became ill or made redundant? Would you be able to pay your mortgage, which is something your life insurance could not provide. Accident sickness & unemployment cover does just that, giving you peace of mind when you need it most.
You have the flexibility to choose the amount of monthly income you would like to receive. The amount you pay will be dependent on how much income you would want and is usually based on a cost per £100 of monthly cover. The policy will usually protect you for 12 months or until you return to work, whichever happens first.
If only certain aspects of an accident sickness & unemployment policy put you off because you don’t feel you would need them, that’s not a problem. You can choose to have accident & sickness cover or unemployment cover separately.
The key to survival in difficult financial times is to reduce your overall vulnerability by considering an insurance policy. However good your job is, or how wealthy you are, a cash flow problem if you have a mortgage to repay can have serious implications. The Credit Crunch is not selective as to whose finances it bites.
To discuss accident sickness & unemployment cover with one of our specialist advisers, call now on 0800 970 8666.
This article appears in our client bulletin, published Summer 2008.
