The coronavirus situation is constantly evolving and besides following government guidelines and keeping yourself and others as safe as possible, you can prepare for the prospect that things might go wrong. There’s no better way to protect yourself and your loved ones during a pandemic than by protection cover.
This does not constitute advice and advice should be sought in all instances before acting on it.
While we’re in the midst of another lockdown, and cases continue to rise with new strains of COVID-19, eliminating unnecessary stress should be at the top of your priority list.
Medical professionals are at high-risk of contracting the virus, so the possibility that you can become sick is very real. If you’re lucky you won’t have serious symptoms, but no matter what, you will need to quarantine yourself until your tests come back negative and you are deemed safe to return to work.
Is COVID-19 included in protection cover?
At the start of the pandemic, there was some concern that COVID-19 wouldn’t be covered by protection policies. Luckily, that’s not the case, even if additional questions have been added to most applications but most coverage has not changed.
There’s also a very real possibility that after recovering from the virus, you might have long-lasting side effects that could impact your ability to work indefinitely. In cases like that, critical illness cover (CIC) could be a life-saver.
CIC claims have risen since the start of the outbreak. It’s become a must-have as part of a wealth protection plan because of the key differences when comparing it to income protection.
Help when you need it most
Critical Illness policies are similar to Income Protection (IP) policies in that they are both designed to help you survive financially after an illness or injury.
For CIC policies, the money received can be used to pay your mortgage/rent, bills, or even groceries. The pay out is in the form of a lump-sum and only one claim is allowed during your policy term. However, the illnesses covered are often more selective than IP and there are more stipulations when it comes to having your claim approved. But because it’s structured differently to IP, it can help in more immediate and sometimes impactful ways.
One of our valued clients, Dr. T Wright on how critical illness cover paid off their mortgage when they needed it most:
“Naturally, one hopes to never have to use these insurances but unfortunately in December 2014 my wife was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Since December, we have been working with Darren and Angela to claim on the critical illness insurance that will help us remain financially secure, by paying off our mortgage in full. With the loss of my wife’s income, this claim reassures us that we can continue living in our home without the pressure of meeting payments.
In addition, my wife will finish work in the coming months and the income protection insurance will be used to provide a regular monthly amount to support our other financial commitments as a family and help us in ensuring our lifestyle is not compromised.”
Additional benefits
Often critical illness cover comes with:
- Additional support during recovery like counselling and other mental health services
- GP and nurse services, including access to virtual GPS and second opinions, and
- Support to help with overall health and wellbeing, like nutrition advice and fitness centre discounts. Once restrictions are lifted, your discounts might extend to cinemas and coffee shops.
Get covered
Having a plan to protect your income in the event of illness is one of the best decisions you could ever make. You eliminate the need to worry about money when you are recovering and you can rest easy knowing your family will be provided for. Get in touch with us today to get the coverage you need.
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Dental & Medical Financial Services have been helping doctors and dentists to build and protect their wealth, whilst saving tax for over 25 years.