It’s not the most pleasant topic of conversation: what happens to our loved ones once we’re no longer around. But it’s imperative that you have a plan in place to protect them financially should something unexpected happen.
This does not constitute advice and advice should be sought in all instances before acting on it.
Unforeseen life events can negatively impact your finances and your family’s future so it’s important to safeguard your wealth. Protecting your family finances has become even more essential with the unstable economic environment and uncertain future.
When people need them most, benefits such as disability, accident, critical illness cover, and life insurance will protect your family against financial hardships that can derail their stability. Preparing for and expecting the unexpected will protect you and your family from any sudden and long-term financial hardship. Burying your head in the sand and pretending illness, injury, or death won’t happen to you is simply not an option.
Ask yourself:
- How would your family deal with expenses if you couldn’t work or died?
- What costs would increase in your absence?
- How much income would your family lose should you be unable to work or pass?
- How far could your family stretch your savings?
- Would your family be eligible for any additional assistance?
- How would they cope with the constant economic shifts and return of inflation?
Meeting with an adviser to discuss all these, and more, to set up a wealth protection strategy is the first step to providing peace of mind.
An overview of coverage
When we talk about wealth protection and preservation, there’s a whole slew of options to consider such as:
- private medical insurance,
- making a will,
- creating a long-term care plan,
- assigning lasting power of attorney,
- creating trusts, and
- utilising inheritance tax.
The three main options that should be at the foundation of your plan are life cover, income protection, and critical illness cover.
The facts
1. Life Cover
- Designed to make sure your family has the money they need to survive in the event of your death.
- Best for taking care of outstanding mortgages as it serves to replace the income that you earned while alive that will no longer be able to help our family.
- Aim to build a bit of a cushion into the policy to deal with any unexpected expenses.
- Pay out for the policy is in the form of a one-time lump sum.
2. Income Protection
- Helps you and your family weather the storm of an illness or injury.
- Tied to your income and usually pays out 50%-65% of your gross income (tax-free) while you’re off work.
- Multiple claims during your policy term are allowed and payments can be continuous until retirement or death.
- Some policies might have pay out terms dependent on whether or not you can perform any job while others will dictate that you’re unable to perform your job, specifically.
- The illnesses covered tend to be broader than those covered in Critical Illness cover.
3. Critical Illness
- Similar to Income Protection, the money received can be used to pay the mortgage, rent, bills, or even groceries.
- The illnesses that the policy will offer pay outs for are more selective.
- You can only make one claim during your term.
- You will receive a one-time lump sum payment.
Get in touch
Thinking about how you would secure your family’s future if you were no longer around is probably the last thing you want to think about while trying to provide a stable life for your loved ones. But that’s exactly why having an effective protection plan in place to prepare for every possibility is essential.
Don’t leave anything to chance – get in touch with us today to review your current situation or if you have any concerns.
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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.