How many times have you heard the phrase “It won’t happen to me” when it comes to the chances of suffering a serious illness? Unfortunately, given that 1 in 2 people born after 1960 in the UK will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime we should perhaps adopt the lottery approach and assume “it could be you”.
If you have a mortgage, or people who rely on your income, you should have some sort of protection cover in place in the event that you have to stop work. We can advise you on a range of policies designed to either pay out a lump sum, or provide a temporary regular income.
Critical Illness cover
Following a successful claim, receiving a lump sum on diagnosis of a specified critical illness can give you precious breathing space; space that allows you and your family to overcome the initial shock and begin a potentially gruelling treatment regimen without the added strain of mounting debt.
But it’s not just your finances that a critical illness pay out could help with. What if you wanted to pay for treatment that’s not available on the NHS, or you needed to make structural changes to your home as a result of your illness? And after the treatment, wouldn’t it be lovely to take the family away so that you could all relax and spend some quality time together?
Income protection
According to research from Macmillan Cancer Support, four out of five cancer patients face a monthly expense of £570 a month as a result of their illness, due to the impact of reduced earnings and additional expense including hospital visits and higher utility bills. When you consider that the average weekly household spend in the UK in 2017 was £554.20, it’s clear that even a relatively short time off work could have an immediate impact.
Income Protection can replace part of your income if you’re unable to work for a long time due to illness or disability. This can help you keep up your regular outgoings such as rent or mortgage payments and the usual household bills and expenses. Some plans have the facility to add unemployment cover and some offer additional benefits like counselling services which can ease the burden during a potentially difficult and stressful time.
Will your policy pay out?
If you’re put off buying protection because you don’t think it will pay out when you need it, think again. According to the Association of British Insurers £4.7bn was paid out on protection claims in 2016, the equivalent of 97% of
all protection claims received during the year.
Did you know?
The average age of a critical illness policy claimant is 47, and 54 for a terminal illness claimant. – Legal &
General Claims Department 2017, based on critical illness and terminal illness claims paid in 2016
If you’d like to talk to us about critical illness cover and income protection as part of a protection portfolio, please get in touch.