You might think you don't need an income protection
policy. You don't have any children; you're not married;
you've got a tidy income, a healthy pension and a nice
lump sum set aside. Why bother paying out to cover yourself
for illness or disability? Maybe you're right. If everything
goes to plan, you'll retire a little early and start
to really enjoy life.
There is never a right time to fall seriously ill,
or become involved in an accident. you could be struck
down with something tomorrow, something that would stop
you from ever going to work again. You won't necessarily
get that much from the government, certainly not enough
to keep you in the style to which you're accustomed.
That cash pile you're sitting on could dwindle away
fairly quickly if something really bad happened.
king people between the ages of 20-64 years indicate
that the possibility of a long period of illness must
be taken seriously. At 31 May 1997, over 1,700,000 men
and women had been unable to work for more than six
months and were claiming the Incapacity Benefit from
the State. (Source: Govt States Office quarterly summary
of statistics May 1997).
We're not trying to scaremonger here. Many people
get through their whole working life without any serious
illness or injury and even some long-term sufferers
find that they're not too badly off financially. But
for those that get caught on the wrong side of the fence,
the combination of ill health and financial strife can
be hard to cope with.
It is never planned, but can happen to any of us. When
long term illness brings one to a halt, it can often
bring our income to a halt also. Continuing to be able
to settle one's routine bills, mortgage, electricity,
gas, water, fuel and food, can become increasingly difficult
as time goes on. The State safety net of statutory sick
pay and the facilities of the NHS are now largely emergency
only and only help part of the problem.
Even if you have wisely taken out PMI cover so that
your stay in hospital is both immediate comfortable
and private, it can be beneficial to couple it with
a PHI Plan of Income Protection which takes care of
up to 70% of your gross income needs.
