Income Protection
What is it?
This is a Policy that provides a regular income if you are unable to work because of sickness or disability.
Why do you need it?
Many people make the mistake of thinking that should they fall ill, have an accident or lose the ability to work, the State will step in. Wrong – the rules governing Sickness Benefit claims have changed dramatically.
Income Protection should be considered if you would not be able to maintain your standard of living on State Benefits alone.
If your regular outgoings are normally met from income, then taking away that income can have drastic and wide ranging implications including the inability to meet mortgage and loan repayments, as well as basic household bills and living costs.
Plans are available for the employed individual, the self-employed and even those who do not work but are responsible for managing a home.
Things to bear in mind
When taking a Policy out you can normally set it up in a variety of ways – each will pay out in a different way and therefore this has a direct effect on the monthly premium cost. The different criteria include:-
- Occupation Definition
- Deferred Period
- Guaranteed or Reviewable Premiums
- Increasing or Level Benefits
It is important to ensure you take out the Income Protection Plan that best suits your circumstances, not necessarily the one that provides the cheapest premium.
Accident, Sickness & Unemployment Cover (ASU)
What is it?
This is a Policy that provides a tax-free monthly income if you are unable to work as a direct result of short term sickness, incapacity or unemployment (normally 30 days or more).
Why do you need it?
Many people make the mistake of thinking that should they fall ill, have an accident or lose the ability to work, the State will step in and sort it all out. Wrong – the rules governing Sickness Benefit claims have changed dramatically.
Before April 1995, you could qualify for Long Term Sickness Benefit in the event that you were rendered incapable of doing your own job of work through illness or disability. Now the rules state that you will only qualify for long term sickness benefit if you cannot do any job of work. In other words, only if you are completely incapacitated will the State pay you any benefits. This means that, to all intents and purposes, there are currently no Long Term Sickness Benefits in the UK.
State Benefit entitlement and allowances are constantly changing and therefore we would always refer you to www.gov.uk to obtain current information on these Benefits.
Things to bear in mind
This policy is similar to Permanent Health Insurance (PHI) with two main exceptions:
- Unemployment cover can be included
- The policy normally only pays out for a specific period (e.g. 1 or 2 years)
Payment Protection Insurance is optional. There are other providers of Payment Protection Insurance and other products designed to protect you against the loss of income. For impartial information about insurance, please visit the website at www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk
Insurance Services
Bestmortgage4u will advise you on all aspects of insurance.
