Why do I need life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection insurance?

Coming to terms with the loss of a loved one is never easy and adding financial burden to the grief can make coping increasingly difficult. Having sufficient financial provision in the form of life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection insurance can help to support you or your spouse, partner or children. You may not be able to predict premature death or the loss of income, but you can plan to be more financially secure.

Over recent times, you may have seen or heard in the media about a vast number of people who have found they are underinsured. We have provided some questions and points below to help you consider whether you may need additional insurances and where to go for further advice.

These questions are not designed to scare you, but to help you think of matters as if they were real today.

If you’d like to know more about life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection insurance and to receive advice, call ACC Associates on (01249) 599019 to find out what your insurance protection options are.

Why do I need life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection insurance?

You maybe thinking ‘I don’t need advice because – I don’t have children so why do I need personal protection insurance?’

With no children or dependents, life assurance might not seem all that relevant – that is unless you live with a loved one and have a mortgage. If this is the case, and either of you suffered premature death, would you want to ensure the survivor was able to remain in your home without the added stress of having to continue paying a mortgage on top of their loss?

Most of us rely on our income to pay the mortgage and other bills, and to maintain our lifestyle. So what would happen if you were unable to work due to illness or injury caused by an accident?

Maybe you don’t have a need for life insurance, but you need additional provision in the event of suffering a critical illness – so you may need to consider critical illness cover or income protection insurance.

You maybe thinking ‘I don’t need advice on life insurance because – I have life insurance protection through my employer’

Life insurance cover and other protection benefits through work can be of great benefit, but it can be limited and it may not always be enough to protect what is important to you. With the average person changing employer every 5 years, can you be sure that you will have this cover and insurance when you need it most? Added to this, an increasing number of changes to employer benefits are being made to ensure organisations continue to be run cost-effectively. This could affect both big and small companies – for example Royal Mail and your local Council. It is important to know exactly what benefits are provided by your employer, including how much death cover (commonly known as Death in Service benefit) would your family be entitled to. Unfortunately it could be a lot less than you think – it is a good idea to know now when you have the opportunity to think about the matter clearly rather than when you need to make a claim.

You maybe thinking ‘I don’t need advice on insurance because – I reviewed it when I setup my mortgage to buy the house’

It is always a good idea to regularly review the insurance cover you have and make sure that it is suitable for your current needs. As an example, in terms of mortgage insurance protection, many things can change quite significantly over a 5 or 10 year period and the cover you need may change too. Whether it’s the amount of insurance cover or how long the insurance cover is required for, it needs to be considered carefully. There are other things to think about such as a growing family or increased aspirations for your children’s future such as University.

One of the other things to think about is that the cost of life assurance has come down in price in recent years. This may mean you have the correct sum of insurance cover over the correct term, but that you are spending more money on your insurance than you need to. ACC Associates may be able to advise you on how to reduce your monthly payments or help you obtain a more comprehensive plan.

You maybe thinking ‘I don’t need advice on insurance because – My family would help me out if I need it’

Most of us would like to think our family would help us out in a time of need. But would they be able to provide all the financial support you need in addition to them having to continue to live their life and support themselves and their children? Would this help be available throughout the whole term of your mortgage and beyond? Remember, illnesses or injuries can mean you are unable to work for many years.

By having the correct type and level of insurance cover in place, you are going to avoid the financial uncertainty that comes when an unforeseen event occurs – which can only add to the stress and worry already caused.

You maybe thinking ‘I don’t need advice on insurance because – I’ve got savings I can use to fall back on’

You may have savings, but if your income stopped tomorrow how long would that money last if it had to cover your mortgage, food, phone, utility bills, car and lifestyle costs? If you are saving for something like retirement, a holiday home or your children’s education, will your savings be enough to replace your income and cover these things? You’ll also need to think how you will replace these savings if you had to use them to replace your income.

A suitable insurance protection plan will allow you to not only safeguard your savings for the important things in life but also your future financial aspirations.

You maybe thinking ‘I don’t need advice on insurance because – I don’t need it yet so I’ll sort it when I’m a bit older’

There is no simple rule that tells you when you’re the right age to take out insurance, but if you have a need for insurance cover, you should have it. The good news is that the best time to buy life and critical illness cover is when you are young, fit and healthy – as the premiums are cheaper. With the availability of guaranteed premiums you can fix the cost of your life insurance or critical illness insurance for the whole term of the policy so no matter what life throws at you, you’ll know the cost of your protection insurance.

You maybe thinking ‘What do I do next to receive life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection insurance advice?’

To receive personalised advice from our fully-qualified advisors, please call (01249) 599019 where you can take advantage of the ACC Associates insurance protection advisor service.

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.