Most of us don’t like to contemplate what would happen if are unable to work due to illness or accident. When we do force ourselves to think about it, the overriding fear naturally, is the effect of the illness or accident on ourselves. Thankfully the wonders of modern medicine means that we can be back on feet, often within days or weeks. However for some, it can be months or even years, before they can return to work.
If that’s the case then the financial consequences can be worrying. Many employers don’t provide sick pay. Those who do provide it, usually only do so for a limited period. After that you would be reliant on the State Illness Benefit which is currently just €188 per week for a single person. If you’re self-employed then neither sick pay cover nor State Disability applies. So you can easily see how your finances might well be the next thing to suffer if your health does.
Fortunately, Income Protection is a financial product that is specifically designed to help you cope with the financial consequences of any accident or illness that leaves you unable to work and earn an income. What Income Protection does is provide you with an alternative source of income for the duration of your recovery, either until you return to work or reach retirement age. The policy will begin to pay you an income of up to 75% of your normal income after a waiting/deferred period of between 13 weeks and 12 months. If you are hospitalised during your deferred period, your Income Protection policy will still pay you a replacement income for each day of your hospital stay.
However while in the main, it is affordable, there are instances where you just might find it hard to justify the additional monthly premium, perhaps the premium is that little bit more expensive for your particular occupation (in some instances manual occupations are more expensive for example) or perhaps you have prioritised a savings plan for your children’s education and hoped for the best with regard to your health!
But imagine if you at least could cover, what for most of us is the single most important bill in our household; the mortgage and indeed any other loans that you may hold.
Well the good news is you can do that, a Mortgage Income Protection is designed to specifically cover the regular mortgage and loan repayments you would face if you were out of work due to an illness or disability.
Wouldn’t it be lovely to have such a safety net in place, if circumstances do change. None of us want to think about it but the statistics from all main life insurance providers on claims figures point (alarmingly!) to the fact that many, many people do have cause to claim on the Income Protection/Mortgage Income Protection and/or Serious Illness cover policies they have in place.
Happily the statistics also point to increased levels of full recovery and a return to normal working life but wouldn’t it be wonderful to have that security net in place for the interim?
If you would like more information on Salary or Mortgage Income Protection, contact us on 053 9233640 or info@roban.ie