Accident, sickness and unemployment can hit at anytime and without much warning. No one can class their job as being safe and while you might be fit and well right now things can suddenly take a turn for the worse. If you lose your income this way then it is stressful enough without having to take into account how you would be able to pay all of your essential outgoings. If you want to protect against the unknown then you need to consider taking out income insurance.
Income insurance sold as income payment protection insurance can be taken for a premium each month based on your age and the amount you wish to protect each month. All payment protection providers will allow you to insure up to a certain amount each month and this is the sum you would receive back as a tax-free income. You would have to wait a certain length of time before you would be able to put in a claim on the policy. Some providers will allow you to make a claim on the cover after the 30th day of being unemployed or of being incapacitated. With others it could be as much as the 90th day and some providers would backdate the benefit to the first day of you being declared unfit or of being made redundant.
With the sum of money from the income insurance policy you would be able to keep on top of your mortgage for instance. Of course this should be number one priority on your list. If you were to fall behind on your mortgage repayments the lender could take you to court and you could end up losing your home. While lenders try to make an agreement with you if you do not have an income it could be impossible. Of course you would also be able to maintain bills such as loan, credit card, food and utility bills. You would not have to juggle around bills or put them off until later.
There is another type of insurance that is similar in that it would provide you with an income. However the circumstances it pays under are different. Income protection insurance would pay out over a longer term than income payment protection. It would pay you an income up until the age of retirement if you needed cover that long. However you would only be able to put in a claim against accident and sickness, the policy would not payout if you were to become redundant.
Ethical payment protection specialists should offer all the information you need on their website. They should provide you with the facts about the income insurance policy and also make you aware that there are exclusions that need to be checked against your circumstances. It is only by doing so that you can be sure that you would have a back up plan on which to fall back on if and when you should need it. When comparing the cost of insurance also compare the exclusions as different policies can have different ones.
Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance, a specialist provider of income insurance. |
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