Protecting Wealth

It’s not a nice thing to think about but you might not always be healthy. And if you’re not, the first thing you and your family will miss is your income.

While there is no insurance that can prevent something unexpected from happening, with the help of professional advice you can protect yourself and your family financially by making money available, should the worst happen. This money can be the difference between keeping and losing your home, and maintaining your family’s lifestyle.

Why protection is important

There are events we can all face that have the potential to wreck lives and families. It’s a difficult issue to think about, but imagine the impact on you and your family should the main earner in your household die or become seriously ill. It may not happen to you – we hope it doesn’t – but it might.

While there is no insurance that can prevent these things from happening, you can protect yourself and your family financially by making money available, should something unexpected happen.

This money can be the difference between keeping and losing your home, and maintaining your family’s lifestyle.

Our role as protection advisers is to help you to find the most suitable solutions to meet your specific needs.  We are trained and qualified specifically to give protection advice, we pride ourselves on maintaining our extensive knowledge through regular professional development and learning.

We will work with you to understand your specific needs and then make sure you and your dependants have the right level of protection, as well as saving you time and, hopefully, money.

To learn more about how we can help you please call us now.

Life Assurance

THE PLAN WILL HAVE NO CASH IN VALUE AT ANY TIME AND WILL CEASE AT THE END OF THE TERM. IF PREMIUMS ARE NOT MAINTAINED, THEN COVER WILL LAPSE.

This is cover that pays out on death. Some plans pay upon earlier confirmation of a terminal illness where the prognosis is death within 12 months. It can pay out as a lump sum, or as income for a set period.

Cover can last for a set term called Term Assurance, or can last throughout life, called Whole of Life.

The amount of cover can remain the same or increase / decrease annually. Level term assurance stays the same throughout. Decreasing cover is sometimes used to cover a reducing debt, such as a repayment mortgage and usually assumes a given interest rate. Provided your mortgage rates don’t exceed that rate, then the cover should reduce at around the same rate as the mortgage. The amount you pay is called the premium. It can either be guaranteed not to change, or it can be reviewable.

Reviewable cover normally changes based on the claims experience of the life assurance company.

Family income benefit

THE PLAN WILL HAVE NO CASH IN VALUE AT ANY TIME AND WILL CEASE AT THE END OF THE TERM. IF PREMIUMS ARE NOT MAINTAINED, THEN COVER WILL LAPSE.

This cover will pay out if death occurs, and provides an income per year for the term remaining on the policy. For example, for a 20 year term, where the claim occurred after five years, there would be 15 annual payments made in total.

The payments are not normally subject to income tax but may impact some state benefits.

Income protection

THE PLAN WILL HAVE NO CASH IN VALUE AT ANY TIME AND WILL CEASE AT THE END OF THE TERM. IF PREMIUMS ARE NOT MAINTAINED, THEN COVER WILL LAPSE.

This provides income where you are ill or injured, and as a result your income through employment or your normal route stops. If Houseperson’s cover is included, then it will pay out upon illness or injury, irrespective of any income stopping.

It is designed to replace most of your net income.

Cover lasts for either a set term in whole years, or to a given age (typically your state retirement age). The amount you pay is called the premium. It can either be guaranteed not to change, or it can be reviewable. Reviewable cover normally changes based on the claims experience of the life assurance company

Private medical insurance

THE PLAN WILL HAVE NO CASH IN VALUE AT ANY TIME AND WILL CEASE AT THE END OF THE TERM. IF PREMIUMS ARE NOT MAINTAINED, THEN COVER WILL LAPSE.

This is insurance that pays the hospital or Doctor for your treatment. It can include treatment in a private ward, or being seen earlier in an NHS ward. Some plans also allow you to claim if you are not able to be seen by the NHS within a set period. Other plans may charge a little more and don’t have any link to NHS waiting times.

You are either medically checked and underwritten at outset (so you know what you’re covered for and what you won’t be), or have no medical checking at outset (but conditions that occurred two years before taking out the cover are not covered, and often there is no cover for a reoccurrence within five years after taking out the plan). Premiums are usually reviewable annually.

Critical illness

IF THE POLICY HAS NO INVESTMENT ELEMENT THEN IT WILL HAVE NO CASH IN VALUE AT ANY TIME AND WILL CEASE AT THE END OF THE TERM. IF PREMIUMS ARE NOT MAINTAINED, THEN COVER WILL LAPSE.

THE POLICY MAY NOT COVER ALL THE DEFINITIONS OF A CRITICAL ILLNESS. FOR DEFINITIONS PLEASE REFER TO THE KEY FEATURES AND POLICY DOCUMENT.

THE VALUE OF THE INVESTMENT CAN GO DOWN AS WELL AS UP AND YOU MAY NOT GET BACK AS MUCH AS YOU PUT IN.

Insurance that pays out when a defined medical event occurs. For example, following a heart attack, stroke, cancer or some other specifically defined critical illness. It’

Cover is for a set term, which may be equal to a mortgage term, for when children have grown up, until retirement or another life stage milestone. It may be worth considering having one policy for a set term to cover the mortgage, and another that will provide money to help provide for your different lifestyle if a serious illness happens.

Most people choose a lump sum to be paid out. There is the option of receiving it as set income over the term remaining, which is often a lower cost option.