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Protection

Protecting your long-term financial needs could be the most important thing you do, regardless of the amount you earn or have saved. It never ceases to amaze us the things people insure and, more importantly, the things they don’t. Many of us regularly cover the family pet, mobile phones and even the fridge freezer but don’t protect the sources of the family income.

Having secure protection policies in place may give you peace of mind and it often costs less than you think. No one knows what the future holds and the most effective way to safeguard yours is by implementing a comprehensive protection plan at a cost to suit your budget.

At Finance Solutions Northern, our specialist advisers aim to identity suitable products from income protection in case of injury or redundancy to whole of life cover. We will make sure you understand the difference between the options available to you.

We do not charge a fee for these services as we will normally receive commission from the policy provider.

Please contact Mike or Matty on 01642 919959 for further details or email us at info@financesolutionsnorthern.co.uk

We can consider:

  • Life cover
  • Critical illness cover
  • Family income benefit
  • Income protection policies
  • Accident, sickness, unemployment cover
  • Whole of life cover
  • Relevant Life Assurance
  • Key man insurance
  • Shareholder protection

Life Cover

No one knows what the future holds, but if you were to die, how would your family cope financially? Could they pay the mortgage and other household bills? What about childcare costs? Life insurance, also known as life assurance or life cover could help ease the financial strain on your family at an already difficult time.

How much do I need?

Your chosen cash sum could be paid out if you die during the length of the policy. It could be used to help pay the mortgage or help protect the family’s lifestyle and everyday living expenses. Contact us to help you decide how much cover you want.

Fixed premiums

Your premiums won’t go up, unless you alter your policy, so you’ll always know how much you’re paying.

Additional benefits

At no extra cost, some of our providers include additional benefits such as Terminal Illness Cover and Accidental Death Benefit with their life assurance policies giving you added peace of mind.

The insurers we use offer a range of additional benefits we can discuss. For example, Aviva offer a Best Doctors and Global Treatment options, Vitality reward you for engaging in a healthy lifestyle and Legal & General offer an independent Second Medical Opinion service. We can also include cover for your children within the policy. It is important for us to understand what is most important you and your family when arranging the cover.

Critical Illness Cover

Usually arranged along with life insurance, Critical or Serious Illness cover can be added at an additional cost when taking out life assurance. It could pay out your chosen amount of cover if you’re diagnosed with a specified serious or critical illnesses during the length of your policy.

Important information

Please be aware that life insurance is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made.

Critical or Serious Illness Cover

No one knows what the future holds, but what if you were to suffer from a serious illness? How would you and your family cope financially? Could you pay the mortgage and other household bills? What about childcare costs? What about adjustments to your home? Critical or Serious illness insurance could help ease the financial strain on you and your family at an already difficult time.

What does it cover?

The Plan will pay out if you are diagnosed with a critical illness that meets the insurers policy definition during the term of the policy.

Different insurers offer differing levels of cover, some based on the severity of the illness and the effect it has on your life. This is where our expertise and knowledge will ensure you are guided through the choices available to you.

The policy can be personalised to your needs and you can add cover for your children, fracture cover, get access to the best advice and treatment of your illness worldwide and a BUPA helpline. You can structure your policy so the amount covered remains the same throughout the term rises with inflation or reduces in line with your mortgage.

What can I do with the money?

Anything, the choice is yours. Some use it to reduce their mortgage, enable them to take time off work to help recuperate, pay for amendments at home or pay for private medical treatment.

Family Income Benefit

This is a form of life cover specifically arranged to provide an income for your loved ones in the event of your death. Rather than payout a lump sum on deth, it provides a monthly income for a given period to ensure the family can pay the bills and enjoy the standard of living you would want them to have.

We can “inflation proof” the policy and these policies can be written in trust for further protection.

Income Protection Policies

Understanding income protection insurance 

Income Protection cover, as its name suggests, is designed to ensure you will continue to receive an income if you are unable to work due to illness or disability.

There are several different types of cover available, and it is important to understand the difference between them in order to find the right policy to suit your needs.

Which kind of Income Protection do I need?

This will depend on how long you require your policy to pay you an income. Short-term Income Protection policies, which are otherwise known as Accident, Sickness and Unemployment (ASU) products, will generally only pay out for one or two years. The policy can be designed to cover a specific cost, such as your mortgage payments for a limited time. The insurer will pay you directly. It is then your responsibility to make the payment or pay the debt. Many Short Term Income Protection policies do not need to cover a specific debt; they can simply be used to fund your lifestyle in the event that you lose your income.

Long term Income Protection, however, will usually provide a regular income if you are unable to work due to illness or disability until you are well enough to return to work, or until the end of the policy term. Unlike most Short Term Income Protection policies it will generally not cover you if you are made redundant.

If you claim on an Income Protection policy, there is a waiting period before it will start to pay out and you can usually choose how long you want this to be. This waiting period, usually known as the ‘deferred period,’ can range from 1 day to as long as 104 weeks. Choosing a longer deferred period can help reduce the cost of premiums. This can be arranged to tie in with your sick pay from your employer.

Long Term Income Protection

When choosing Long Term Income Protection cover, make sure you know exactly which kind of plan you are buying, as there are two different types of policy to choose from.

First, a policy can specify that it is ‘own occupation’, which means that the policy will pay out if the policyholder is prevented from doing any aspect of his or her own job because of an accident or illness.

Alternatively, dependant on your occupation you may only be eligible for a policy on a ‘working tasks’ basis, which will only pay out if you are unable to carry out certain day to day living tasks. So, for example, if you are a builder and suffer a back injury which means you can no longer carry out your own occupation, your policy may not pay out on the grounds that you can still carry out the pre defined ‘working tasks’. The best policies are those which pay out if you can’t do your own job, but premiums are more expensive.

How much Income Protection cover do I need?

Don’t underestimate this simply to keep premiums low. Typically you can insure approximately 50% of your gross salary free of tax. You won’t be allowed to insure for more than your gross salary, because insurance cannot allow you to make a profit out of your misfortune.

Think carefully about how much you need each month to get by, so that you don’t end up under-insured. If you are going for a longer term income protection policy rather than shorter term Payment Protection linked to a specific debt, make sure you take into account all your essential monthly outgoings such as your, mortgage, food, council tax and utility bills.

Check other income cover benefits first

Before taking out any form of Income Protection cover, find out first what other benefits you are entitled to if you are unable to work. By law, an employer must pay most employees statutory sick pay for up to 28 weeks, and after that, you will probably have to depend on state benefits.

Some employers, however, have group income protection insurance in place for employees, so always look at your sick pay arrangements in your contract of employment first –  that’s when you’ll need your cover to kick in – as soon as your income drops away.

Remember that some income protection policies may reduce what they pay out if you receive state benefits or claim money under any other insurance policy, so always read the small print carefully.

Cost of income protection policy premiums

Monthly premiums for Income Protection will depend on a variety of factors. The younger you are, the less expensive they are likely to be, as older people are more likely to suffer an illness.

Your job will also have a bearing on how much you pay. For example, premiums will be less for an office worker than they would for a miner, as office work is a much safer occupation.

Smoking will also bump up the cost of cover, as it is more likely that smokers will become ill.

Bear in mind that premiums tend to be much more expensive for females, as historically there is a higher experience of claims for conditions such as breast cancer, hysterectomy, stress or depression.

You might not be allowed to take out this type of cover if you have existing health problems or a particularly dangerous job, as insurers are likely to consider you too high risk.