Income protection insurance ????

Question

My IFA has recommended i get it - but is it worth it ? if i keep buying everything i get told about i'll be spending all my money on insurance schemes...how do i decide ?

Answer 1

It is most certainly worth it if you have to make a valid claim.  Consider how long you have sick pay from work.  If you don't get sick pay then you need some form of cover as otherwise you will not be able to pay you mortgage, etc... which could lead to losing you home.  If you get sick pay of say 6 months then you may feel more comfortable with not taking the cover as you would at least have a reasonable length of time to get back to work.  You should also seriously consider cover if you do not have any or much savings to fall back on should you be out of work.  

If you do go ahead with cover make sure that you declare EVERYTHING on the application form not matter how small it is.  This is main reason why claims are declined.  Keep the cost down by only covering for the minimum amount you need per month to live off and by not having the cover kick in until your sick pay ends.  

I've claimed on cover and it was a god send and well worth it.

Answer 2

In life, you've got to balance what you can afford against what you need.  There's no point being the richest corpse in the graveyard - or for giving your family a reason to bump you off.

If you are unable to work through sickness or accident, the policy will pay an income.  But if you are working, the premiums make a hole in your income.  Some people would rather take the risk and have more money to spend now.  Others are so concerned that they'll insure so their current level of income continues.  You need to decide where you come between these two extremes.

Answer 3

As previous answer said, you have to weigh up the risk in your particular circumstances.

Risk = probability x impact

so work out what is the probability that you'll ever claim and what will be the impact to you if you are unable to work and then compare that risk against the premium you'd have to pay.

Also read the small print when assesing whether you will ever claim... can you claim straight away or do you have to be off work for 6 months before you can claim ?

I do know that the profit on those things is huge, draw your own conclusions....

Answer 4

Waste of time, if you ever make a claim, you will realise why.