1. Protection

Protection is an important aspect which commonly gets overlooked – often for several reasons including:

• Individuals believe that they will not need protection because they don’t believe it is necessary or the insured events “won’t happen to them”
• They believe it is too costly without realising how affordable cover can be obtained
• They do not understand the need for protection because its significance has not been explained adequately.
• Or simply, It is an unfavourable topic which is not easy or wished to be discussed

Ultimately, protection is there to protect our assets, family & standard of living in the event of an accident either to yourself &/or your financial situation.

Insurance policy pay outs may not always become materialised but if this is the case, above all else it will provide comfort knowing financial plans are in place in the event of an emergency & a financial burden won’t be inherited by yourself or family members. For instance, if you or your partner were to pass away or suffer a serious illness & your instant access savings or long-term savings (which may be subject to early withdrawal penalties) could not cover your expenditure, this is where insurance policies would become crucial to e.g.:

• Cover mortgage payments if the event the one side of the mortgage paying income has been lost/ inhibited due to death/ illness
• Cover childcare / household maintenance costs
• Pay for funeral costs
• Pay for alterations to your home in the event of a permanent injury/ disability.
• Replace the deceased/ ill partners income

Our protection policies can be adjusted to your needs & are available in 3 levels of cover to ensure bespoke protection:

Level: The cover level remains constant throughout the policy term whereby a fixed cash sum is paid.

Decreasing Cover: The level of cover reduces over time generally in line with the repayment mortgage

Increasing Cover: The level of cover increases over time generally to offset the effects of inflation. Monthly payments will increase in line with the ascending cover.

*Conditions & exclusions will apply with all insurance & protection policies.

2. Life Insurance

This can be a difficult subject to discuss at a premature time meaning it commonly gets overlooked but it is important to ensure your loved ones are protected during difficult times.

Mortgage Life Insurance policies hold the main objective of paying off your mortgage in the event of death before the end of the mortgage term. In what will be an already distressing time, your family will have peace of mind that their home will not be repossessed by the mortgage lender. In simple terms, you pay into an insurance policy monthly, knowing it will pay out a sum of money to your family should you die within the term. Decreasing Life Insurance typically is used in conjunction with a repayment mortgage so the cover level reduces as you pay off your mortgage balance monthly. This tends to be cheaper than Level term policies whereby the sum assured remains fixed throughout the entire mortgage term, which can often be used to provide a surplus to paying off the mortgage e.g. to cover the family’s lifestyle etc.

Term Insurance- Pays a fixed sum to family if you die within fixed term. Ceases when the arranged terms ends with no return of premiums e.g., May choose to insure yourself up until your children become financially independent which may be e.g. in 20 Years’ time.

Whole of Life Insurance- Pays a sum on your death, whenever this may occur. Due to the certainty of a pay-out at some stage, the sum assured is generally lower for the same premium vs a fixed term assurance policy.

3. Critical Illness Cover

CIC is a policy which protects you on the diagnosis of serious or terminal illness which inhibits your ability to work. CIC policies cover a range of illnesses & diagnosis definitions which vary amongst insurers e.g., Alzheimers, Stroke, Cancer, Heart attack etc. It is important to ensure you are aware which conditions are covered under your policy i.e., some forms of cancer may be covered & others not.

CIC is typically paid out as a lump sum payment although this can be adjusted to receive an income or both. A popular insurance strategy is to insure yourself for Life cover and CIC under one policy. This can be more cost effective & reliable since once you have a critical illness, it can then be a struggle to obtain subsequent life cover.

The lump sum payment or income received from this policy could be used to repay a loan/mortgage or even make necessary alterations to your home to accommodate for your illness, amongst other reasons.

4. Income Protection Insurance

IPI is designed to pay out a regular income, usually monthly, in the event you are unable to work due to sickness or disability. Depending on how you set up the policy, this income can continue up until you return to work or retire, therefore the policy is literally insuring, protecting & replacing your lost income.

IPI is designed for employed & self-employed individuals. It should be highlighted that employed individuals who receive sick pay are likely to receive this for a maximum period of 12 months meaning ongoing protection after this is required. Meanwhile, for self-employed policyholders, sickness which hinders their ability to work will have an immediate effect on their income & therefore they will require their bills, mortgage payments etc, to be covered almost immediately so they may wish to opt for a short deferred period (Period of time which must elapse between onset of illness/ disability & first pay out) to ensure they do not become too financially strained during this period.

5. Accident, Sickness & Unemployment Insurance

ASU is a short-term protection policy which replaces your income for up to 12 months should you become unable to work due to an accident, sickness or involuntary unemployment. As with all insurance policies, it is about mitigating a financial burden should the insured circumstance occur. Whilst at the moment you may be fit & healthy, at any time anyone could fall sick & become unfit for work or be made redundant which subsequently inhibits your ability to earn income. ASU will provide 12 months of tax-free benefits to help you focus your efforts on getting fit for work/ finding another job rather than worrying over finances.

6. Buildings & Contents Insurance

Buildings - When purchasing a property with a mortgage, the lender will always require that you arrange buildings insurance over the secured property & note the lenders interest on the insurance policy.

Buildings insurance is put in place to cover the financial cost of repairing damage to the property’s physical construction in the event of theft or damage. This will include the roof, floors, walls & any permanent fixtures or fittings.

Contents- The purpose of Contents Insurance is to cover the cost of replacing your in-home belongings should they become damaged, stolen or destroyed. “Contents” are generally referred to items which it would be reasonable to usually take with you should you move out of your home e.g., Furniture. Many people choose to also cover more expensive, listed items such as jewellery, art etc.

It is common for Buildings & Contents insurance to be arranged under one policy rather than separately.