Before life gives you lemons… protect your greatest asset

It’s a given that we insure our cars and homes to protect our valuables, some of us obtain basic insurance for items like hospital, dental and physio to cover our health, but most of us don’t protect our greatest asset – and that is ourselves!

Our greatest asset is our ability to generate an income; to service our debts, pay for our lifestyle and provide for our families. Figuring out how you can protect yourself from injury, serious illness or premature death is a task that often sits at the bottom of ‘to-do’ lists, however this leaves you and your family at risk of severe financial hardship.

There can be serious financial consequences for those who do not know what life insurance they have in place, or whether it would be suitable to secure the financial future of their surviving family. These consequences can be even more serious for those that survive a life-threatening illness or injury, with the loss of income for the household, as well as high costs for treatment/care having a disastrous impact on the family cashflow. Common ‘quick fixes’ include using a credit card for expenses, refinancing a home loan or borrowing from family. Each of these options has snowball repercussions on your financial future, when instead you could use a personal insurance policy to provide the financial safety net you would need.

There are four personal protection policies available in Australia: Life, Total & Permanent Disability, Trauma and Income Protection. Each of these policies plays a part in providing financial assistance and security for you when something unexpected happens, and a combination of all four policy types will provide you with the most comprehensive protection plan. These policies should be personalised and structured in a way that reflects your situation and needs. 

With personal insurance, claim events can vary from a simple broken wrist, through to Multiple Sclerosis, heart attack and terminal cancer. Policies can be complex, with many features and benefits included that you might not even realise. Maintaining a relationship with your adviser and communicating with them regarding your situation and any unforeseen events/circumstance that may arise will make sure a claim opportunity is not missed. 

Insurance is all about providing yourself (and your family) with peace of mind, knowing you are protected against events that are out of your control.

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