Archive for the ‘Income Insurance’

There are many reasons to consider taking out an income insurance policy. But the greatest reason has to be the peace of mind it provides. While you are employed, it may be the last thing on your mind, but if you wait until you lose your job, it will probably be too late to arrange protection.

With an income insurance policy you can expect to receive a tax free monthly income for 12 to 24 months depending on the provider. The income will help you maintain your monthly outgoing and will help you to remain clothed, fed and housed, while you seek alternative employment or recover from your illness or accident.

Features and Benefits

Very often, policies are subject to maximum benefit levels. This means that the income will not cover your full salaried income but the percentage paid will be calculated using your gross income.

You may be able to specify the combination of incidents you wish to be insured for and this will usually be reflected in your premiums.

Before you make a claim, most providers will require you to have had the policy for a specific period of time.

Once you are receiving an income, you can rest assured you won’t have to face red letters, persistent creditors or even repossession threats. You can use the income to maintain your bills and current lifestyle.

Finding The Best Provider

The provider you choose should offer you great benefits for a reasonable premium. Sadly this is not always the case as many high street providers will charge you a lot more in premiums than an independent company.

One example is British Insurance, they are an ethical provider of protection products and they can save you up to 80% on premiums for their loan protection products.

Your provider should also be empathetic to your circumstances. We are all different so the policies should be reflective of the differing situations and needs.

It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to read the terms and conditions. The provider may not always take the time to explain how the policy works, so you will have to do some reading to make sure the income insurance policy suits your needs.

Conclusion

Once you finalise the details and choose the product most suited to your needs, you can begin to enjoy the peace of mind an income insurance policy can give. There is no telling if or when your salary will disappear, life has a way of surprising you, so if the worst were to happen, it is much better to be prepared.

No one really likes paying insurance. Often, it seems too expensive a piece of protection for something that is unlikely to happen and the condition under which any claim can be made frequently appear confusing and complicated. Income insurance, therefore, will provide a welcome departure from that gloomy stereotype, since it is cheap, simplicity itself in its operation and claims procedures, and is highly likely to be called into action by a significant proportion of policy holders.

So, what is income insurance? It is one of a range of so-called payment protection insurance products that pay out on the very simple, but by no means uncommon, eventuality of the policy holder being unable to work (and therefore risking a loss of income) through an accident or ill-health, or because he or she has been made compulsorily redundant.

Clearly, these are familiar misfortunes that can affect practically anyone in any walk of life and at any age. Indeed, it is the very familiarity with such common reasons for suffering a loss of income that makes income insurance so attractive and popular. Paradoxically, however, for risks which have such a relatively high chance of striking any one of us, the premiums associated with income payment protection insurance are remarkably affordable, especially when bought as a standalone insurance from an independent insurance provider.

Just such an independent specialist in income insurance is British Insurance, whose managing director, Simon Burgess, comments: “of course no one likes paying their insurance premiums when it seems they are paying year in and year out for something which is extremely unlikely to happen. Accident, sickness and unemployment, however, are a completely different kettle of fish. Practically everyone has had a brush with one or other of these events. Knowing how easily it can happen, certainly takes a lot of the sting out of paying for income insurance”.

Provided the absence from work, or period of unemployment, lasts longer than a predetermined “qualifying period” (which varies from policy to policy and can be anything from just 30 up to a rather less attractive 90 days), the benefits of income insurance are paid each month. The actual amount of replacement income to be paid is selected by the policy holder at the outset. The maximum level of cover is typically 50% of the normally earned salary from work, or £1,000 a month, whichever is the smaller figure (and, once again, the maximum permitted level of cover will vary from policy to policy). The benefits will then be paid every month until the policy holder is able to resume work, or failing that, for a maximum period of 12 or 24 months (the shorter period attracts more affordable premiums, while the longer period naturally costs rather more).

Income insurance can protect your essential outgoings against a loss of income caused by accident, sickness or involuntary unemployment. You would insure so much of your own income, up to the amount specified by the provider, against these events and then receive the sum you insured back if you needed to make a claim.

With the money you received from the protection you would be able to continue meeting the demands of any essential outgoings you have to maintain each month. There would be no struggle to find the much needed money and there would be no need to put off paying bills and hope you would be able to catch them up in the future. You would also not have to make cutbacks to your lifestyle which might make life unbearable for all the family. If you choose to shop around for the protection with an independent provider you will be able to make the biggest savings and one of the cheapest quotes will come from leading specialist provider British Insurance.

With British Insurance you know that you have a quality product that can be relied upon as they provide you with all the information you need to determine suitability of the insurance on their website. They add in just a few exclusions and after checking these against your lifestyle you can then be sure of having something to fall back onto if needed.

Income insurance from them would begin to provide you with an income after day 30 of unemployment or from being incapacitated. It would be dated back to day one of you losing your income and would then continue to payout for as long as 12-24 months depending on the product chosen if needed before expiring. If you choose to search with other providers you could find that they state a deferment period of up to 90 days but you would need to read the terms to find this out. You also have to check to find out how long you could benefit from a policy as some providers will continue paying out for 12 months only.

Income insurance can be better than relying on using savings or turning to the States help to get by. Savings could deplete as you would not know how long you would have to rely on them and State benefit often does not pay the income you rely on when working. Both could leave you with a struggle on your hands that is not needed as protecting your finances with income cover does not have to work out expensive if you choose a policy from a standalone provider.

Some 25% of the population have never heard of income insurance, or if they have, do not know how income payment protection (to give it its technical title) works. Even amongst those who know about it, an estimated six out of seven people fail to consider it a priority. These are the findings of a recent survey conducted by a popular internet-based price comparison company, moneysupermarket.

Commenting on the research, Simon Burgess, of independent insurance providers, British Insurance, says: “it’s by no means a complicated product, so the level of ignorance about income insurance is hugely disappointing – disappointing because this very modestly-priced insurance can make all the difference between managing to get by during a temporary financial setback and facing very severe hardship indeed”.

Simon is perfectly right – income insurance is a very straight forward and simple form of insurance. On payment of a relatively modest monthly premium, the policy holder’s income is protected in the event of his or her being incapacitated from working at their normal job because of an accident or illness or because they have been made redundant through no fault of their own. These unexpected events can strike anyone at anytime – and the prospect of unemployment in the desperately troubled economic future that lies ahead is a spectre that looms over even the most apparently “secure” of jobs.

If the unexpected should happen, therefore, the regular source of income can very easily suddenly dry up for the several months that it takes to recover from the accident or illness or the time it takes to secure an alternative job. And if an earned income dries up, then there is precious little in the way of government assistance in the way of statutory sick pay or statutory redundancy pay.

Once an incapacity or period of unemployment has endured longer than a certain qualifying period – typically of 30 days or more – income insurance will provide the policy holder with a replacement income. Naturally, the level of cover is determined in advance by the amount of premiums paid. These are generally calculated in terms of a given premium per £100 of benefits paid as a monthly replacement income. The maximum amount of cover is usually 50% of the normally earned level of income or £1,000, whichever is the lower sum.

Income insurance is designed to provide temporary relief, for as long as it takes to recover from the accident or illness or to secure another job. This is likely to be counted in months rather than years, so the typical maximum period up to which such benefits are paid is 12 months, although a 24-month period is also generally available for those looking for a longer period of benefits and prepared to pay a higher premium.

When it comes to income insurance there are two main types that you may encounter. Both are designed to help you maintain your lifestyle if you were suddenly out of work due to an involuntary reason, but there are major differences.

For this article we will concentrate on the income payment protection insurance policy which pays out a percentage of your income each month for up to 12-24 months depending on the provider as opposed to the insurance that will pay out until a selected retirement age. The latter will not cover you if you were made redundant.

So a bit more about income insurance – the policy has many benefits that will be suitable to anyone concerned about the instability of the job market. It will pay out only if you are out of work due to illness, accident or redundancy, so don’t be tempted to pack your job in and claim the benefits, it won’t work.

The reason for your lack of income must be involuntary

Benefits

• The main benefit of having such a plan is the peace of mind you will have knowing that if the worse was to happen and you did lose your job involuntarily, you will be able to make a claim
• The income you receive will only cover a percentage of your income but at least the income will be paid tax free
• The policy won’t be linked to a mortgage so you could use the funds to pay your bills in any way you like
• Having a replacement income while out of work will ensure your monthly creditors are paid so there is less chance of developing bad credit or worse yet…losing your home

Things To Consider
Like most insurance policies if you don’t make a claim, you don’t receive anything back at the end. It may be wise therefore to choose a product with a lower premium but the same great benefits.

Using an independent provider like British Insurance is a sure way to ensure your premiums remain low. British Insurance specialises in providing protection products that will save you as much as 80% on your premiums.

Despite the provider you choose, be sure to read the terms and conditions of the policy so that you know exactly what you are covered for.

In 2005, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) received complaints from consumers about mis-selling. This arose because providers were not taking the time to explain the product terms to customers and several high street companies were fined.

Providers are now more ethical and sensitive to customer needs, but you still be diligent when choosing your product

Summary

If you have been in a stable job for some time, the idea of losing your income suddenly may be foreign to you. But you never know what tomorrow holds. It is much better to take out income insurance so you know your lifestyle will be protected should the unexpected happen.

Income insurance could help you to get through unemployment or incapacity by allowing you to protect a portion of your monthly income against accident, sickness and unemployment. You would insure up to a pre-agreed amount and if you were to fall victim to one of these events you would be able to claim on the protection. The sum of money you received back from the policy would be tax-free and would go a long way towards you maintaining all of the essential outgoings that come into the home for the term specified in the protection.

There is always a deferment period set by the provider and once you have made a claim on the insurance it would only payout for the term specified in the small print so you have to check this before taking on cover. If you were to choose ethical independent payment protection specialist British Insurance you would get a policy that comes with no excess period as it would be dated back to day one of your unemployment or incapacity. You can claim from the 30th day and then receive an income for up to 12 months.

Look carefully at the terms that other providers offer as with some you might have to wait for up to 90 days before claiming. You also have to find out how long the income insurance would payout up to as some providers could offer protection that might pay for up to 24 months. There are also exclusions in the protection, ethical specialists British Insurance add in just a few exclusions but others could include many. They also tell you about them and encourage you to check them against your circumstances before taking on the protection.

Income insurance could make a great deal of difference to your lifestyle and that of your family if you were to lose your income due to accident, sickness or unemployment. Without something to fall back onto you would have to make changes and cutbacks in order to be able to keep up with all essential outgoings. With the policy acting as a safety net you would at least have something towards maintaining all your outgoings, whatever they might be. Without it you could be forced to struggle to find the money and might have to make drastic changes to your lifestyle which could affect not only you but also members of your family. If you were to put some bills off in order to pay others you could get into debt and have to suffer the consequences. A policy would be a better solution than relying on using savings to last you while you found work or made a recovery and it would also be a better solution than risking being able to claim State benefit. State benefits might not pay out the income you were used to bringing home and so you could still have a struggle.

Income insurance could be your financial protection against unemployment and incapacity. Unemployment could occur through redundancy and incapacity could come about due to suffering an illness or accident. You can insure up to a pre-agreed amount of your income with an independent provider and then receive this sum back, tax-free to go towards all of your essential outgoings each month while the protection ran its course. This would allow you to recover and get back to work or to search for work with the peace of mind that you had something coming into the home each month towards stopping you having to make drastic changes to your lifestyle to remain on top of the bills.

An ethical payment protection provider such as independent specialist insurance broker British Insurance would provide you with the first payment from the protection policy after the 30th day of being unemployed or from being sick or suffering an accident that meant you were unable to work. They would back pay on the protection to the first day of your unemployment or incapacity and would then provide you with the income insured each and every month up to the 12th month. After this period of time the protection would simply expire.

When shopping around and comparing the cost of income insurance with other providers you could find one that would continue to provide you with an income for up to the 24th month but you would have to check the small print. You would also need to check it to find out how long you would have to wait before putting in a claim as some providers could extend this up to the 90th day of your unemployment or from being unable to work. There are also some exclusions in all payment protection offered by all providers and these too can be found in the small print or on the provider’s website. Ethical British Insurance would provide you with the information regarding the exclusions on their website so that anyone considering taking out cover can check for eligibility before they buy the protection.

Income insurance is a great way to ensure that you would still be able to provide for your family if you were to lose your own income. It is a better solution than relying on savings as a means of getting by and it is also a better form of back up plan than hoping to be able to claim benefit from the State. Savings might have to maintain your essential outgoings for many months and they might not stretch this far which would leave you without anything at all once they had depleted. State benefits might be able to be claimed, however you would have to be eligible and even then the income you were given might not be enough to allow you to continue meeting all the demands that came into the home. State benefits often fall far short of the income that you earn and bring into the home which could still leave you with problems.

Income insurance could do a great deal for you if you lost your own income after falling ill, suffering an accident or if you become redundant. The policy would be there for you after a period of incapacity or unemployment which could be between 30 and 90 days after the event. You would then be able to recover or search for work knowing that your essential outgoings remained safe for the term of the cover which would usually be between 12 months and 24 months.

You would insure a portion of your monthly income which would be pre-agreed when you took out the protection. This would be the sum of money that you would get back on the policy each month if you needed to put in a claim. This income would go towards you being able to maintain all the essential bills that come into your home each month. With the protection to fall back on you would not have to fear unemployment or incapacity and the fact that you could have to make huge changes to your current lifestyle. If you had to think about every penny you spent due to worrying about a lack of money then life for the whole family could have to change drastically.

Income insurance can give great peace of mind but you would first have to find affordable cover. One of the best ways to compare the premiums for protection is by going online. You would find that standalone payment protections specialists offer the cheapest premiums and one of the very cheapest would be ethical British Insurance. They would offer protection based on how old you were when you applied for the protection and the amount you wanted to protect, up to a limit. As the cover is age based this would mean that the younger generation can make the biggest savings to cover their income.

British Insurance would provide a quality product that paid an income tax-free from day 30 and up to 12 months. They would also provide you with the information regarding the exclusions which are found in all payment protection insurance including income insurance. You would have to check their website and determine if the exclusions would stop you from taking out the cover. Once you have done this then you would have a plan to fall back on if and when you became unemployed or incapacitated. Relying on savings to see you through could be a mistake as you might have to take many months to make a recovery or to find work and they might not last. Relying on benefits from the State could also prove to be a mistake as they little money you could be entitled to might not be enough to cover all the outgoings you have to make each month.

If you were to lose your income and did not have income insurance to fall back on then life could become very difficult. You might be unable to work after falling ill or suffering an accident or you could lose your income as the result of being made redundant. In any of the cases, the income you lost could mean you be left struggling to continue meeting the demands of the essential outgoings that come into the home.
Income insurance is a payment protection insurance plan taken out to insure up to a certain amount of your own income which was pre-agreed when taking on the policy. With the money you received back as a tax-free sum you would be able to make sure that food was put on the table for the family and that the home was warm and lit. Without cover and you might have to juggle the bills around in the hope that you could catch up and this would hamper your chances of finding a job or making a quick recovery.
If you search online for payment protection specialists one at the top of the list would be ethical British Insurance. They would supply you with a policy that would run for 12 months and they would back date the protection to day one of you being unable to work or from being incapacitated. You would have to wait just 30 days before you would be able to put in your claim, however when looking around some providers might state 90 days and some could payout for 24 months.
Income insurance could be a more reliable way for you to protect your income than relying on being able to claim for benefit from the State. You would have to be eligible to claim money from the State and even then the income they paid might not be enough for you to be able to maintain all of your outgoings. If you relied on savings as a means of getting you through this could also be a let down. You would not know how long you would have to turn to savings and they could deplete well before you found work or made a recovery and got back to work. Of course you would have to check to ensure that you would be eligible to make a claim on income protection before you took out the cover. There are exclusions to be found in all policies and these have to be checked against your circumstances. If you choose an ethical payment protection provider for your insurance they would provide you with the details before you took on the cover so you could make an informed decision.

Have you ever stopped to think about where you would get the money from to pay the essential outgoings that come into the home every month if you were to become incapacitated or unemployed? You could think that savings might be enough to get you by but if you have to rely on them for many months then they might not last. A far better solution to consider is by taking out  income insurance.

You might also put faith in the State providing benefits if you become unemployed but this can often be a huge let down too. You would have to check eligibility to be able to claim and this means you cannot have savings over a certain amount in the bank or have a partner living with you who is in full time employment. Even if you are eligible to claim and you would have to meet certain criteria, the help you get is often not enough to be able to keep up with all your essential outgoings. A policy on the other hand can be used to pay whatever outgoings you have coming in up to the sum you insured at the time of taking out the cover.

Income insurance would supply you with an income that could be used towards being able service your essential payments or just for general day to day living costs – whatever you wish. You would insure a portion of your income for a premium each month which is based on the amount you wish to cover and your age when applying if you take the protection with standalone ethical provider British Insurance. This means that the younger generation can benefit the most when they apply for protection because the cheaper the monthly premiums will be.

Payment protection products do come with some exclusions and these you have to check over so that you can ensure your circumstances would not stop you from making a claim. However payment providers such as British Insurance supply you with this information on their website so that you can make an informed decision.

Income insurance protection from British Insurance supplies you with your income once you had been incapacitated or unemployed for a minimum of 30 days. You would then have 12 months in which to make a full recovery or to have found work again before the policy would stop. Some providers could offer you protection that could continue paying for up to as long as 24 months. You would also have to check to see when the policy would start to provide you with an income for with some it can be up to 90 days of you being unemployed or incapacitated before you can put in a claim.