The importance of cover for buildings and car insurance is self-evident and most people obtain these as a matter of course. However, a fundamental and much neglected area is basic personal and family protection. This is commonly due to a belief that the Government will be far more generous with financial support than tends to be the case in actual instances of personal injury or worse.
It therefore makes good financial sense to ensure that partners and/or dependants will not be left with an intolerable financial burden in the event of an individual’s death or long-term illness. For single people this may mean simply covering a mortgage or more complex planning to protect children’s education or other plans.
People purchase expensive polices from their provider when they take out a mortgage, but fail to review their plans at a later date. Whilst most people are drastically under covered, equally there is no point in paying more than is needed or paying for something that is surplus to requirements.
In a business context, a range of protection options should be considered where an individual’s incapacitation can have a direct result on the performance of their or another’s business. These include ‘key man’, shareholder and partnership protection.
