With the recent outbreak of Coronavirus, it has brought the financial strain of illness to everyone’s attention. For a long time as mortgage and protection advisers we have faced resistance to the take up of life insurance and income protection. However hopefully the current pandemic will prove that good financial planning is key to protecting our families in times of trouble.
A lot of people have been worried about how they will cope financially if they get the virus and cannot go to work, in particular the self-employed. This is why we try so hard every day to educate people on really useful insurances such as income protection insurance. Not a lot of people are aware of this type of insurance, but it pays out a monthly or weekly benefit if you are unable to work due to accident or sickness. This is an essential in the package of insurances we recommend for each of our mortgage clients to make sure you can always pay your mortgage repayments.
For those most at risk in the population there will also now be worries that if they do not survive the illness, how will family members left behind cope without the main bread winner’s income coming into the household? or the primary caregiver not being around to look after the children. These are questions we have been asking our clients for years, what would you do if such and such happened? In hope that they realise the importance life insurance and critical illness policies have in your “back up plan”. However as life insurance is no longer compulsory with a mortgage more and more people have declined the offer to take it out and therefore will find themselves in dire straits in these situations.
It is a worrying thing that is happening right now, however it is our reaction to events like this that can improve our future. I am hopeful that in light of the financial worries surrounding Coronavirus people will now have a positive attitude towards life insurance going forward.
Sammy McCann BSc(Hons), Cert CII(MP)
28th March 2020