What is Illness Cover?
A business or individual enters into a contract with a life company whereby they pay a monthly premium in exchange for cover for a number specified illnesses as they have set out in their policy documents. This is usually 60-70 but varies from company to company. For anyone who has had to claim on an insurance policy, it becomes a very important very quickly in helping you resolve a liability or potential liability.
Business Illness Cover
Business Illness Cover is used to cover company debt but also to cover the financial loss of senior or “key” individuals in a business whose capabilities are not readily replaceable in an organisation.
Business Illness Cover can also provide cover for partners or directors in a company. This would provide a lump sum payment to the company to enable it to buy the company from the partner or director who has had to step away from the business due to illness.
Personal Illness Cover
This tends to be to provide financial protection in the event of illness for dependents and debt.
Specified Illness can be attached to mortgage protection but it means any payout from the policy goes to bank. In this regard, it can be more beneficial to have the money paid to the household through a separate policy.
Specified Illness cover can also be used to provide financial protection against other debts (car loans, personal loans etc), unforeseen illness/hospital bills and for dependents (children). The level of cover you need is dependent on your age, income, debts, other cover you have in place and how many children you have.
Specified Illness cover can have many other important benefits such as hospital cash payment, accident cash payment and surgery cash payment.
How much does illness cover cost?
It’s a difficult question as it literally varies from person to person. How much it costs depends on how much you need. This depends on your income, debts, dependents (eg kids), age and health. For lots of people, the cost or level of cover comes down to what their budget will allow as there are many other things that need to be paid for!
Our company policy is to show clients all quotes to give them peace of mind that they are getting good value for money.
The easiest way to show the necessity of Illness Cover is to put a case study together:
A married couple – John and Susan, with two children, earn €40,000 per annum, each. This means a net pay of €2,850 each. Their monthly bills are as follows:
- Mortgage payment – €1,400
- Creche Payment – €1,600
- Personal/car loan – €400
- Shopping – €1,000
- Utilities – €300
- Sundries (coffees, family trips etc) – €200
John becomes ill suddenly and is no longer in receipt of his income. This leaves Susan with all the household bills (€1,400 + €1,600 + €400 + €1000 + €300 + €200) of €4,900 and an income of €2,850.
If John had taken out a Specified Illness policy to cover 1 year’s net income – €34,200, it would take considerable financial pressure off the family.
If you have any queries or would like to receive a quote, please contact us today on 0877785325.
18
Number of days the average family in the UK can financially survive without it’s main income source
Get in touch
hlambert@Integralfinancialplanning.ie
13 Classon House, Dundrum Business Park, Dundrum, Dublin 14