If you make up the top 95% of Australians, chances are you are not in a position that allows you to sustain you and your family’s lifestyle if something were to happen to you. One common reason is the belief that we’re invincible. Let’s be realistic for a moment, we all know that’s not true, whether we choose to believe it or not.
Even Superman had one weakness with Kryptonite that made him vulnerable to sickness and death.
If we look at some of the statistics, they tell us some of the following:
- More than one-third of Australian deaths are due to heart disease.
- More than 25% of the population will suffer cancer in their lifetime.
- One in five men and one is seven women will suffer a critical illness before the age of 64.
- Most of the 88% of stroke survivors live at home with a disability.
- Someone in Australia suffers a stroke roughly once every ten minutes.
Whilst there is a bit of doom and gloom surrounding those numbers it does emphasise our need to protect our biggest money-maker which is no other than ourselves!
But there are some simple things that many people aren’t aware of that can make all the difference to you and your family.
Let’s see how many you may or may not know…
- You may be able to pay for your personal insurances through superannuation
- If you’re earning an income, Income Protection premiums may be tax deductible
- Holding multiple policies with one provider may give you discounts
- With every change in your circumstances, whether it be buying a house, getting married, having kids or a pay rise, your insurance needs may change
- There is fierce competition in the personal insurance space meaning more competitive premiums for you.
- Insurance cover provided to you automatically by your super fund, credit card provider or health insurer may not be enough, may potentially decrease automatically in time, may not be suitable for your needs or even cover you for what you expect.
- There is a big difference in being underwritten when establishing the cover compared to it being done at claim time. This is one major risk when purchasing your own personal insurance over the telephone or internet without advice.
Just imagine, what would happen to our family home, our debt, our children, our lifestyle if we suddenly became ill and could no longer work? or even worse … died?
Whilst we can’t change these events from happening, what we can control is the outcome these events may have on our financial future. I wouldn’t wish an illness on myself or anyone else but from my experience as a financial adviser, small business owner and a husband, I’d rather be in a position where I don’t have to worry about money, and focus on getting better, and not having to worry about my health, family and finances.
By receiving advice from an experienced financial adviser they will help you determine a suitable amount of cover, remove the hard work from the application and selection process, and most importantly be there for you and your family at claim time.
It is impossible to know when your ‘Kryptonite’ will suddenly enter your life so don’t run the risk of not having the right risk protection for you and your family.
Anthony Pears is Integra’s insurance protection specialist and can be contacted on (02) 9891 2855 or email anthony@integranet.com.au