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Insights on money, career and trading

A Beginner’s Guide to Income Protection Insurance

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Daniel at 1:32 pm

Everything’s okay and plays out perfectly when you go to work and come back home every day, and each month you get a fair amount credited in your bank account as salary. But imagine getting into a situation where you’re not able to go to work for a prolonged period of time. An unpleasant situation or a critical, unforeseen emergency keeps you stuck at home, and all you have to rely on is a handful of savings that you managed to save. But, for how long? You are responsible to pay bills, rents, fees and a host of other essential monthly expenditures. Not being able to work means you won’t be getting any regular pay and you will have to resort to borrowing money in the form of loans which, again, will become an even greater liability due to the exorbitant interest rates – not your best bet, definitely!

For situations like these, you need income protection insurance!

  • What is it?

Income Protection is a cover payment comprising of up to 75% of your monthly wage that is granted in case you are unable to work for a prolonged period of time due to a health issue, accident or a mishap. Income Protection, or IP Insurance, is your lifeline and backup plan when your prime source of income has stopped and your unresolved yet essential monthly expenditures are pushing you to the verge of a great financial setback.

  • How it Works?

An income protection plan varies in its value and primarily depends on factors such as your monthly expenditure and you’re affordability of monthly premiums. By signing up for an income protection plan, you are required to specify 2 major things: the waiting period and the benefit period. The waiting period is the duration of time (in terms of months) that you are unable to earn or work, making you eligible to start receiving your income protection payment. The benefit period is the time duration you will continue to receive your protected income. Your monthly premium contributions are calculated based on your specified waiting and benefit periods.

  • What’s in it for you?
  • The income protection insurance assures a proportional monthly insurance for a specific number of months in case of your inability to work due to an extended illness or temporary disability. In the case of a long-term disability, a better option would be to invest in disability insurance. This type of insurance tends to replace a part of the income you lose due to your inability to work. To learn more about it, see this article: Debt And Disability.
  • The insured protected income is paid until the end of the insurance period, your retirement or until you get back to work.
  • The income protection insurance is tailored as per your needs and circumscribes most of the causes (illness or other temporary or prolonged health issues) that make you unable to work.
  • There is usually no limitation on the number of claims you can make during the active tenure of your income protection insurance.
  • The income protections insurance policy requires you to wait for a certain period of time that is specified by you. It is after that time that you start receiving your monthly protected payments.
  • Choosing the Right Plan

The efficacy of an income protection policy depends on settling for the right plan that is customized as per your specific needs. Click here to get in touch with experts to resolve your queries and help you settle for the right income protection insurance plan.

 

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Insights on money, career and trading