When you think of the term assets you most likely visualise possessions such as your home or car or even jewellery.
Most of us will straight away make sure these possessions are insured the moment they are purchased.
What we tend to forget is that our most valuable asset is our relational asset i.e. our loved ones and our ability to protect them by insuring against loss of income.
Loss of income will impact you and your family greatly as bills and everyday living will still continue even if your income does not. This can result in loss of your other valuable possessions such as home, and more importantly your family will be impacted financially as well as emotionally.
By Insuring yourself for Income Protection (IP), you are guaranteed an income each month in the event of your injury or illness. Quite simply, it will put food on the table, petrol in the tank, stop the bank from foreclosing on your mortgage, keep the kids’ school fees paid and generally give you the means to maintain a reasonable standard of living if you are not able to get out to earn your income.
Other Insurances to ensure your relational assets i.e. family are protected are:
Term Life Insurance – Pays a lump sum benefit on your death or terminal illness. This cover ensures that your family and loved ones can pay off the mortgage and provide continued care for your dependents in the event of your premature death.
Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) Insurance – pays a lump sum benefit if you are disabled to the extent that you are unlikely to ever return to work. This cover ensures that your family can contrentate on taking care of you without having to worry about medical expenses and losing your home due to not having the funds to pay the mortgage.
Trauma Insurance – Provides a benefit on diagnosis of certain medical conditions e.g. heart attack, cancer, stroke and heart surgery. This cover together with Income Protection can allow you to receive 100% of your income if you suffered a traumatic health event and allow you time to rest and recover without having the added stress of worrying about medical expenses and the like.