Protecting Your Loved Ones by Carrying Life Insurance
Throughout your life you will probably have many opportunities to shelter those you love from danger. One of the benefits of life insurance products is the ability to protect your loved ones from a variety of unpleasant circumstances before and after you are gone.
Protection When the Ability to Generate Income is Temporarily Lost
When you are young and single you feel like you are on top of the world and nothing can stop you. But what would happen if you were injured or became ill and could not work for a period of time? Would your parents, relatives or friends be able or willing to step in and provide for you? These are also good questions for those with families, and even for older couples. Bills can mount up in a hurry and all you have worked for can be jeopardized or lost. Income protection cover can help reduce or eliminate this concern. With income protection, up to 75% of your income could be paid to you until you were able to return to work. Some of the ways that this can work include:
o Inexpensive income protection through superannuation funds, that can pay a portion of your salary under certain circumstances.
o Privately purchased indemnity value cover, that can pay you a percentage of your income based on the amount you were making at the time you became ill or were injured.
o Agreed Value Cover, that could provide a payment based on what your income was when the policy was taken out. This option is more expensive but can be very beneficial if your income is variable and you take out the cover when income is at its peak.
Protecting Your Loved Ones When Trauma Strikes
Life insurance products can also help you and your loved ones get through the devastation of a major illness in the family. Trauma cover can protect your family when one of you is diagnosed with a specified illness. Money can be paid out to you when one spouse must take care of a sick family member and cannot work. This cover can even be taken out for children. Some traumatic illnesses that could be covered include:
o Cancer
o Heart attack
o Blood diseases
o Stroke
o Coma
o Severe burns
o Loss of a limb
Protecting Your Loved Ones When Total and Permanent Disability Strikes
Whether or not you have children, and even if you are not your household’s primary income provider, the money you bring in makes a difference. With one spouse unable to work, financial stability could deteriorate in a hurry. Taking out a TPD add-on when you purchase life insurance can prevent this from happening. In most cases, Total & Permanent Disability cover allows you to draw funds from your death benefit to help your family remain stable. Some things TPD cover could help with are:
o Purchasing specialised equipment
o Making modifications to your home to accommodate you
o Paying ongoing bills
o hiring private nurses
Protecting Those You Care about When they are Grieving
The grief your loved ones will experience when you pass on is immense. This heartbreak does not need to be compounded by financial hardship. You can make sure that they are protected by purchasing adequate life insurance. Life insurance pays a lump sum to your designated beneficiary in the event of your death. This can help your grieving loved ones do things like:
o Take time off for mourning
o Cover funeral expenses
o Put money in savings for the children’s future
o Maintain their current standard of living
o Clear up credit card debt
o Pay off a mortgage
Protecting Your Loved Ones Means Caring Enough
Keeping the people you care about out of harms way in every day situations is not the only way to demonstrate your love. With the right cover, your love for your family can also be evident when any of several unexpected tragedies strike. Trauma Cover, Income Protection and Total & Permanent Disability cover will allow you to shelter those you love financially when you are unable to do so. Your protection can even extend beyond the grave when you have adequate life insurance cover.