What happens to your bills when you can no longer work? You can’t predict when you will fall ill or get into an accident. How will it affect your day-to-day life? Is your employer willing to continue paying you? Healthcare costs, groceries, electricity and gas bills, school fees, mortgage payments – the strain on resources can easily turn your life upside down and burn through your savings. That’s why income protection insurance exists.
Can’t my bosses help?
Once you’re unable to work, there’s the general assumption that the employer will continue giving you some mode of income. However, remember that the employer’s main goal is to keep the business running. In fact, Ireland doesn’t currently mandate employers to continue paying out salaries while employees are on sick leave, leaving this decision to the individual employer. However, the Statutory Sick Pay is set to become an employment right in 2022, at a rate of 70% of one’s normal wages (and capped at a maximum of €110 per day).
Even with the SSP coming into force through the four-year-phased plan, the employee will only be entitled to 10 days of sick pay per year by 2025. Currently, few employers keep their staff on the payroll when they aren’t showing up for work for weeks. How long can your savings sustain your quality of life, and keep the mortgage/rent and utility bills catered for? Get income protection insurance to give you financial security.
How Income Protection Insurance Works
The policy pays out part of your income should you find yourself unable to continue with your work, usually due to illnesses or accidents. This typically ranges between 50% and 80% depending on the insurance provider that you have signed up with. The payment continues until you retire, get to the end of the policy term, or pass on.
This coverage also caters to most of the illnesses that leave you unable to work in the short or long term, depending on the policy terms, and what has been specifically defined as “incapacity”. Reading through the fine print is key to enable you to know what you’re signing up for. Working with Quigley Financial Brokers, where we’ve analyzed policies from different insurance providers, will enable you to have an easier time picking the right package for you. And here is another plus: You can claim it as many times as needed while the policy lasts.
