Protecting Your Income

The reality is that, even in this modern first world life, people are still living on the brink on financial ruin. Precautions need to be taken to protect yourself and your family. If the worst should happen and you end up out of work (or worse,) you need to guarantee that your family finances are secure. 

Why it matters

There is a common misconception that the only insurance other than automotive worth having is life insurance. However, life insurance only pays out on death or permanent disability. Given modern medicine, you are a good deal more likely to become temporarily incapacitated than killed. Income protection insurance offers coverage in the event that you are unable to work for an extended period of time for health-related or other reasons. Life insurance isn’t concerned about your kids starving because an earthquake destroyed your place of work. Dying isn’t the only way that you can be prevented from taking care of yourself or your family. People are vulnerable, both physically and mentally, jobs can disappear, and you can be displaced. If you’re in Australia, you can protect your income with AAMI insurance. 

What it does

This coverage is not unemployment insurance, and it certainly doesn’t function an excuse for taking an extended vacation from work. Income protection is specifically for extended lengths of time where you are unable to work. There are specific jobs where this coverage is highly recommendable. For example, if you work in food preparation and contract a severe stomach bug, you can be forced out of work for weeks at a time. In fact, your employer is legally liable if they allow you to work while ill and preparing food. 

How it works

When are unable to work, you get a certain amount of pay in the form of disability benefits; but this usually comes at a fraction of your usual income. That is where income protection insurance comes in. The payout from income protection takes into account all of your payable benefits on top of your regular income, and will match up to three quarters of that income This is not a lifetime fix. 

Most income protection plans only cover one to two years. You can get a policy that will cover you for longer, but serious problems which mean that returning to work is implausible qualifies you as permanently disabled (which is often a part of life insurance.) Since both the benefits and the monthly fees are calculated based on your income over the twelve previous months, income protection insurance is pretty likely to fit into your budget. 

This type of coverage can fit into a wide range of budgets, which is convenient since less affluent people are more likely to lose their income, and less likely to absorb the loss of that income without catastrophic effects. You are very likely to need income insurance at some point. Most people don’t make it through life unscathed. Keeping a safety net under your feet with precautions such as income protection insurance can help tremendously in maintaining your way of life without suffering financially