Income Protection Insurance: A Boon for the Salaried Class

The main cause of worry for all salaried people is that what would become of their families if something unfortunate were to happen to them. People who are the sole breadwinners of the their families, especially have this tension about an uncertain future and the fate of their loved ones. The Income Protection Insurance or Permanent Health Insurance is aimed at relieving the tensions of people whose main source of livelihood is the fixed income that they bring home at the end of every month.

Every human aspires to protect their loved ones from all types of adversities, basically by providing them financial protection. The fact that lack of money can lead to a lot of difficulties and problems in life neither needs proof nor explanation. Keeping this in mind people take up life insurance, so that in case the person dies, his family will have the much needed financial protection. To fight calamities and accidents, assets like vehicles, home, etc. are also insured.

But, a scenario where a person is unable to work because of sudden illness, or a handicap due to an accident has been largely ignored by insurance companies, and the general public too, till now. Medical insurance and other medical covers are provided by organisations, but they cover only the concerned person's medical bills that too only till a certain time. But, what after that? And what about the ill/disables person's family? It was keeping all these factors in mind that income protection insurance was introduced.

Income protection insurance is basically for those people who cannot resume their normal day to day job, either due to a sudden illness or a disability. This kind of financial protection is provided by the employer to his employees, wherein, the employees are paid a certain percentage of their monthly salary (mostly it is 60%, but it can also be more depending upon the employer's policies). The amount paid is usually not taxed and is mostly paid till the age of 50 to 65.

The income protection insurance policy helps the people dependent on their fixed monthly, maintain a dignified way of living despite being unable to work.

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Income Protection Insurance - Critical Illness Plans

Insurance is a wonderful thing to have and should ease your mind if some crisis happens. All too often when insurance policies are discussed the medical questions can leave people a bit unnerved and queasy. Critical illness plans are a form of insurance that pay out a lump sum once you have been diagnosed with some sort of 'critical' illness that is life-threatening or prevents you from being able to continue your employment that should help you to meet the costs of your financial commitments like mortgage repayments and household bills for a time.

It is imperative that you get the key documents once you have signed up for a critical illness plan. That may seem an obvious thing to say but here follows a cautionary tale.

A woman, on becoming self-employed, in order to meet the requirements of her bank with whom she had her mortgage, was advised to take out a critical illness plan. She duly met with the advisor who spent an hour with her talking about the benefits and assessing how much she would need to pay to cover the cost of her mortgage payments at least if she were unable to work due to critical illness. Medical questions about family history regarding, kidney disease, cancer, heart disease and suchlike were discussed. Having given pertinent information on whether she smoked, her age, general health etc she left with a pack of papers that outlined her financial commitment to the policy and the information she had given the advisor. She was not given the key documents plan but only discovered she was not in possession of this vital document when she made a claim a year later.

The woman had unfortunately developed a brain tumor, a meningioma that had to be excised by opening up her skull and removing the offending tumor. There was no alternative to an operation, as the tumor would continue to grow and be ultimately fatal if not removed. She was delighted that it was diagnosed as benign and there were no secondary growths and relieved the only negative results were a large horseshoe scar on her skull and some compromised mobility function in her left leg - a small price to pay. Having paid out for critical illness and survived the 28 days subsequent to surgery the policy had outlined, she rang to make a claim. They asked her for her key documents policy number. She couldn't find a number on the paperwork given to her by the bank advisor. The company said they would send out the relevant document. On receipt of the document she put things into play and her doctor was contacted to verify the details. No payout! The tumor wasn't 'cancerous, secondary and invasive'. That was a bit of a blow. Somewhat aggrieved she read through the key document. Kidney disease was only due for payout if it was secondary [by that time it is usually fatal!] and heart disease claims only paid out if open-heart surgery was done by a consultant - hard luck if you had a key-hole operation. Had she been in possession of the key document, and as her doctor commented also, there was no good reason for taking out this insurance as its terms were so restrictive...and only paid out if you survived - it was not life cover.

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What is Payment Protection Insurance?

Payment Protection Insurance, commonly known as PPI, is a type of insurance designed to cover an outstanding debt in an event of unemployment, illness, unexpected accident, death or an involuntary redundancy. The service is commonly offered by various banks, which comes as an accessory with a loan or overdraft product. It serves as a backup in a situation where it becomes almost impossible for a person to repay the debt. It is also called ASU (accident, sickness and unemployment) insurance, Payment Cover or Account Cover.

PPI has three basic types. These are Income Payment Protection Insurance, Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance and Loan Payment Protection Insurance. The basic purpose of all the three types is the same, i.e., provide assistance in debt payment in a situation when it becomes unfeasible to do so.

Income PPI is a supplement of the monthly income, if the insurance holder loses the job due to sickness, accident, or if fired without any fault. Although it may not be equal to the actual salary, it is enough to support the holder till he gets a new job or some help from elsewhere.

As the name shows, mortgage PPI provides assistance in paying the required amount of monthly mortgage. For most people, this is the most important type of the three payment protection insurances, as failing to pay the monthly mortgage payment may result in dispossession of the property. This assistance imbeds a sense of security in the minds of holders regarding their homes and other property.

Loan PPI provides assistance in payment of a monthly debt, under the circumstances that the holder cannot possibly pay due to the above mentioned reasons. As most of the shoppers out there rely on credit card debts these days, they need to have a backup plan, in order to pay the debt of these credit cards in bad times. This insurance is mostly offered by banks and other loan lenders as an add-on.

There are various methods to acquire PPI. Internet is accessible to everyone these days, so the easiest place to search for it is on the World Wide Web. A lot of service brokers advertise this service on their websites and various blogs, so search for it. But, be sure that it is legitimate before applying, as it is a matter of money. You can compare various providers, including brokers and other banks, offering this service, and then choose the one that suits you the best. Remember to check the conditions that they have on the time of insurance claiming.

When applying for PPI, one must also keep in mind the price. The interest rates on loans and mortgages do not usually include the cost of PPI policy. It is the responsibility of the salesperson to inform you about the cost of insurance, apart from the loan, and whether buying the policy is compulsory or not.

Like all the other insurances and loans, there is a list of certain exceptional cases, where it cannot be applied. These include people between ages of 18 and 65, working less than 16 hours a week, contractual employees and those who are aware that they may be unemployed in the near future.

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Income Protection Insurance - Securing the Future Against Uncertainties

Everything in life is uncertain, even life itself. Nobody can predict what may happen the next moment. Insurance is one of the ways to prepare yourself to any unfortunate incident that may occur in the future and protect your near and dear ones from its effects, at least monetarily. Income Protection insurance is one of the ways to fight unpleasant surprises like sudden illness or disability.

People are aware of life insurance and asset insurance, like car insurance, home insurance, etc. but very few are aware of the income protection insurance plan. It is a relatively new concept and not only covers the person affected, but even the organisation that he works for. The main aim of this type of insurance is to generate a steady and regular income for a person who has suddenly taken ill or developed a handicap or disability.

A person who covers himself under the income protection insurance plan, receives a monthly amount in case he is unable to go to his workplace because of sickness or disability. Most of the times people are unaware that such kind of financial protection actually exists. On other occasions, they either do not take it too seriously or do not feel the need for it as they have their other assets and savings to fall back on. But here too, the question of an unpredictable future arises. Not to forget, there is a large section of the population that live on a hand to mouth existence, with no assets and savings to fall back on. This type of insurance is a life saver for them.

The list of people benefiting from such financial protection is not limited to the affected person and his family, even the organisation that he worked for benefits from this insurance plan. This cover provides an advantage to both the parties, i.e, the employee who is not able to work for long periods, and the employer who suffers the loss of an employee. An employer will not have to pay the employee a monthly income from his pocket. By covering the employees under such a plan, employers can provide a sense of security to the employees, hence facilitating retention.

The income protection insurance plan is a must for working professionals who rely on their monthly pay packet to maintain a decent standard of living. It is the duty of the organisation and the financial advisors to spread awareness about this type of insurance cover and help people secure their future.

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Loan Payment Protection Insurance Still Under Investigation By The FSA

Loan payment protection insurance can give you an income with which to continue meeting your monthly loan repayments each month if you were to find yourself out of work due to suffering from an accident, long term sickness or unemployment by way of involuntary redundancy. While it can be a safety net the cover isn't suitable for all circumstances and if you want it to do the job it's designed to do then you have to understand the product and the exclusions within a policy.

The exclusions within loan payment protection insurance are what can stop you from being able to claim on a policy and determines whether the cover is suitable for your circumstances. Some of the most typical exclusions are being in part time work, retired or having suffered from an illness within the last 2 years that is the reason for you being off work when you claim. You do have to check the key facts and small print of loan payment protection insurance policies as they can differ from provider to provider.

Once you have determined the suitability of loan payment protection insurance then it would begin to payout a tax free income once you have been out of work for a period of time stated at the onset of the policy which can be anything from 31 days to 90 days. Once the cover has kicked in then it would continue to give you an income for up to 12 months and with some providers for up to 24 months.

Loan payment protection insurance isn't without complications and it has seen problems which were highlighted in 2005 after the Office of Fair Trading received a super complaint from the Citizens Advice and an investigation by the Financial Services Authority resulted in several high street lenders receiving fines for mis-selling policies. Currently in the hands of the Competition Commission who are conducting an in-depth inquiry into the sector which is expected to end in February 2009, the sector is still also under the eye of the FSA. The latest fines to be handed out have been personal fines to Chief Executives of firms after the latest round of investigations revealed that payment protection is still confusing to consumers, with the high street providers and banks not always making it easy to understand when selling.

For now stick with standalone providers for loan payment protection insurance to make sure you get the advice and information you need along with the cheapest premiums.

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Income Protection - A Reliable Way To Protect Your Finance

For working people, situation may be there in life when they get sick and have to stay back at home, and getting their disease treated. Most of the people absent from their work suffer from lacking finance. It doesn't only cause the entire dependant family to suffer, but also they lack money to get their ill health treated. In this way, availing an income protection insurance helps very positively to get all the financial stress over. This insurance lets them enjoy a reliable method of financial protection. Also known as PHI or Permanent Health Insurance, this insurance pays a compensation to the insurer unable to work and go to his/her office.

For people who are unable to go to their office due to some sort of sickness, accident or any other inability, income protection appears to be a boon. Under this insurance policy, the provision is to pay you at least 60% of the salary you are drawing currently. Though in some cases, the amount may escalate up to 75% of your salary. The waiting period for which you will have to wait range between 7 days and 12 months. Usually, the minimum period of getting the benefits paid goes up to 4 weeks. Longer waiting period is useful for those who are able to go to office. But too much waiting period can be of huge disadvantage for those in need of urgent medical as well as financial assistance.

To save oneself from such difficulties, the dire need is to buy the insurance policy only from a company which are reputed for their services. Buying income protection insurance needs a lot of consideration, as even little wrong information could let you fall into severe financial problems. Before you end up signing an agreement, decide how much your income you want to protect. And when you are choosing an insurance company, the best way to select one is to do some online research, and compare the features and price of different insurance policies.

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Travel Insurance - Your Protection Cover For A Trip

You need travel insurance, whenever you set out on a trip. There are some substantial reasons why someone needs this insurance. This insurance covers your financial losses or any illness during the trip. It also compensates for any other problems you might face such as due to unexpected events like flight cancellation or delay. You can avail to this insurance while on either national or international travel.

So any unfortunate event while traveling can be covered with insurance, giving you the assurance that you do not have to suffer monetary losses, not to speak of the convenience you are afforded with insurance. In fact, traveling without travel insurance is a rather risky thing to do. It is like going to Brazil without an umbrella. Life is rather too precious and needs to be protected as you step out of the safety of your home and move around, meeting new circumstances.

Travel insurance can cover all of your major concerns such as medical cost, transportation to a medical facility. This is important because often you may be stranded in a place and may need to be quickly moved to a place where medical facilities are available. Sometimes, if the illness is serious, your insurance can also cover the costs of getting you back home.

Another good thing is that this insurance can also fully or partially cover you for any irritating events such as flight delay that upsets your plans such as canceling your booking at a resort. Your insurance also covers loss, theft or damage to your baggage or documents.

You can often buy travel insurance starting from as little as two weeks up to a year. These days, there are efficient travel insurance services available on the internet as well. The advantage here is that the process is simpler and quicker. The cost of your travel insurance also depends on the total expenditure on your travel. So get this insurance and do not let any problem on the way spoil your trip.

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Occupational Accident Insurance For The Best Protection

Accidents and hazards are part of our day to day life, and they are sometimes related to our occupation as well. You may suffer from an accident while performing your job. Such accident may result in your untimely loss of life, or temporary or permanent disability. While most hazards can be foreseen, accidents occur without warning. Therefore, it is proper to be prepared for any such accident, and its consequential affects. An occupational accident insurance might just be the answer you need. It is an accident insurance for your protection.

An occupational accident insurance covers you against medical expenses, disability, accidental death, and dismemberment that you may suffer due to accident without any of your fault. It is therefore in the interest of natural justice that you be suitably compensated for your loss or damage, by the person whose negligence caused such damage, or the company under whom you are insured. To take out such an insurance policy, you will need to pay a monthly premium. But the advantages you derive largely outweigh the small setback of paying a regular premium. Such premiums are is mostly affordable.

If you suffer an accident in course of performance of your duties, the insurer will bear your medical expenses to the limit as prescribed in your insurance policy. In case of your death, your policy claim would support your family. On the other hand, in case of dismemberment or disability, it will provide you with a sustained livelihood. Accident insurance is the only way you can protect yourself and your family.

The occupational accident insurance policy is however not without any drawback. The insurance policy is limited in nature, and covers you only in case of accident. Therefore, most people prefer it as an addendum to the original policy that they are holding. Many a times you will find that the benefits promised under the occupational accident insurance scheme are already well covered by your main insurance policy. Therefore, there are quite a few who do not prefer to add an extra premium burden by enrolling under this plan.

However, there is a reason as to why you should have an occupational accident insurance policy. Those who are not covered under the workers' compensation plan for any reason, should have the occupational accident insurance. It is also an ideal scheme where you cannot afford to pay high cost, but desire to have the best protection. Occupational accident insurance is not only for the workers, but also covers the entrepreneurs. Some of the policies have the advantage that they cover round the clock incidents. The insurance plan is similar to that of Worker Compensation insurance. Learn more about accident insurance plans at http://www.topaccidentinsurance.com

Certain aspects need attention before you take out a policy under the occupation accident insurance plan. First of all, you must know the period of validity of the insurance terms. You should also check up the duration of the scheme benefit, and whether they automatically lapse after certain period, say your attaining 65 years of age. There are quite a few options that are offered, and you must choose only the best suited to you. Another aspect to look for is, whether there is any pre-existing condition limitation to the policy. Once these few issues are resolved, you can safely purchase a policy under the occupational accident insurance policy.

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