If the past 18 months has taught us anything, it’s that no-one can predict what’s around the corner, which is why it’s vital to prepare as much as possible for every eventuality. The pandemic has shown that even if you plan your life meticulously, for example knowing where you’ll go on holiday months in advance and who you’ll spend Christmas with, all these arrangements can be thrown into disarray when you least expect it. The challenges we’ve all faced have reiterated the importance of being prepared for whatever life might throw at us. For example, keeping your freezer fully stocked could prove really handy if you need to isolate, and if you’ve got children, stocking up on printer ink could make home-schooling more bearable should it ever happen again. From a financial perspective, making sure you have protection in place can provide valuable peace of mind that you and your family at least won’t have to worry about money if you’re dealing with the devastating impact of a serious illness or bereavement. However, many of us push sorting out protection to the bottom of our priority list, even though it could potentially make those unexpected painful and difficult situations a little easier to bear.
Different protection options explained
Life cover can provide a lifeline to your loved ones if you die, and is designed to pay out a lump sum when this happens. This can be used to pay off the mortgage or cover other essential living expenses. You can choose how big you want this lump sum to be, and the period of time you want to be covered for. Other protection options include critical illness cover, which will provide you with a lump sum upon diagnosis of a serious illness, and income protection cover, which is designed to replace lost income if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury. The policy will pay out either until you’re able to go back to work, the policy ends, or you retire or die. If you’re not sure which type of cover is right for you, L&C has a team of specialist protection advisers on hand to offer free advice on which policies are likely to suit your needs. We can compare a wide range of policies from providers across the market to ensure we find you exactly the right cover. If the main reason you’ve been postponing taking out protection is cost, then we can tailor your cover to fit your budget. Remember that having some cover in place is better than having none and if money is tight, protection could make a real difference should the worst happen. Our advisers can help take you through the application forms step by step, making it as simple and straightforward as possible to get your cover set up. There’s also our customer care team on hand if you need to make a claim. So if you’ve been putting off purchasing protection, get in touch today and see how we can help.
