Safeguard all the things you cherish No-one can predict the future. But through sensible financial planning, you can protect yourself and your family against a whole range of potential financial pitfalls. Protection plans are cost-effective and the peace of mind they bring is priceless. Life Assurance If you have a family, life assurance is vital. If something happened to you tomorrow, life assurance would ensure your partner and family had enough to live on. Bereavement is traumatic enough without having to worry about money as well. Life assurance pays out either a cash lump sum or an annual income just when it is needed most. Most people are underinsured and there is a straightforward method to calculate your specific needs. Critical Illness This cover pays out following diagnosis of a serious illness including coronary heart disease, cancer, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis and major organ transplants to name a few. The money paid out can be used to pay for special treatment, to remodel your home to accommodate disability, for convalescence, repay your mortgage or whatever you wish. When weighing up the pros and cons of taking critical illness cover, the question most people should be asking themselves is what would I prefer to lose my house or my mortgage? Having sufficient money to pay off the mortgage could help ease stress and aid recovery. A number of life policies will enable you to include critical illness as a valuable additional benefit either on a joint or single life basis. Permanent Health Insurance This type of policy, also known as income replacement, provides you with a pre-determined, guaranteed monthly income if you are unable to work for an extended period due to accident or illness. This income is paid until the insured returns to work, reaches retirement age or until prior death. It is sobering to be faced with the fact that approximately 1.7 million people have been unable to work for over a year because of sickness or disability (Source: Department of Social Security). This is further compounded by the fact that state help is fast being eroded. Nobody plans to die or become seriously ill, but it is much better to confront these awkward matters and do something about them than to pretend it will never happen to you. Please click to request more information.