The life insurance policy every single parent should have
Being a single parent is no easy feat. You’re having to play the role of two different people whilst juggling household responsibilities, raising your little one, doing the school run and paying the bills (plus about a million other little things that you have to do throughout the day)!
But with all that going on, have you had time to stop and think what would happen if you couldn’t go to work as normal? Because no matter how good at multitasking you are, if the unexpected happens, you’ll have no choice but to stop.
The cover that pays out in monthly instalments
Think of income protection as a helping hand. This type of cover is there to help you if times get tough and you couldn’t work as normal anymore.
Unlike your standard life insurance policy, income protection doesn’t just pay out one big lump sum, it is more of an ongoing type of protection.
If you’re unable to go to work and earn your wage because of illness or injury then income protection will pay out monthly payments equal to 50-70% of your income. This cover is designed to ensure you don’t struggle anymore than you need to when you’re having to take time off work.
Why should single parents protect their earnings?
As a single parent, your children are financially dependent on you. If you couldn’t go to work and earn anymore, how would you support your children and keep up the lifestyle that you have created? In the UK, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is only £99.35 a week.
What does income protection cover and how does it work?
Put simply, income protection doesn’t cover just one set thing but instead it covers illness and injury as a whole.
Your income protection policy will pay-out once your deferred period is over (this is the pre-agreed time period before your income protection payments begin) and will continue until you are ready to go back to work or your cover expires. Most income protection policies will cover you up until the age of retirement, ensuring that you are financially protected throughout your working life.
Single parent with sick pay?
If you’re lucky enough to have sick pay provided by your employers, it may only last a few weeks (or months at the most)!
Every income protection policy has a deferred period. This is simply the amount of time between you first being unable to work and your income protection payments starting. When taking out your income protection policy, we can tailor your payments to begin as your sick pay ends, meaning you’ll have a safety net throughout the whole time you’re off work and you won’t need to worry about affording the essentials whilst you’re recovering.
How much is income protection?
There is no one set price for an income protection policy. Instead, your monthly premiums will be calculated by assessing several different factors in relation to your unique circumstances. Listed below are just a few of components used to calculate your final monthly cost of your income protection policy:
- Which provider you go with
- Your unique medical history
- Whether you smoke or not
- Your BMI
- Your age
- What you do for work
- How much of your income choose to cover
If you aren’t ready to chat to one of our specialists yet and just want to see an estimate of how much your cover could cost then click the button below to try out our calculator. In just 30 seconds you could find out how much you’ll be paying for your income protection policy.
What’s the risk of not having income protection as a single parent?
One of the biggest risks of not having income protection in place is not being able to provide for your children if you were to become ill or injured and unable to work as a result.
By protecting your monthly salary with an income protection policy you are ensuring you have some sort of a financial safety net in place for you and your children if you couldn’t work due to illness or injury.
Is income protection worth it?
If losing your regular income due to health reasons or injury would severely impact your current lifestyle then an income protection policy is probably the right type of cover for you.
The chances of being diagnosed with a long-term illness could be higher than you think but with this cover in place, you wouldn’t have to worry about the financial side of things and instead could place all of your energy into your recovery.
Is income protection better than critical illness cover?
Both types of policies are different in how they pay out and also what they cover.
Income protection covers you if you can’t work because of illness or injury whereas critical illness cover protects you from a defined list of illnesses which are detailed in your policy conditions.
One of the biggest factors to consider when deciding between these policies is how you want to receive the payments from your cover. If you would prefer to maintain a steady income then income protection would be more suited to your needs. If you’d prefer one lump sum payment then a critical illness policy could be right for you.
What’s right for you?
When it comes to life insurance, it can feel like it’s a whole different world (to be honest, it sort of is) so to find the right cover, a bit of help can make the whole thing easier. Plus, you can even save some time and money in the process.
At Caspian Insurance, we make life insurance simple. There’s no fuss, no jargon, just straight forward life insurance advice and some good customer service along the way. Click below to get started with your free life insurance quote today.
