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Wednesday 4 May 2011

Reasons Why You Need Income Protection Insurance

No one can predict the future, and unexpected things happen to even the most cautious people. Income protection insurance is one type of insurance that may be appropriate for you if you're seeking to protect you, your family, and your investments from the vicissitudes of life. Here we look at the major benefits of income protection insurance and what it can do for you.
1. Secure Your Lifestyle
Income protection insurance commonly covers up to 75 per cent of your insured income. This means in the event of illness or serious injury that prevents you from working, you can maintain your current lifestyle without too much disruption. The last thing you would want to be worrying about when you're injured or sick is how you will pay your bills, whether you'll be able to pay your mortgage, and continue making car repayments. Income protection insurance helps smooth over the bumpy times in your life and gives you support and peace of mind to recover when you need it most by protecting your most valuable asset - your income.
2. Safeguard Your Existing Savings and Investments
How long can you continue to make mortgage repayments and sustain your investments if you're sick or injured? If you can't work and don't have regular income then you may stand to lose not just your investments but also your home. If you're left leveraged without a regular salary, you maybe forced to sell stocks and other investments that you have worked hard to build up over many years. As cutting expenses can only save you so much money if you have mortgage and other commitments, all it may take is six months out of work for you lose your savings pool and investments.
3. Chance of Injury or Sickness
Consider whether you can afford to be out of work for weeks, months, or even years. While Australians enjoy one of the best living standards in the world, according to recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, over half a million people experience a work-related injury or illness every year. From small to large injuries, these figures reflect the potential for serious injury occurring for anyone in any place, in or out of work. Whether you're temporarily unable to work or permanently disabled, income protection insurance, like life insurance, can help eliminate the risk of you and your family suffering severe setbacks and cushion the effects of one of the main income earners being unable to support the family.
4. Government Benefits are Insufficient
Government benefits rates are set at minimum levels and not designed to cover all your expenses and costs over significant periods of you being unable to work. Disability pensions, rent assistance and the Newstart Allowance will not be sufficient for mortgage and bill payments, and can be very low if you already own assets such as a home or other investments. Workers compensation will not cover you if you're injured outside the workplace. Government benefits are also often conditional on you being a jobseeker or fulfilling other criteria.
5. If You Have Children
If you have dependent children, then any time you spend unable to work because of sickness or injury will potentially disrupt their schooling. If you have income protection insurance, you can be assured of being able to pay their school fees, expenses and preserving their lifestyles even when you're unable to work.

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