It Can Happen To You

Insurance, rather like the NHS, is something you pay for so that it’s there if you need it, even though you probably sincerely hope that you don’t.  Nevertheless, every year, indeed, every day, people use the NHS for things they hoped would never happen to them, from freak accidents to serious illnesses and every day people claim on insurance policies for things they hoped would never happen to them - but they did.

Insurance, employment and self employment National Insurance may be paid by both the employed and the self-employed and in addition to funding social services such as the NHS, it also funds or helps to fund, some forms of social assistance to those in need, such as those with serious illnesses or disabilities, however, the funds on offer may not be sufficient to meet what you consider to be your needs, let alone your wants.  Those in employment may get a higher level of cover through their employer and it never hurts to check, particularly since doing so may reveal that, again, the level of cover is less than you would need, let alone less than you would like.  The self-employed will not even have the safety net of employment cover and hence need to make it a priority to ensure that they have sufficient cover in place for any misfortune which might befall them, no matter how unlikely it is.

Protect your health and protect your wealth Do you really want to find yourself in a situation when you are forced to choose between devoting all your energy to recovering your health or keeping working to pay the bills, knowing that, as a minimum, it will slow your recovery?  If the answer to that question is “no”, then you should make it a priority to have the necessary insurance cover in place.  For example, income protection cover, does exactly what its name says and can pay out in a variety of situations, while critical illness cover is likewise self-explanatory and can pay out if you are diagnosed with one of a range of critical conditions.  You may also want to look at medical and dental insurance to give yourself an enhanced range of options should you fall ill, for example, you may be able to get treatment in a shorter time and/or at a hospital which is more convenient for you.  You may also find your insurer pays for treatments which are recommended by the NHS but not necessarily funded by them, like extra physiotherapy to help you recover from an accident.

Consider the broader aspects of protecting your livelihood Even if you are in employment and have reached a stage where you have maximum employment rights, unless you are in an exceptionally safe situation, you have to be aware of the fact that redundancy is another fact of life which most people hope won’t happen to them but in most cases can.  If you are self-employed then you have even less security.  That being so, it can be very worthwhile to keep looking actively at ways to ensure you continually develop and maintain skills which are in demand in an ever-changing job market.  You may find that there is a financial cost associated with this and if this is the case, you would need to factor it in amongst  your other financial goals.  If you are self-employed you might also wish to look at having a back-up plan for if you are unable to work for any length of time, be it short of long, so you can, for example, outsource your work to someone who can deliver the quality your clients expect and, hence, continue your professional relationship with them.