Insurance Insurance

Ensuring Your Income With a Protection Plan

As much as we try to maintain order and control in our lives, sometimes the unexpected happens. An accident or a debilitating illness is never an event that we plan for. So how can we protect ourselves against the unpredictable?

Making sure that you have a good income protection insurance plan is a sensible way to protect yourself and your loved ones from unplanned events that might leave you unable to work. If you had to be in an accident, be overcome by a sudden illness or have to be hospitalized for an extended period of time, you will not be able to continue life and work normally. A good income protection plan will pay out around 75% of your monthly income in case of an event that leaves you physically unable to go in to work. Having those income insurance payments will give you the peace of mind that your bills will continue to be paid, that there will be food on your table and that you will have the opportunity to relax and concentrate on a swift recovery.

As with any insurance plan, most income protection plans are flexible and can be tailored to your needs. Your monthly premium will depend on the waiting period, the time between being assessed unable to resume work and receiving your first income protection payment. When choosing your waiting period, it is important to keep your personal financial status in mind. Do you have a running cash flow available from which you can pay monthly bills and mortgage? Do you have paid sick leave which you can use for a while, should something happen? Sites like pricelineprotects.com.au are there to help you try answer them.

Your benefit cover also depends on the benefit period you choose, which can be either a certain period of time (from a few months or years) or up to a certain age. When choosing the benefit period over a longer period of time, say up to age 65, it might be wise to include a claims escalation option. This will ensure that your monthly benefit increases in relation to the inflation rate.

Other factors that will influence your monthly premium is your gender (premiums for women are higher), your occupation, whether or not you smoke, your age and any other added extras. Income insurance is available for all working Australians over 18.

What sets income insurance protection apart from other types of life insurance plans, is that income insurance protection premiums are tax deductible. The benefit payments are subject to tax (at marginal tax rates) because it is still seen as a running income.


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