Monday, May 27, 2013

Is Your Current Insurance Sufficient?

After 20 years working in the Insurance industry, there is one thing about insurance of which we am absolutely convinced. Insurance works best when it is used as the funding for a plan that will protect a business, family or estate that is confronted by the disablement process. If you already have an insurance package and you want to know whether your insurance package will really be sufficient for your needs, here are the questions you should know the answers to:


What Will You Need The Cover For?
Specifically, use a pen and paper and write down what the claim proceeds will be used for when they are paid out. If you can't do this now before tragedy strikes then you may be facing trouble later.


Will You Be Able To Claim Soon Enough?
Death cover pays out in the event of actual or impending "medical death". However, we know that 94% of all deaths are due to medical conditions not accidents and 65% are due to degenerative medical conditions such as cancers, heart disease and strokes which can kill slowly over what may be an extended period of time. During this time, unable to work and unable to support yourself, your family or your business, you will be facing tremendous financial strain which your insurance may not cover for. Will the bank or your creditors wait until you are terminally ill before your death cover pays out? This is perhaps the most crucial consideration to take into account when assessing your insurance. We can help you ensure that you are fully covered financially in the face of these worrying statistics as unfortunately, basic life cover is most of the time, simply not sufficient.
 
Is It Enough Of A Claim?
It may sound strange, but a $250,000 insurance claim may not be enough to repay a $250,000 mortgage even assuming you want to repay all of it. You may have additional interest payments, penalties for being in arrears and you may need to pay a Solicitor, Trustee or your Accountant to carry out these transactions for you.


Do You Have The Right Insurance?
This applies to the type of income protection policy you may or may not have, what your health insurance actually covers or the way that permanent disability or critical illness components are structured within the overall portfolio of insurance. These two components may or may not reduce the remaining life cover once they have paid out which could create major problems at the very end of the disablement process.

Even assuming that you or someone close to you will be physically, mentally and emotionally capable of applying the claim proceeds to the predetermined targets is not supported by our experience of dealing with over 160 claims.

What is the best way of answering these questions fully? Use our experienced professional advisers to not only design and review the underlying plan, but to execute it and carry out the tasks they are best suited to handle. If you don't have a plan now, prepared with clear-headed purpose, then any insurance you do have may well be insufficient or not adequately fit to your unique needs. Use our experienced professionals if you need guidance or advice.

For more information on how our team of advisors can assist with managing your insurance program, contact us by calling 09 307 8200 or by email at enquiry@sprattfinancial.co.nz.



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