Does Generation Y need Insurance?

Today in the office, a conversation came up in which the question was raised, which type of people need insurance the most? Is it mature, middle aged men and women with steady incomes, who have already accumulated some valuable assets that need protecting? Is it older men and women, who may be facing impending medical issues in which health insurance could save them huge fees? Perhaps not many people would answer that it's Generation Y who needs insurance the most. After all, just out of school and starting their lives, they likely don't have much risk of ill health or the loss of any hugely valuable assets. They probably are renting or flatting and don't own a home, and their car might be cheap and second hand.

However, these assumptions might need revisiting. It might just be that the very fact that Generation Y (20-30 year olds) have lower assets and incomes that means they need it the most. How so? Well those with accumulated savings, assets (such as a home or business) have more options available to them if something goes wrong. They could sell the house, sell their shares in the business or fall back on life savings to keep them and their families going. Those without these assets won't have this option.

Let's say critical illness strikes. Generation Y is statistically the most likely to be living pay cheque to pay cheque. With no assets to support them, they'll likely have no way of meeting their cost of living without falling back on relatives or other forms of support that might not even be available to them. Without anything behind them, Generation Y could be one unforeseen mishap away from financial dependance or worse, having nowhere to live or being unable to afford medical treatment or surgery.

What do you think of when you think of Gen-Y? Could they have more use of insurance than older folk?

On the other hand though, living pay cheque to pay cheque doesn't leave much disposable income to spend on insurance premiums. This can make insurance seem like less of a priority. So, what they need is insurance that will protect them, without breaking the bank. Is it possible? And just what insurance should Gen-Y invest in first? We have some suggestions:

1. Health Insurance

Health Insurance should be first and foremost. If you are young enough, you may still be covered by your parents policy, but as soon as this lapses, getting health insurance of your own should be priority number one. Between the ages of 21 and 28 I've been spared more than $15,000 of medical costs because I had insurance. Plus, if you invest in it while you're young and healthy, your premiums will be as small as possible, rather than leaving it until later when pre-existing conditions may have developed, leading to increased costs and complications.

2. TPD (Total Permanent Disability Cover)

The premiums for a TPD policy tend to be much cheaper than a Trauma or Life insurance policy, and it can come in handy if you suffer an accent which renders you unable to return to your job. Since accidents and injuries may be more likely for a younger person than a critical condition diagnosis, TPD could protect you from issues Gen-Y is more likely to face, at a fraction of the cost.

3. Redundancy Cover

Similar to the above, redundancy cover is a cheaper form of income protection policy (previous articles have dealt with this form of insurance in detail), which will protect your income if you are made redundant or leave your job involuntarily. It can also cover mortgage payments if you are paying off your first home, making it a sound investment for not so high a price.

4. Life Insurance

Perhaps not as essential, but depending on your situation, it could be a very good idea. For those with no dependants relying on them and no debts, life insurance is more than likely surplus to your current requirements, but if you have a young family, debt or someone depends on your income to provide for them, life insurance for Gen-Y is a good idea. The younger you are, the cheaper your premiums will be, even moreso if you have a clean bill of health and are a non smoker. So as soon as you have people relying on you or a considerable debt to pay off, think about life insurance as a way to ensure everything is taken care of in the unfortunate event of your passing.

Five Sticky Situations Insurance Could Bail You Out In

1. Being diagnosed with a chronic condition.

As described in one of our earlier posts, at the age of 21 I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. Luckily, my conscientious mum had organised me health insurance cover before this happened, and all of my surgery and specialist costs since then have been completely taken care of by Southern Cross. Doing some loose calculations, those costs would have been upward of $20,000 so far, with unfortunately more to come in the future. If I had waited and investigated getting insured after I was diagnosed, I would have either had to cope with a large policy loading or my pre-existing condition may have been excluded entirely. So, having insurance already, before I was diagnosed kept my premiums affordable, and spared me a debt in the tens of thousands.

2. Being disabled in an accident and being unable to work.

Some accidents or conditions can be lived with and managed, and won't affect your ability to earn a living. But many of them will, either for a finite period of time or you may be unable to return to your profession indefinitely. If you have Total Permanent Disablement Cover (which is very affordable in terms of premiums) or Income Protection, you won't have financial burdens adding to your stress during already trying times while you recover. You can focus on getting well, and your family will be secure while you do.

3. Losing Your Job/Being Made Redundant

Unfortunately, it happens everyday. People lose their jobs or are made redundant and left with a whole bunch of worries, including meeting the bills, paying the rent all while finding another job quick smart. As covered a little while back, redundancy cover is a cheaper form of income protection which can protect your income while you search for new employment after being made redundant. As long as leaving your employment wasn't voluntary on your part, you can be covered! Read More Here.

4. Having a crucial person within your business fall ill.

Some of us have more to worry about than just themselves. If you own or manage a business, you may be relying on many key people underneath you to keep your business running, keep it profitable and ensure its managed properly on a day to day basis. If one of these people, say a co-director, a production manager or a reliable member of staff suffers a serious illness, condition or injury, you could be just as stuck as if one happened to you yourself. Key Person Insurance Cover is designed for this circumstance to protect your businesses profits if one of your most crucial employees goes down. 

5. Being stuck overseas due to flight cancellations, injury or natural disasters.

Another one that happened to me recently! After American Airlines cancelled my connecting flight back to Los Angeles, I was left stranded in Pensacola, Florida with no way to make my flight back from the States to Auckland. My case was comparatively minor to cases of people in my life I've known of, but paying for the extra nights hotel, meals and transportation would still have set me back close to $1,000 without travel cover. Other's I've known have had it far worse as the Icelandic Volcano eruption a few years back grounded flights all over Europe for the better part of a week, forcing them to watch as their extra costs skyrocketed. Trust me, being overseas hoping that your plans and schedules will all fall into place seems a lot more of a stretch to me than it did before. 

Thanks for reading! Visit www.sprattfinancial.co.nz for more info.

The Benefits of Total Permanent Disablement Insurance

This is our second post dealing with Total Permanent Disablement Cover (TPD), the first of which, a basic introduction to what the cover is, the definition of accelerated and stand alone policies and what constitutes permanent disability can be found here.

When looking at different forms of insurance, they each tend to have their own unique benefits and drawbacks. Life insurance is widespread and important, yet only pays claims upon actual or medical death, rendering it unable to cover critical illness and disablement that takes you out of your work and makes you unable to earn money. Income protection does this job but sometimes involves more costly premiums. Health insurance will cover your medical treatments and expenses but will not supplement any lost income your medical conditions could cause.

When people learn about TPD, they typically wonder if its really necessary or beneficial. What does it offer? Is it worthwhile to have, even if I already have life cover and/or income protection? What differentiates it from other forms of risk cover? What are the benefits and drawbacks to this lesser known form of insurance?

A common response would be that a drawback to TPD is the unlikelihood of suffering a condition that would result in you meeting the necessary conditions to make a claim (described in more detail here). To some extent, this is true. It is less likely that you will ever need to claim on TPD than income protection or health insurance. However, it is not rare enough that the possibility can be readily dismissed out of hand. From the calendar year spanning July 2011 to July 2012, Sovereign paid out over $2.5 million of TPD claims, the highest proportion being for Neurological conditions and Cancer. So, it does happen and it may be worth having. At Spratt Financial, we have personally seen a few TPD claims over the years for substantial amounts, in one case over a million dollars, which formed an income source sufficient to provide for the rest of the client's life.

Also, the more infrequent nature of Total Disability is taken into account in the cost of the insurance, making it an even more worthwhile proposition. Because conditions resulting in permanent disability are rarer, TPD cover can be taken out for a far cheaper cost than other forms of insurance, and the monthly premiums are typically very affordable. Our company founder believes strongly in TPD insurance due to his overseeing of several cases and tries to encourage our clients to take it out wherever possible, as it is very seldom a financial burden and could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars being paid in your moments of direst need.

Overall, even though TPD is a more overlooked and unknown form of cover, it actually has less drawbacks than some of the more popular forms of insurance. It can be useful, it can completely remove your financial worries for life if disablement does strike and it is generally not overly costly. We personally think TPD insurance is generally a good thing to have, and if you agree, we can definitely help you out. Don't hesitate to drop us a line at enquiry@sprattfinancial.co.nz if you have any questions.

Read our first post on TPD.

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