What's your back-up plan?

You’ve probably got backup plans for all the little things that go wrong in life.

If your computer dies, you can restore your precious photos from your external hard drive or cloud backup. If your car breaks down, you can call a taxi. If the dinner burns, there’s always takeaways. But do you have a backup plan for yourself?

Nobody likes to think about the possibility that a life-changing event might cause them hardship, but unfortunately, it happens from time to time. It could come from being made redundant from your job, or sustaining an injury that prevents you from earning your normal income. You might be diagnosed with a serious illness and need expensive medical treatment. In the worst-case scenario, accident or illness may end your life. 

In situations such as these, would you or your family be able to maintain your current lifestyle? Would you be able to keep paying the mortgage or the household bills? Could you afford to seek private medical treatment rather than sitting on the public health system waiting list?

If your answer to even one of these questions is ‘no’, you need a backup plan in the form of personal or business insurance cover.

This cover is designed to assist you financially when you suffer a life-changing event. It could provide you with an alternate form of income while you’re not working, pay off your mortgage, or cover your private medical costs. Some types of insurance provide you with lump-sum cash payments to use as you wish. 

For example, trauma cover is designed to pay a single amount if you suffer from an accident or serious illness. You could use that money to cover your loss of income, hire someone to help out at home while you’re incapacitated, or pay down debt to reduce your regular outgoings. If you have life cover, and you pass away unexpectedly, the beneficiaries of your estate will receive the full value of your policy. They could use it to pay off the mortgage, put it aside for the children’s education, or invest it for retirement.

It’s important not to leave your future to chance.

By having a backup plan, you can be sure that if something does go wrong along the way, you’re still able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle for yourself and your family.