Few of us like to think about getting seriously ill or even worse dying prematurely. However, whether you are young or old, single or in a relationship, with or without dependants, an employee or in business, everybody needs to ensure they have adequate cover in place should the worst happen.

Taking out protection policies need not be expensive and will greatly reduce the financial impact of a terrible situation.

We have outlined below some of the types of cover that should be considered. At HerMoney we will assess your unique requirements depending on your situation and then research the market to ensure that you are matched with the most competitive and appropriate cover.

Protecting You and Your Dependants

Mortgage Protection is life insurance that will pay off your mortgage should you die prematurely during the term of the mortgage. Your mortgage provider will require you to assign a life insurance policy to your mortgage but you do not necessarily have to take this cover out through them. Most banks only advise on one providers insurance offering which might not always represent the best value to their clients.

Whether it is new or existing cover, we will review your policy in terms of suitability and cost.

Life Insurance will pay out if you die prematurely within the term of the policy. Everyone who has a mortgage should already have a mortgage protection policy in place but this will usually only pay off your mortgage in the event of death. For those with dependents, this cover will not be enough to cover your families’ financial requirements in the event of your death so additional life insurance needs to be considered. Even those with Death in Service cover as part of their employment contracts should review their requirements as sometimes this may not be enough.

Specified Illness Insurance pays you a tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of the specific illnesses or disabilities that your policy covers. It is also sometimes called ‘serious or critical illness cover’. This cover can be an enormous help to cover mortgage payments, household bills or childcare and travel costs whilst having treatment. Whether you have dependants or not, Specified Illness cover should be an important consideration for all.

Income Protection will pay out a percentage of your income if you are unable to work due to accident or sickness. Income Protection policies will have a deferred period which is the time period before which the income will be paid in the event of a claim. We have a range of options available with deferred periods from 1 Day to 52 weeks from a wide range of providers.

The current State Illness Benefit (if you are even entitled to it) is €203 per week which is not enough for most people to survive on and certainly not enough for a family.

If you are working and you do not have your earnings protected an income protection policy should be seriously considered and there is also very generous tax relief available on the cost of the cover.

Protecting You and Your Business

Life Insurance with Tax Relief – If you are self-employed, in a partnership or a company director, it is possible to take out an appropriate Life Assurance policy. These are life insurance policies where you can avail of tax relief on the cost of the cover.

These policies are an excellent way of having life cover in place in a most cost affective manner after tax relief has been accounted for.

Keyperson Insurance – The future success of a business can often be dependent on a few key people such as a director or a key employee.

The business may be financially and operationally impacted by the loss of the key person in the event of them becoming seriously ill or dying prematurely.

A life insurance policy or serious illness cover can be put in place by the company for these key individuals in order to compensate the business for loss of profit or to recruit a suitable replacement or to repay business loans.

Partnership and Shareholder Insurance – The death or serious illness of a partner or company shareholder can have major implications on the future of your business. It can cause immediate financial hardship for the remaining partners or shareholders and maybe even loss of control of the partnership or company.

Quite often a share of the business is the single largest financial asset he or she owns so on death their next of kin may expect a payment for their share of the business. If the remaining partners or shareholders do not have the capital required to buy back the share then they may be forced to take out loans or the next of kin may choose to sell the share to a third party.

Partnership or Shareholder Insurance plans can provide the necessary funds required by the remaining partners or shareholders and a legal agreement can be put in place to ensure the next of kin will sell the inherited share back to the partnership / company.