What are the most valuable assets that you have………
Your home?
Your possessions?
Your health?
Your Income?
It is important to protect any assets that you may have and we can advise you on how best to do this.
For example: if your health deteriorates you may lose some or all of your income, and if your income decreases you may have to sell your home and possessions as they become unaffordable to maintain, however you will still need somewhere to live and there are some possessions you will be unable to do without.
When you buy a property the only insurance you are required to have is buildings insurance. The standard policy would cover such things as fire, theft, flood and subsidence with accidental damage and legal expenses as optional extras. Most lenders will not release the funds to buy the property until they know that you have appropriate cover in place.
The contents of your home & garden (furniture, clothes, valuables etc) can be insured against various perils such as fire, theft and flood as standard, with optional extras such as accidental damage, legal expenses and valuables away from the home amongst other things. It is not compulsory but makes sense and is often cheaper when taken as part of a combined policy with buildings insurance. You do not have to be a homeowner to insure your contents.
Owning a rental property is no different to owning the home you live in as you are still required to insure the building. There are a number of different additional options for landlords to consider though, such as malicious damage caused by tenants, loss of rent if the property is uninhabitable or legal expenses cover.
Death comes to us all sooner or later and we can help you to plan for this by providing a lump sum on your death to ease the financial worries of your family at what is a very distressing time. Some policies can be tailored for a particular term of years. For instance to coincide with the length of your mortgage, or until your family are grown up and independent, whilst other policies are designed to continue for the whole of your life.
Good health can’t be guaranteed and you therefore have to think of how best to protect yourself in the event of a change to your health that may affect your income. We can offer you ways to ensure that you don’t have to worry about money during times of ill health, or even the untimely loss of a partner or spouse. Life and critical/serious illness cover provides a lump sum on death or diagnosis of an illness that is covered under the terms of the policy. The main illnesses covered are Cancer, heart disease and stroke along with a range of less common though equally serious conditions. In the event of a claim the money can be used for any purpose though is commonly used to pay off some or all of the outstanding balance of the mortgage. These policies are referred to as term policies because they provide cover for a limited term of years, normally the same term as the mortgage or until a certain age is reached or until your dependants are financially self sufficient
There are a number of ways that your income can be affected, you could be made redundant, you could be unable to work due to illness or injury or you could be sacked. We can offer solutions for the first two but not the latter. Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover can provide an income whilst you are off work due to illness or injury without pay, or if you are made redundant (must be compulsory redundancy not voluntary). The payout term is usually limited to one or two years and would usually be for the monthly cost of the mortgage plus up to 25% additional living expenses. There is another form of cover known as Income Protection which offers cover for a longer term and can be for up to 65% of your earned income. The payments can last until retirement age or until you return to work, whichever is sooner.
