We often hear people saying that their income is covered by ACC, so they don’t need income protection insurance. Unfortunately, this is not the case if you fall ill, and need to take time off work to recover. For example if you have a heart attack or stroke, or you need treatment for breast cancer, then that is not covered by ACC.
As Kiwis we are very lucky to have the ACC, but we can’t assume that it will provide an income if we can’t work. According to the Stroke Foundation of NZ, nearly 9,000 kiwis a year suffer a stroke, and less than 30% of those are fatal. And the road to recovery for the other 6,500 can be long and slow.
The fact is that every year over 50,000 New Zealand households have someone in the family who is unable to work for 3 months or more. And yet only 26% of households have someone with Income Protection insurance - although 70% of households have their household contents insured!
So make sure you know the facts, and that you know what you are covered for, and not covered for by ACC. Then think about how long your family could keep paying the bills and putting food on the table if you had no income coming in?
You can get a no-obligation quote for income protection insurance here – so take a moment to take a look now.
