We thought we’d share this great site and resources around Income Protection insurance that’s been put together by the Financial Services Council of New Zealand.
They have some really informative videos and resources, about how important it is to understand how you can keep paying the bills if you can’t work due to illness or injury.
www.mindthegap.co.nz also helps busts some myths around what you might think you’ll get in terms of government support through ACC or the Job Seeker Allowance.
The Financial Services Council of New Zealand launched the site in mid-2016 to get income earners to think about ‘minding the gap’ between their earning level and the government benefits they might receive if they were unable to work due to illness or injury. After undertaking research which indicates that only 26% of households have someone with income protection insurance, they decided to pull together some resources to help highlight the risks to kiwi families.
And given that more than 1,000 kiwi families a week (that’s nearly 55,000 a year) experience a sickness that prevents the main income earner from working for three months or more, it is a pretty important message to get out. How would your family cope if this happened to you? How long would the money in the bank last to help pay the mortgage or rent, household bills and other day-to-day expenses of the family?
Income Protection insurance pays you a monthly benefit if you are unable to work due to illness or injury, for a period of time that you choose. You can also choose how long you want to wait before you get paid a monthly benefit, and with Pinnacle Life, you also have two alternatives around the proportion of your income you want to receive as your benefit.
You can choose between various options, to get the policy that best works for your needs. It’s worth looking at various options because the price does vary depending on how long you want to wait before you get a benefit, and on how long you want to receive a benefit for.
So whether you’re the main income earner, or your family relies on your partner’s income, maybe it’s time to sit down and think about how you would cope if there was an illness or injury?
You can also have a look at Pinnacle Life to learn more about income protection cover.
