Income Protection or ...

Without a good quality income protection what are you options?

Now this would have to be one of the most common mistakes that a lot of us make; may be it comes from our "she'll be right" attitude - if I am off work ACC will take care of me! Perhaps. However ACC is for injury only; not illness! And ACC itself is changing, which means uncertainty.

As it stands now, ACC will pay 80% of your income if you are off work due to an accident causing injury, but the injury has to be an acceptable injury to ACC! Also, 80% of your income is capped so no matter what you earn you can only claim up to $102,880 - and there are no guarantees for how long this payment would continue for.

ACC Claims have hit the news over the past year or so, highlighting an increase in declines where it is identified as a "degenerative" condition! So, a legitimate accidental claim is declined on the grounds that the injury was already going to happen anyway due to natural aging, previous sports strains, stresses on the body etc.

What about the Sickness Benefit? In real terms if you are working because you need all your income to pay your bills, to live and support your family then its going to be a struggle to continue if you were to rely on a sickness benefit of say $201.40 (that is, a single person over 25 years of age); or $335.66 for a married couple (with or without children).

The Sickness Benefit has its place, but if you have a choice would you really want to have to rely on it to live?

THE FACTS
5 out of every 10 men & 7 our of every 10 woman will have more than one month off work due to illness or injury before the age of 65; and nearly a third of these women will still be off work 12 months later!

Whats your preference:
(1) To hope that if you are off work it will be from injury rather than illness so you can claim from ACC?
(2) To live off a Sickness Benefit?
(3) To have every cent of cover you need and nothing you don't - providing assurance of your financial well being no matter what?


Review your situation now! We're only a phone call away - freephone 0508 PEOPLE (0508 736 753)

Written inconjunction with Sarah Williams, Adviser, Insurance People.