Income Protection Insurance
Income Protection Insurance (IPI) is insurance for your income. The idea might seem strange, but how would you pay your mortgage if you were unable to work?
When considering insurance, it’s common for people to pass it off as a pesky added fee involved in owning a car, running a business or protecting a house against damage. Income insurance, on first glance, can seem like another costly precaution that’s unlikely to prove useful.
But when you think about how your income facilitates your lifestyle, it’s often at the top of the list in regards to things that you can’t afford to lose. Cars and houses can be replaced, but losing an income, perhaps for life, could see both lost.
What Does The Insurance Cover?
Income protection insurance covers salary loss due to injury or sickness. Unlike workers compensation, it applies to injury or sickness at any place or time. And, unlike government allowances, it pays in accordance with your earning capacity.
“If someone is injured under worker’s compensation, for the first few weeks they receive a higher rate, but then it drops. Therefore, people’s standard way of living is sacrificed if they depend on this form of protection,” says Martin.
Income protection policies vary in regards to their terms and conditions, but they usually offer 75 per cent of gross wages for a maximum time period. It’s a form of insurance that is particularly important for people who have regular repayments to make against debts.
When Should I Get Income Protection Insurance?
“The most important reason for income protection is when a person has a strong reliance on an income,” Martin explains. “When you have someone with financial responsibilities, like a family or a mortgage, that’s an important time for income protection.”
Avoid defaulting on mortgage payments, personal loans or credit cards in the event of being away from work by having a majority of your current income insured against the possibility
It can be the difference between continuing along within your current lifestyle following illness or accident, or being forced to dramatically change your lifestyle due to an inability to repay your debts.
“Most people these days have enough stress already, with the economy and the price of housing going up. Income protection gives that little bit of extra peace of mind. It works when you can’t work,” the finance broker says.
