When asked what their most valuable asset is, most people will instinctively say their house, car or boat. In reality, for most people, their most valuable asset is their ability to earn ongoing income. This is why income insurance is so important.
Long-term sustainable earning
Your ability to earn income throughout your working life is, unquestionably a huge asset. For example, your house might be worth $1 or $1.5 million, but if you earn $80,000 per year from age 25 to 65, that comes to $3.2 million – and that’s not taking into account any pay rises!
The Importance of Income Protection
For many people, regular income is essential for their financial security. One recent study found that a third of New Zealanders were living from payday to payday (1), being completely reliant on the ongoing flow of money coming in to pay bills, keep food on the table and service their mortgage. An earlier study also found that about half of employed people could not stay afloat for more than a month if they did not have any income coming in. (2)
Income Protection insurance covers illness, ACC doesn’t
Some people might suggest that “It’s OK, ACC will cover me if I can’t work.” ACC may cover you if you are incapacitated as a result of an accident (and ACC accept your claim), but it will NOT cover you for illness. For this reason, it is essential to give serious thought about protecting your ability to earn an income before an event happens which stops you from working for an extended period of time.
There is a range of suitable insurance products that can provide protection when you can’t work: Income Protection, Mortgage Repayment and Household Expenses covers.
UProtectNZ can help you to protect your income
If you’re looking for income protection, we can work through the various options available to you to identify the best option(s) available to you at a cost that is manageable and sustainable.
It’s what we do.
“Come as a client, leave as a friend.”
Theo Simeonidis
UProtectNZ Insurance Services