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It’s a crazy time right now isn’t it? The world is a much different place to what it was this time last year. But getting sick can be scary whatever is going on in the world. Especially when you have a family. I have been chatting to LifeSearch who are an insurer dedicated to provide financial services that protect customers and protect the life that you live. One of the things that we discussed was Income Protection, which is not something I had really looked into before. Income Protection is an insurance that covers you if you have to go off work due to illness.
Statutory Sick Pay
Do you know how much Statutory Sick Pay is? I was really surprised to discover that Statutory Sick Pay was only £95.85 per week. It’s something I have been fortunate not to need… yet at least. But it got me thinking, could we as a family of 5 survive on £95.85 per week? And the answer I got to quite quickly was no.
What Would you Have to Give Up?
There are things I would have to cancel quite quickly, the nice to haves which I would be sad to see go. But the thing that I would really struggle with cancelling is the things for the children:
- Swimming lessons
- After school clubs and music lessons
- Pet insurance – we have a cat that needs special food and a dog with a health condition
- Pre-school
- Netflix
- Trivial, but still nice things like good coffee
- How would we afford to put petrol in the car?
There are the big things that I would hope we could get payment holidays from like our mortgage, car repayments, council tax, because there is no way we could afford them, our mortgage alone is four figures a month.
How Much do you Pay for Weekly Groceries?
There is our weekly grocery cost. I see some amazing people on social media that manage to get their weekly groceries below £50 per week and I honestly think they are miracle workers. Ours, as a family of 5, plus a cat and a dog, is well over £100 per week and I always struggle to get it below that.
Time to Consider Income Protection?
Do you have any savings? Does your employer offer sick pay for a certain amount of weeks? Does your partner have any income protection? Have you ever done a calculation of how long you can last before you get into financial trouble? It’s scary to look at numbers like this, but when you have a family, just like writing a Will, I think that it’s important.
So what can you do about it? You can consider taking out income protection.
Income protection is a policy that will give you an income if you are unable to work due to illness. You can choose a policy to suit you based on how much you want the cover to be per month and how long you want it to be for, ie. how many months to cover. You can get income cover whether you’re employed or self employed and it can be tailored to suit your circumstances. For example if you have 3 months cover included with your work, you can have a policy that will come into affect after 3 months illness. If you’re self employed you may need cover to start sooner than that. Whatever your need, it can be tailored to suit you.
Why LifeSearch?
LifeSearch have been around since 1998 and have protected nearly half a million UK families. They pride themselves on being the best at what they do. Their ethos is all about getting the right cover that protects you. One of the things that really intrigued me about them when I spoke to them was what a lovely company culture they have, they have a flat company culture which I think must make it a really interesting place to work. It shows as they have been voted the top #3 company to work with in the UK. Which makes it a company you trust to do business with, does it not?
Why not contact them to find out more?
www.lifesearch.com
Always a good idea to get some form of income protection. It’s always great for a peace of mind should anything untoward happen.
I have to say before this it’s not something I had really thought about so it’s really opened my mind
Income protection sounds like a great idea, and no I couldn’t live off that with my family of four it would hardly cover the bills.
It wouldn’t cover the bills for us either
I think income protection is necessary and a great idea, if something you need to know you can at least pay your basic need bills
We could definitely use some income protection! Especially this year when things have been so uncertain.
Yes, it’s been a scary year hasn’t it?
Don’t believe it is feasible? This blog post enlightened me as I manage the family budget!
I can’t imagine surviving on it either
Nice! It’s important to have income protection, and may I add to be frugal nowadays 🙂
What a fab post!! I was also shocked when I read that SSP was under a £100 per week, it is a scandal to be honest and not possible to live on this even with cut backs x
I think it’s a scandal too. Such a low amount.
This has been a crazy year! One thing I learned is that it’s so important to preserve your wealth and reduce your debts. Statutory Sick Pay Looks like a smart idea though…
It is so have to survive on that amount a week but as you say, sometimes things like after school clubs and Netflix does add up. So cancelling is a good way to keep expenses low
You’ve given me plenty to think about. I’ve never thought about getting income protection, but after reading this, it’s made me think twice.
Working with LifeSearch really made me think twice about it too
Interesting! I know many people could use this right now. I wonder if we have this in the US?
I’m sure there will be an offering in the US
This post is eyes opening for many of us. Having a side hustle, or even a small business is a must, especially after this year when many people has been left without a job. SSP is laughable, considering how many taxes you pay every month.
Yes I think when you’re self employed you need multiple income streams, but it’s worth looking into this if you’re sick and can’t do any of them
Definitely something important to look into during these crazy and uncertain times. Thanks for sharing information on this..I’m sure it will help so many!
Thank you, I really hope that it does
This is so important when you’re young. It helps you plan for the future.
I can’t imagine surviving on 95.85 pounds per week especially when you have kids and pets! I have never thought about getting income protection, will check it out surely!
No I can’t either, it’s such a small amount