Nobody likes paying for insurance…but we’re all really glad we’ve got it when catastrophe strikes.
Insurance is merely a method of transferring risk to another party. The risk of loss of income due to a disability, for example, is transferred to an insurance company which, in exchange for a monthly insurance premium, promises to replace a percentage of lost wages.
We all have a need for one form of insurance or another – though we don’t all have the same needs. A few ponderances:
- If you are responsible for someone else’s sustenance, you need life insurance and probably some form of health insurance as well.
- If you’re single, you must, must, must have income replacement insurance (also known as permanent health insurance, or PHI), but you probably don’t need life insurance.
- If you’re keen to arrange your affairs so that your heirs are not liable to an enormous inheritance tax (IHT), life insurance might be your answer.
- If you require prompt or regular medical attention, you should consider paying for private health cover (private medical insurance, or PMI).
- If you’re age 50 or older and without ample financial means to fund specialised medical or custodial care, you need to investigate long-term care insurance.
- If you’re a business owner, or in partnership, you must seriously consider a business buyout policy.
The question is not whether you can afford it….rather, can you afford not to have it?