Protect yourself and your future

This includes taking out insurance for life’s risks and saving regularly to ensure you have enough income when you stop working. 

Insurance policies are designed to protect you and your loved ones in almost any eventuality. They may be compulsory, like car or building insurance, or voluntary. 

While you can’t insure against every possible risk, how do you decide what to cover? A good place to start is to insure the things you’d find it hard, if not impossible, to cover or replace yourself. For example, it would be difficult to replace the main household income if the breadwinner could no longer work due to illness or injury. 

This can include your family, health, home, and possessions. Research what it would cost to protect these with insurance. Taking out cover for these will mean you have to pay premiums, so factor that into your monthly budget. 

Here’s a healthy approach to protecting you and your family against any risk: 
• Take out insurance to cover substantial risks you’d find it hard to recover from, such as fire or permanent injury
• Put money aside into an emergency savings fund to cover any smaller, unexpected costs that you can recover from

It’s also important to study any terms and conditions associated with an insurance policy. For instance, what excess payment will you need to make if you claim on the policy? What exclusions will there be? Are there any medical conditions that need to be declared?

It can be confusing to compare insurance policies from different providers. Look at all the elements that make up a policy, including: 
•    Cost of premium
•    Cost of excess (if applicable)
•    The terms and conditions
•    Fees or penalties for missed payments
•    Tax or other implications
•    Choice of repairer, hospital, or other providers