Your most Valuable Asset...

Your most valuable asset is not your house, shares or super. It is your ability to earn an income. Think about it..... If you become seriously ill tomorrow, how long could you continue to pay the bills? Protect your Income. It's easy to do and the premiums can be tax-deductible.

Case study

Sophie works full-time and earns a salary of $95,000 pa. She owns a home worth

$550,000 and has a mortgage of $380,000. If she’s unable to work due to illness or

injury, she wants to be able to meet her living expenses and mortgage repayments.

Sophie does not have significant savings to fall back on.

After assessing her goals and financial situation, her financial adviser recommends

she take out Income Protection insurance to cover 75% of her monthly income. Shortly

after taking out the insurance, Sophie is involved in a bad car accident and is unable

to work for seven months.

Because Sophie had Income Protection insurance, she receives the full benefit of

$5,937 per month for six months after her initial one month waiting period (where

she’s covered by sick leave from her employer). As a result, Sophie receives a total

income of $43,539 during the seven months she’s off work – consisting of a combination

of sick leave and Income Protection benefits.

If Sophie had not taken out Income Protection insurance, she would only have received

a sick leave payment of $7,917 and would have struggled to meet her living expenses,

mortgage repayments and out-of-pocket medical costs.

Note:

This case study highlights the importance of speaking to a financial adviser about

protecting your income in the event of illness or injury. A financial adviser can also address a

range of potential issues and identify other suitable protection strategies.