All too often they get broken even before we’ve seen out January! I for one have already managed to break at least one resolution made this year, sad I know, but true.

However, if you have been able to keep up resolutions from past years, read on…

Firstly, as this is the first blog since the beginning of 2010 this is the first opportunity I have to wish you a belated Happy New Year. I am really optimistic about this year as I think we have all had enough of feeling fed up with all the bad news of 2009.

As we all know a country-wide smoking ban was imposed back in the summer of 2007 and since then thousands of people have been giving up smoking as part of their New Year’s resolutions.

If you were good enough to have toughed it out and given up the dreaded weed for more than a year, then you could be in-line to save up to 40% on your life

insurance premiums, for any policies you had taken out whilst a smoker! As long as you’ve not smoked for over one year then these huge savings can be realised, affording a significant saving for anyone in this situation.

I know that it’s all too easy to turn a blind eye to this type of thing but the process of reviewing your circumstances couldn’t be simpler and won’t cost you anything, so what have you got to lose, other than your hard earned cash!

In fact, if you’ve had life cover in place for more than a few years, irrespective of becoming a non-smoker, it’s likely you could save too, as premiums have come down over recent years as a consequence of insurer’s data on life expectancy.

Additionally, it’s quite common that individual’s circumstances change over time and consequently their existing life protection can now have become unsuitable for their needs.

Now is a really good time to see if you can save money on your existing protection policies and reward yourself for keeping up with at least one of your New Year’s resolutions from previous years!

Family Income Protection

I thought that might get your attention! Well what do I mean by that statement?

 

I know I want to be as sure as I can, that my family are looked after if I were to suffer a critical illness or worse, to die. Usually, people take out life and critical illness insurance to cover their mortgage liability, but how many think about adding real peace of mind, in the form of a Family Income Protection policy?

 It’s great to cover your mortgage liability with a suitable life and critical illness protection policy, which will repay the mortgage should something happen. This will make sure the house won’t be taken away, but the bills still have to be paid, like the weekly shop, birthdays, the leaky roof, car servicing, etc, etc.

 Are you looking for additional peace of mind for your family?

A Family Income Protection policy can provide income to meet those bills, after all the kids can’t eat bricks, if there isn’t food in the cupboard!

 A Family Income Protection policy pays an income on diagnosis of a critical illness or death, rather than a single lump sum. It is used to replace income the life assured would have produced for their family, if they had lived or not suffered a critical illness. This income is typically paid annually and payments are paid tax free for the remaining term of the policy.

 For many of us, if we were unable to continue working due to suffering from a critical illness, or were to die, this would cause major disruption in our lives. Obviously, other than the distress of it all, the financial loss is likely to cause the most problems.

 It’s possible to choose an income figure to suit your personal requirements, such as £24,000 a year which is the equivalent of £2,000 per month. Something to be aware of is level sums assured decrease in real terms due to inflation. To off-set this, the income benefit can automatically increase during the term at an agreed rate (e.g. three, five or 10%).

 If you want to avoid the prospect of your family having to eat bricks, a Family Income Protection policy is well worth considering, for the extra peace of mind afforded by this type of policy.

I don’t know about you, but it seems to me we are heading for a bit of a bumpy autumn with all these predictions of how many Swine Flu outbreaks are expected!

This is ‘great’ news, don’t you think, especially as we have had such a fantastic summer (not!), it’s the last thing we want to turn our attention to.

Personally, I just think what will be, will be! But there are many people quite genuinely concerned about this pandemic and how it could affect them.

If I were to put my adviser hat on in this situation, I would suggest people could consider the added piece of mind a Private Medical Insurance can bring.  If you are concerned about the length of NHS waiting lists and are looking for a higher level of personal medical care, this type of additional protection could be for you.

Irrespective of the flu situation, I would always recommend people consider providing their family with the assurance of knowing first class hospital care is available for them.

In fact, the number of people covered under Private Medical

Insurance policies has reached 7.5m lives covered in the UK, which is 12.3% of the entire population*.

Apparently, these figures continue to rise as people have become concerned about the risk of infection by the MRSA virus.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting Private Medical Insurance is the answer to the Swine flu pandemic, but it will give people additional peace of mind now and in the future, should you be in any way concerned.

Below is an overview of the typical benefits a policy of this type provides:

• Broad range of healthcare needs covered

• Added-value benefits include:

• 24-hour GP helpline

• 24-hour stress counselling helpline

• Online personal health management service

• Family option, including free child cover

• Access to an extensive list of hospitals

• Private ambulance

• Parent accommodation when staying with a child under nine

• Cover continues regardless of the number of eligible claims made

• Option to include additional benefit towards routine dental and optical expenses

• Health and fitness club discounts available

• No claim discount of up to 45% (30% for switching policies)

• Overseas cover

• Ability to tailor plan benefits to suit individual

requirements

Make the leap to a better PROTECTED life!

*Source: Laing & Buisson Health and Care Cover UK Market Report 2007.