Why should I consider income protection?
We all know of people who have become sick and are no longer able to work. You should consider what you would do if your main income through your work dries up due to illness. You may get some sort of sick pay if you are employed, but often this is for a shorter period than you would imagine. For example, it is rare for a company to provide sick pay beyond a month of illness.

Of course, if you are self-employed you will not have such a safety net. The alternative is to rely on savings, but how long would this last for you?

We recommend that you think about your outgoings: your mortgage, food, utilities etc. The question is what would you have to give up if your income was drastically inhibited?

The state will provide for me
According to the Department of Work and Pensions, the state currently pays ESA or Incapacity Benefit to 2.62 million people. This represents around 7% of the working population. (Source: Department for Work & Pensions)

How much benefit will I get?
The amount depends on your individual situation, and will be assessed according to your severity of illness, and the length of time you have been unable to work. The starting point is £81.60 per week. See the Direct.gov website for more information.

How does income protection work?
You can take out a policy to cover your outgoings should you be unable to work due to illness. The cost depends on your age, sex, occupation, health and other relevant factors.

Usually, the policy would have a ‘deferred period’. If you are sick and want to claim, you would have to wait until the end of this period before you can claim. The longer the deferred period, the cheaper the plan will be, because you will be less likely to claim. You can select deferred periods from 4 weeks to 52 weeks with most plans.

How much can I cover?
Most plans work on a percentage of your income before tax. Typically, this will be around 50% of your income before tax. As the benefits will be tax-free, this usually represents around 85% of you income after tax. The idea behind this is that the extra 15% will be your encouragement to go back to work when you are able.

How long will the plan pay out?
It will continue to pay out until you are fit enough to return to work, or you reach the end of the plan. Thus, some people have managed to claim for many years if they have a particularly serious illness.

Is this similar to critical illness?
Critical illness pays out a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a serious, named illness on the policy. Income protection pays an income, if you are unable to work due to sickness. Thus, income protection seeks to put money in your hands to pay your bills.

Also, income protection pays around half of claims to back pain and stress related illnesses; these illnesses would not be covered by critical illness.

Who is income protection appropriate for?
Anyone of working age, who has a family or lifestyle to support, which would suffer if they were unable to work for an extended period.

Income protection for businesses
Businesses often take out income protection plans to cover key employees, should they be too ill to work. The business can insure the individual so that they can either continue to pay that employee during sickness, or to be able to fund a temporary replacement. This is especially useful for directors, or business owners who would need to hire in someone to run things in their absence. Premiums would attract tax relief, although the benefits would be taxable.

Term life insurance, as a concept is fairly easy to understand as opposed to understanding what term life insurance is the best for you. It is very important that you give long and good thought to what term life insurance would be suited to your best interest. Term life insurance remains in effect for only a limited time that has a predetermined span of time. An individual who holds a term life insurance pays a standard premium only during the specified term of his life insurance policy. In the event of the death of the insurance holder during the term, the death benefits directly end up going to the beneficiary.

Most of the various life insurance policies today offer a variety of options but term life insurance is one of your best options as it offers you maximum flexibility. It is however true that all sorts of options are more readily available with other kinds of insurance solutions. Still, despite the simplicity and limitations, term life insurance is yet a more sensible and of best utility among a large spread of customers.

For those individuals who require a temporary life insurance protection, a term life insurance policy is best. Term life insurance is best to fill a gap like when the case is such that an individual is not protected under any life insurance policy due to whatever reasons. Under such circumstances the term life insurance is best as it can still protect the necessary financial interests of the concerned family. If you are looking for a life insurance coverage for just a short period, then too term life insurance is best opted for.

By and large term life insurance is best suited for young working people who have families. You can easily find the best term life insurance quote for you by making use of the Internet. You will find affordable term life insurance schemes by searching for life insurance companies that have websites with complete details. By comparing the policies offered by different companies you can settle upon the best term life insurance policy for you.

Buying term life insurance online can seem like a complicated process, but here at FinancialOne.Com they make the process simple and easy. When comparison shopping for life insurance, the consumer should be aware of three things. First, does the site provide real time accurate rates and quotes. Second, does the site provide a help analyzer so you can accurately judge what health rating class you would fall in to. Lastly, does the site provide more than one company from which you can choose.

Financial One wants to provide you with as many quotes as possible, with real time information, and most importantly, give you an accurate rate. What they will not do is sell your information to third party providers, they will not sell your leads to any other companies, and they will not pressure you with any sales tactics. Their goal is to empower and educate consumers about term life insurance and then assist you in choosing the most appropriate life insurance policy for your needs.