Can you afford to be unable to work and lose your usual income?
Can you afford to be unable to work and lose your usual income? Sickness and accidents do not discriminate – they can affect anyone at
Can you afford to be unable to work and lose your usual income?
Sickness and accidents do not discriminate – they can affect anyone at any time. What if you have an accident that means you can’t work for a while? Or you suffer an illness that means you’re going to be off work for a number of months. What happens to your business – and your income?
Do you have sufficient savings to cover you, your family, your mortgage or your employees (if you have any) whilst you fully recover to get back to work?
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) can give you £116.75 a week for up to 28 weeks and is paid by your employer.
Once the SSP has run out – or you don’t qualify (for example, because you’re self-employed), you might be able to claim Employment Support Allowance (ESA). This could provide up to £71.70 if you’re under 25 or £90.50 if you’re over 25 – subject to meeting the qualifying criteria.1
If you were involved in an accident or diagnosed with an illness, how would you pay your bills?
There are two types of insurance that can help you if you can’t work due to accident or illness:
Income protection
Income Protection Insurance covers most illnesses and injuries that stop you working either in the short or long term. Here’s how it works:
- It replaces part of your income if you suffer a loss of earnings due to becoming ill or injured and are unable to work.
- Income protection pays out a percentage of your earnings before income tax, usually between 50% and 70% – and all payments are free of income tax.
- Payments usually start after a waiting period to tie in with any sick pay ends or other insurance stops covering you. The longer you wait for payments to be made the lower your policy premium can be.
- Income protection covers you until you have recovered or until retirement, death, your policy ends or until the limited claim period on your policy ends – whichever is sooner.
Personal accident cover
This can be added to your NAPIT Insurance cover:
- NAPIT Insurance personal accident cover pays 75% of your weekly average income, up to £500 per week. There’s a 14-day excess period but you can claim for up to a year if you remain unable to work.
- If the resulting injuries are so significant that you have to cease trading, for example, loss of sight or the loss of a limb, then there’s a lump sum payment option too.
- NAPIT insurance provides personal accident cover that’s 24/7 so it’s not just accidents that happen at work that are covered. Accidents from taking part in recreational sports are also covered (UK only).
Being prepared for the unexpected will not only provide stability for your business, but it will also enable you to relax knowing that you can pay the bills when it is needed the most.
Talk to our friendly team to find out more.
