Contractors race to cover income ahead of Swine Flu epidemic

Published on 29th October 2009

Our protection department has been inundated with enquiries ahead of next months expected surge in swine flu cases.

Swine flu is set to reach a new peak next month and many Contractors are urgently searching for ways to protect their income if the tissue, hand gel, vitamin C routine fails to prevent you getting ill. As a Contractor, if you are injured or fall ill and cannot work, then your income stops immediately. This is a worrying prospect as without your income your lifestyle would probably change beyond recognition.

It is possible for Contractors to guard against even short term interruption to income with Contractor Income Protection. This will pay out a tax free weekly/monthly sum to cover mortgages, household bills etc and you can protect up to 75% of your income. Costs start at £10pm and a typical premium is £40-50 a month for our clients.

Contractors can also protect your family's future with Life Insurance that works in the same way as the death in service benefit you enjoyed when you were a permanent employee. Life cover will pay out if you die and can provide your family with the financial security to enable them to cope at what would be an emotional and financially devastating time.

There is no reason why you cannot combine both income protection and life cover as there are many policies available that will cater specifically for your Contractor status. The devil is often in the detail on this type of cover and with a lot of small print to read on any insurance policy Contractors could find themselves under insured or with a provider that will not cover your specific circumstances. It's therefore vital that any protection that you put in place reflects your unique employment status etc.

An example where policies prove unsuitable is where dividends are not covered. Any Freelancer working via a limited company will be likely to draw a low salary with the bulk of income taken via dividends however some plans will only cover a multiple of salary alone leaving you largely unprotected in the event of a claim. The key is to only approach those insurers who specifically state that they are happy to cover dividends etc , even if split with a spouse. Similarly there will be other pitfalls that may mean that in the event of you falling seriously ill the insurer may be able to wriggle out of their commitments to you but with careful research this danger can be eliminated.

Help is at hand

At ContractorFinancials, we specialise in offering comprehensive insurance products to Contractors looking to replace the sick pay and death in service benefits that you left behind with your previous employer. Our award winning team will work with you every step of the way, from arranging the right cover for your individual circumstances, to helping you make a claim if you fall ill. We pride ourselves on offering peace of mind to the thousands of Contractors who have used our services and we would be happy to help remove the worry that an illness could be devastating financially.

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