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“SOBERING FACTS: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system that largely affects young adults. Symptoms are greatly varied, for some it is characterised by periods of relapse and remission while for others it has a progressive pattern. For everyone it makes life unpredictable.
- MS affects three times as many women as men;
- The average age of diagnosis is between 20 and 40;
- 87% of people diagnosed are of working age;
- 80% of people with MS lose their job within 10 years of diagnosis.
Trauma (Critical Illness) and Income Protection Insurance can help ease the financial burden associated with such diseases.”
Source: Tower Australia
Here at Dornbusch Partners, we create Financial Plans for individuals in order to help them reach their financial objectives and maintain a certain standard of living. However, there are some events outside of one’s control that can have a devastating impact on ones financial future. Even if you are not married and do not have children, you as an individual needs to be protected from personal risks and the uncertainty of life. This is where DP Wealth Protection can help.
Too often in today’s society we seek to blame others for our misfortunes. Personal Risk Management and Wealth Protection should be an active process everyday and should include specific strategies to minimise the risk of harm to ourselves both now and in the future, physically and financially – For example, you can minimise physical risks through: Quit smoking, increase exercise to lose weight, have regular check-ups at the doctors to monitor general health and well being, etc. But how can you protect your assets and cover your expenses and debts when you are incapacitated and probably unable to work? Life Insurance plays an important role in protecting our Financial Wellbeing in the event our physical wellbeing is compromised either permanently or temporarily.
The need for financial support and insurance claims can occur at any age, for a plethora of reasons. So it’s important to cover all bases. One Life Insurance Company’s claims records show the claims spread as follows:
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Click on the graph to see an enlarged copy
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So what is available to protect you and your family?
- Self Insuring means that you factor in contingency funds into your savings to cover expenses in the event your income is stalled or lost. Self-insuring means you need to find each dollar to cover costs and for the entire length of time you are incapacitated.
- Borrowing means a financial institution, such as a bank, lends you a lump sum of money to cover costs and debts. The repayment of this loan is the amount of the entire loan PLUS interest, so you effectively need to find more than the money you require in order to repay the bank.
- Selling assets is another option. Liquid assets, such as shares, can quickly be turned into cash and there may be some you are willing to sacrifice. Non-liquid assets, such as a house, may take time to sell and you are diminishing your wealth so when you recover, what is left? Protecting your wealth and your future is of paramount important and you should not have to sacrifice everything you have worked so hard for.
- Insurance offers a financial product, guarantee of money, for a premium each year. The cost of this money is often around or less than 1% of the sum insured. For example, you insure yourself for $200,000 of Trauma Insurance, the premium will cost around $2,000 (depending on age, gender, medical history, etc) per year. So if you need to make a claim after 3 years, you will have paid $6,000 for $200,000 and there is no requirement to pay the insurance company back!
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