We’re all going on a Summer Holiday
Exactly one year ago this week, I dropped my son at Heathrow Airport to start his year of travelling.
Amongst all my own emotions, and despite the queues and delays, the overriding thing I felt was an air of great excitement.
There were so many families thrilled to be going on their summer holiday – some with small children and babies departing on their first ever trip. I noticed that the happiness on their faces was undeniable, particularly the children. Full of excitement for what the next two weeks would hold.
It got me thinking about how disappointed these families would be if they didn’t have this to look forward to. I know it’s such a priority for many parents that they often book more than 12 months in advance.
So, what might put this quality family time in the sunshine at risk? One thing could be a parent becoming sick and having to take time off work. Or, even worse, dying prematurely.
When factfinding a client on their lifestyle, I’m confident that holidays will be mentioned. So, should we talk to them about protecting their income to preserve their lifestyle, including holidays?
If a parent passes away suddenly, of course holidays might not be at the top of the list for a grieving family. But, in time, this could be exactly what the children and their widowed parent need. And a family who are coping with the illness of a parent would benefit from some rest and relaxation –when health allows.
But, as we all know, holidays aren’t free. In fact, most hobbies and pastimes families enjoy come at a cost. It’s great to have protection in place to pay off mortgage debt, but we know for many families that simply isn’t enough to keep them in their home and maintain their lifestyle.
Adding a policy, such as Family Income Benefit, into a menu multi-benefit plan can make a real difference to the money coming into a household. As a result, it goes some way to protecting that lifestyle – which of course includes holidays.
A Family Income Benefit Policy is the most cost-efficient way for most families to include some extra life cover, and importantly some critical illness cover, into their protection portfolio.
While we are talking about income-based plans, an Income Protection Policy added to a menu plan – alongside FIB and Mortgage Protection – can help maintain income should a parent have to take some time off work through sickness. Income Protection can go a long way in replacing a lost income when employee benefits come to an end.
It’s always a good idea to include indexation to future-proof those benefits, should your client need to make a claim. For example, the policy you set up now might not be fit for purpose or achieve the solution you arranged it for in 5-, 10- or 15-years’ time.
So, there is something you can do as advisers to ensure that your client and their families can get rest and relaxation when they need it more than ever.
For more protection news and resources you can visit our Protection technical guidance section.
