Financial planning is often thought of in terms of building wealth. But the plans you build can unravel quickly if the unexpected happens and the right protection is not in place.
Illness, serious injury, or death can have devastating consequences, not just emotionally but financially. For individuals and families, it can mean lost income, an unaffordable mortgage, or dependants left without adequate provision. For business owners, the stakes can be even higher: the loss of a key person or a partner’s unexpected death can threaten the survival of something built over years.
Protection is the foundation that everything else rests on. It is not the most exciting part of financial planning, but it may be the most important.
Pays a lump sum or income to your family if you die. It can clear a mortgage, replace lost income, or ensure those who depend on you are provided for. The right amount, structure, and term matters enormously.
Pays a tax-free lump sum on diagnosis of a specified serious illness. The money can be used however you choose, whether to adapt your home, take time off work, pay off debt, or reduce financial pressure during recovery.
Replaces a proportion of your income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury. Unlike critical illness cover, it is not limited to a specific list of conditions. For the self-employed, this is often the most important cover to have.
Rather than a lump sum, this pays a regular income to your family if you die within a set term. For families with young children and ongoing living costs, this can be a more practical and affordable alternative.
Ensures your mortgage can be repaid if you die or, depending on the policy, if you become critically ill. Often structured to reduce in line with your outstanding balance.
Protects the business against the financial impact of losing someone whose skills, relationships, or knowledge are critical to its operation. The business owns the policy and receives the payout to cover lost profits or fund recruitment.
Combined with a cross-option agreement, this ensures surviving owners have the means to purchase a deceased owner's share, and that the estate receives fair value without the business being left in limbo.
A tax-efficient way for employers to provide life cover for employees, including directors, outside of a group scheme. Premiums are generally treated as a business expense, and the benefit is paid free of income tax and inheritance tax via a trust.
Personal protection is relevant for anyone with financial dependants, a mortgage, or an income that would be difficult to replace. It becomes particularly important at key life stages such as buying a home, starting a family, becoming self-employed, or taking on significant financial commitments.
Business protection is essential for any business with key individuals whose loss would have a material impact, and for any company with more than one owner where there is no clear plan for what happens if one of them dies or becomes seriously ill.
We review the whole market to find the right cover at the right price. But more importantly, we make sure what you have in place actually does what you think it does, that policies are written correctly, held in the right structure, and sit within a plan that makes sense for your circumstances as a whole.
The right protection is about more than a policy document. It is about ensuring that if the worst happens, the financial impact is one less thing to worry about.
Get in touch with the RowanTree team for a free, no-obligation conversation. A conversation costs nothing, and the peace of mind can be priceless.
