Protect Your Loved Ones from Financial Hardship
If you were to pass away or experience a critical illness, would your loved ones face financial difficulty? Ensuring your family is protected in these events should be a priority, but many people only think about their policies when it’s too late to make changes.
Reviewing Your Life Assurance
In recent years, life assurance premiums have decreased due to improvements in life expectancy. You may be paying too much for your current level of cover, and it’s possible to improve your family’s protection without increasing costs. At P J McIlroy & Son, we regularly review our clients' policies, comparing them against current options to find the best value.
Are Your Policies Written in Trust?
If your life assurance policies aren’t written in an appropriate trust, you could be unintentionally creating an Inheritance Tax (IHT) issue. Writing your policy benefits in trust offers two key advantages:
1. Immediate Payment: The payout can be made immediately upon the policyholder's death, rather than waiting for probate to be granted.
2. Tax Efficiency: The payout is not subject to Inheritance Tax (IHT), potentially saving your beneficiaries from a hefty tax bill.
Inheritance Tax is applied to the value of your estate that exceeds a set threshold after allowances and exemptions. By placing your life assurance policy in trust, you can help safeguard your loved ones from unnecessary tax liabilities and delays in accessing the funds.
Our Life Assurance Service
At P J McIlroy & Son, we use the IRESS Exchange Portal to research life assurance plans at an individual level in real time. This allows us to provide up-to-date market rates, ensuring you receive the most competitive and suitable solution for your needs.
Critical Illness Cover
Comprehensive Protection for Life’s Unexpected Challenges
When it comes to critical illness cover, price shouldn’t be the only consideration. Policies can differ significantly in terms of the quality and extent of coverage, making it essential to understand what you're really getting.
We use CI Expert™ software to compare your existing plan with any proposed new cover. This detailed analysis reviews the level and extent of cover, which we discuss with you before any changes are made. Our findings are included in a protection report to ensure you have complete clarity on your cover.
Income Protection Cover
Have you considered how you’d manage financially if illness or injury prevented you from working?
While you may already have other insurance policies, many overlook the importance of income protection. Without a steady income, how would you cover essential living expenses like food, rent or mortgage payments, and other insurance premiums?
It’s natural to avoid thinking about these scenarios, but the likelihood is higher than you might expect. For example, a 34-year-old man has a 23% chance of being off work for more than two months due to illness or injury, while for a woman, this risk rises to 32%.
How Income Protection Can Help
Income Protection insurance is designed to provide financial support if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury. It ensures that you still receive an income, which could help you meet essential payments like your mortgage or rent and bills, without needing to dip into your savings. This way, you can focus on your recovery without added financial stress.
You can tailor the level of cover to your circumstances. The policy can pay out up to 60% of your gross pre-tax earnings (or net profit if you’re self-employed), or you can choose a lower amount to suit your needs.
Flexibility in Payments
You can decide how long the payments should continue during a valid claim—whether it’s 12 months, 24 months, 60 months, or the duration of the policy. Payments will stop when you’re able to return to work or once the maximum claim period expires. Opting for a shorter payment period can reduce your premium costs.
Deferred Period Options
Income protection policies also include a deferred period before payments begin. This can range from 4 to 52 weeks. A longer deferred period typically lowers your premiums, but it’s important to select a period that aligns with your savings or other financial safety nets.
Tailored Solutions with IRESS Exchange Portal
To ensure you get the most competitive and suitable income protection policy, we use the IRESS Exchange Portal. This system provides real-time access to the latest market rates, allowing us to research the most appropriate cover and competitive premium based on your individual needs.
Get in Touch
To learn more about Life Assurance and Critical Illness Cover, contact us at 02820762353 or email us at ifa@pjmcilroy.co.uk. You can also request our Life Assurance Factsheet for further information.
