Income Protection Insurance - Have You Left it Too Late?

"You have left it too late." Thousands of people are hearing this every day and experiencing that sinking feeling when they realise something once so freely available, is now denied to them. People without savings or perhaps with less than 2 months wages in the bank (that's the majority of people of working age) were able to buy Income Protection insurance very easily. This insurance policy provides a financial lifeline for them and their families if their income is interrupted by Unemployment, Accident or Sickness. Its seems almost overnight that people who were considered the best clients of insurance providers, typically banking and financial services, are now struggling to find cover. They have joined people in the building trades and estate agents who were in the first wave of occupations to fall victim of the credit crunch. We are now seeing the impact of the wider recession.

Take cover

For families and individuals with minimal savings, it will be vitally important for them to move quickly before their sector is the next to suffer the same fate. For many it is only a matter of time before either Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance or Income Protection Insurance is denied to them as well.

One in ten jobs in the UK rely on the retail. It does not take a genius to calculate that the retail sector will see significant contraction and job losses, particularly those handling big ticket items or discretionary purchases. Think in terms of the bad news already filtering through about a down turn in car sales, kitchens, and furniture. After all, most people can put off big purchases, especially as the property development frenzy of recent years peters out.

Engineering is another where shrinking order books see managers beginning to check their company redundancy terms. This may prove to be a precursor to one of many 'difficult conversations' with employees. Indeed, they may find they are soon to join their fellow ex-employees looking for alternative work.

For the majority of people in Britain, money for savings simply does not exist. Up until now this has not been a problem as jobs were plentiful. Unless signed off from work on a long term basis following an accident or due to sickness, being out of work was very temporary indeed. How long can people expect to be out of work as Britain falls into recession? Though everyone will have a different experience, any job search is guaranteed to be much harder than it was last year.

6 months to get another job

In the spring of 2008 a specialist consultant working with ManPower, who asked not to be named, was advising his white collar clients they should think in terms of 2 - 3 months between jobs. He is now saying think six months or more and this will just be for temporary contracts. The Telegraph (10.10.08) were reporting a contraction in full time posts in the UK with the number of temporary vacancies still holding up. The selection and interview process for any job is far more intense and time consuming than in the past. One thing is for sure, it is not going to get easier and the competition for the few full time jobs available will be very tough.

Financial meltdown can be avoided

Check out the Web to search on Income Protection or Lifestyle Protection (very popular alternative name that used by the Post Office for example). Money Supermarket has a buyers guide and price comparison. People who try on-line quotations and find they have issues with acceptance criteria due to their occupation may need to approach a specialist broker instead.

Just don't leave it too late and be forced to join the increasing numbers facing financial melt down who have nothing to fall back if their wages stop rolling in.