Plan Today.
Protect Tomorrow.
L&G's Richard Kateley quizzes two financial advisers with Chartered Accountancy backgrounds about meeting the protection needs of businesses.
There are an important number of areas where business protection insurance can mitigate real financial risks within a business.
At this time of year it is very common to set new goals from both a personal and business perspective. But do you consider the areas you have limited control over?
When we talk to clients about protecting themselves from risk, it is often difficult to appreiate what this actually means.
Many businesses may be familiar with having a life policy in place to repay the debt to the bank. However, what about the exposure to the business of other forms of debt?
We often meet new clients who are unsure of the exact detail of their current insurance plans. They are vaguely aware that they have something; it's usually 'connected to the mortgage' but they may not have considered the detail in many years.
Throughout our advisory and chartered accountancy careers, we have been specialists in carrying out the highest quality of due diligence for our clients' benefit. This means we go the extra mile.
The above slogan has been used by HMRC in the past, however it has always struck a chord with us as being often misunderstood.
One of the most common questions we encounter is: "Is my client's life insurance cover the best fit for purpose, or are there improvements to be made?"
A recent report by Macmillan Cancer Support has revealed the prevalence of new cancer diagnoses in UK society today. But the report goes further, looking not only at the statistics, but also our attitudes towards cancer
Many of the forums and workshops we go to as advisers, take great lengths to emphasise the so-called 'protection gap'. This is the number of people in the UK who have no insurance protection plans in place and the potential financial outcome if they are unable to meet their liabilities.
Any robust protection portfolio will include both income protection and critical illness insurance. Whilst they both provide cover for ill-health, they provide different benefits and work in very different ways.
There has been a lot of press recently about the global cyber-attack, notably impacting the NHS throughout the UK. The impact an attack could have on an unprotected computer system could be catastrophic
Imagine you've been made redundant and you're looking for a new job. You see two job adverts in the paper or online and at first, they appear identical.
We offer expert advice on income protection for numerous business clients, and a question that should be asked by our clients, is will it pay out?
It is difficult to imagine yourself having a serious or critical illness. We know that this does happen, but for most of us we tend not to think that anything so severe will keep us from being off work indefinitely.
Our team recently attended the Northern Ireland Dealmakers Awards. This event celebrates the past years best corporate transactions such as company sales, acquisitions, management buy-outs to name just a few.
Some families spend more on certain areas and less on others. The reality is that these payments, and the ability to make them, dictate your lifestyle.
Our business clients appreciate the pertinent information we provide to them, enabling them to save money by structuring personal life insurance policies through their business.
Very few of our clients would say the last decade has been a bed of roses for their business, and many owners say they have been some of the toughest years faced during their business lives.
We have written many blogs over the past few years. We've explained the importance of making sure you have your critical illness plans reviewed, to how income protection plans work by protecting the one thing upon which your home, your family and your lifestyle depends.
We know that you can't put a value on the emotional importance of a parent to their children, but the work parents do around the home on a daily basis is often under estimated and undervalued.
Unless the need has been considered and there is an appropriate plan in place, we believe the answer is: Both need to be seriously considered.
Would you take a journey on a ship knowing it had no lifeboats? No? Why? What if the boat runs into trouble and begins to sink?
A quote we find takes resonance in our approach to business was allegedly made by Albert Einstein: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
For many people, the thought of reviewing your personal insurance not only gets pushed to the bottom of a to do list, but it also conjures up feelings of doubt and uncertainty.
Naturally we do not enjoy talking about the downside of what may be ahead for us. Why would you want to? ...sure it won't happen to me.
Many commentators in the insurance industry talk about the 'insurance gap' and the number of people in the UK who do not currently have any form of insurance.
Have you been following the Olympics in Rio? What an amazing display of dedication and drive the athletes have been showing. But what can we take from the world's best athletic achievements and relate to everyday business life?
Only one person out of 10 has made any provision to prevent debt escalation if their salary is lost due to an accident, sickness or unemployment.
I have always been drawn to this type of thought. It speaks to me as being a progressive way of thinking for any employer wishing to develop not only their own experience, but more importantly their business's success.
Legal & General completed research into the world of SME's in the UK. Check out some of the startling discoveries
Many of us may be uncomfortable talking to our families about death, but it's even more discomforting to think of our family being left financially vulnerable if the worst were to happen.
Many of our blogs over the past few months have focused on the importance, and the benefits of having some way to protect your income. Should anything prevent you from being able to work, this can have disastrous consequences for your home, your family, and your lifestyle, particularly if this becomes long term.