How long would your savings last if you were unable to work due to ill health?

No matter how hard you try, your expenses always seem to keep pace with your income. But what would happen if your income all of a sudden dried up but your expenses stayed exactly the same? According to the Department of Work and Pensions, you have a one in seven chance of being off work for 6 months due to illness or accident, during your working life. Scary stuff huh?

Imagine what would happen to you and your family if you couldn’t pay the mortgage, credit cards bills, the electricity, mobile phones, water rates, council tax and so on? If you suffer a serious illness, medical condition, or accident, then you may be unable to work for the rest of your life.

If taken sick within full time employment, the average worker feels safe in knowing that they have the presence of sick pay to fall back on. Actually, most are given up to three months pay if they were to have an accident or fall sick.

A contractor does not have access to such luxuries. From the first day that they are unable to make it to work they begin to lose pay. With this being the case, contractors must recognise the ways that they are able to protect themselves from hardship in the case of sickness or injury.

Act now by contacting us today for a FREE consultation. We have helped many contractors secure generous income protection plans that pay a tax-free monthly income until they recover, and up to retirement date in certain cases. Here’s what some of our customers are saying about the services we provide:

“I didn’t know that something like this was even out there – I’m glad I found out!” Will Sharpe

“C&F Mortgages really helped me out here.” Miguel Stevens

“Thanks for sorting out a great income protection package!” Jack Mullins

We know what it’s like to work as a contractor, without the safety net of holiday and sick pay

Permanent Health Insurance (PHI) is a means of seeing a contractor through a period where they are unable to work due to ill health.  By investing a little every month into a policy, PHI (also known as Income Protection) may turn out to be financial salvation when contractors cannot work, and also help keep them a float if forced into retirement by an injury.

PHI is designed specifically to meet the needs of the contractor. Within the structure of the plan, many aspects are present that ensure that a contract worker never has to suffer financially if forced to stop work.

Included in the plan is:

• The presence of a tax free monthly income that will be paid following a certain time of illness. This in turn will continue to be paid until a full recovery is made, or until retirement.
• The assurance of no more than the deferred (waiting) period agreed on by the PHI provider and the individual involved, and
• The assurance that you will be able to look after your family and maintain a certain standard of living even though you may never be able to work again.

When agreeing on the deferred period with the provider, it will be brought to the contractor’s attention that the longer the length of time agreed on before the policy starts being paid out and the illness will influence the cost of the premiums. Installments will be lower the longer the deferred period.

The contractor can cover up to 75% of their income. In essence, the more one decides to cover will result in higher premium costs. It is advised that you are realistic in calculating how much you need to cover however. By simply calculating to keep premium costs down would mean less coverage for you and your dependants in the case of anything happening.

Some Tips In Choosing the Right Plan

• When signing up, make sure that the policy covers your particular skill. This ensures that when you cannot perform that skill due to sickness, the policy provider must pay. If the skill is not highlighted, the policy provider may enforce that you carry out another menial job so that they do not have to pay up.
• Make sure that the PHI company selected has a good record of paying out. The waiting period can be a stressful time and you need to be working with an organization you can have faith in.
• Make sure that the policy covers you right up until you reach your retirement age.
• Make sure your policy takes inflation into consideration. It must be stated that there is an allowance for change in regards to a fixed percentage or the Retail Price Index.

Income Protection means just that, but sometimes we need guidance as to where to get started. If you have any queries, let one of our advisors point you towards a reputable PHI Provider.

Thanks for taking the time to read this page. We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

The C&F Mortgages Team

p.s. Just think! You’ll never again have to worry about paying your monthly expenses if you’re forced to stop work through illness or injury. Fill out your details below and we’ll be in touch within the hour!

Please note: The financial advice given on this page is provided by Freelancer Financials, which is a trading name of Mortgage Quest Ltd and is regulated and authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Freelancer Financials will respect your privacy and adhere to the Data Protection rules as outlined in their Client Agreement, which should be read. Click here for a copy of the Freelancer Financials Initial Disclosure Document (IDD).

© 2010 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.