Protection Planning

Our protection planning service assesses any financial risks that may jeopardise your financial goals and plan, then addresses them accordingly.

What is protection planning?

Protection planning is essentially about planning for the unexpected. More specifically, it’s about keeping you, your family, or your business protected should you fall critically ill, seriously injured, or if you pass away.

For the individual, protection planning can include life cover, critical illness cover, and income protection to name a few. For businesses, it includes anything from life insurance to shareholder protection, key person insurance, business loan protection, and more.

It’s not a nice thing to talk about, but having protection planning in place can be a godsend should the worst occur.

Key features of protection planning

One of the most important features of protection planning comes in the form of lump sum cash payments. For the individual, these are paid to you or your loved ones, and having them in place can give you peace of mind that you and the ones you care about are protected if anything happens to you.

Protection planning doesn’t just cover death. It can also cover your family or business if you suffer from a critical illnesses or injuries that render you unable to work.

All of these situations are protected with the right policy, but individuals and businesses require different forms of coverage.

Protection planning for individuals

Life cover is the most popular form of protection planning for individuals, and while the top-level definition is taking care of your loved ones should you pass, no policy is one-size-fits-all.

Some policies offer mortgage protection, others offer family protection, and there’s a lot of choice available. That’s why the best way to choose yours is to speak to an expert who can evaluate your situation and suggest a policy that works for you.

Critical illness cover is another popular form of protection planning, and it pays out a lump sum if you suffer an illness that, as the name suggests, is critical. This can range from cancer to blindness, heart attacks, comas, strokes, or deafness, to name a few.

The point of critical illness cover is to make sure you and your family are financially taken care of if you’re unable to carry on earning.

Income protection insurance, also known as permanent health insurance, can replace your income if you become too sick to work. It pays out regular amounts until you go back to work or retire, and while it won’t replace your entire wage, payments received will generally be tax-free.

Long-term absence cover is similar to critical illness cover, and is designed to financially help you and your family if you’re forced to take a long-term absence from work.

All in all, there are lots of different kinds of insurances available that may be relevant to you, from education cover to kidnap cover, and many more. Ultimately, the perfect arrangement depends on your personal circumstances and requirements.

That’s why it’s always the best idea to speak to a financial expert who can navigate the system and find the most suitable plan for you.

Protection planning for businesses

Shareholder protection helps business owners maintain control of their organisation if a shareholder is diagnosed with a critical illness or passes away.

It enables owners to buy back shares from the shareholder in question, and allows the business to continue relatively uninterrupted.

Key person insurance is taken out for the most valuable employee or employees in a business. The purpose is to protect a smaller organisation if an important player within the business passes away or becomes too ill to work.

Business loan protection can help repay a commercial loan if a business owner passes or becomes critically ill.

It helps remaining shareholders or business owners repay debts that may have been taken out to expand or kickstart their operation, and can cover all or most of the debts accrued.

Relevant life cover is life insurance taken out by a company for its employees. It pays out a lump-sum to the family of a deceased staff member and can also lead to tax incentives for business owners.

Generally speaking, relevant life cover is best suited to smaller businesses that don’t qualify for a large group life insurance plan.

Where to find a protection planning policy

At South Charlotte Wealth Management, we can find a protection planning policy that suits you or your business.

We specialise in finding the most suitable arrangement for our clients, and our protection planning service includes assessing any financial risks that you might not even be aware of, and addressing them so they don’t put your long-term financial plans at risk.

Drop us an email at info@scwm.co.uk or call 0131 322 7360 for more information about how we can help you with protection planning for you and your business.