Every day, people have to cope with the possibility of becoming sick which would render them bedridden for weeks or months. They accept that there is a chance that disaster could strike which would render them unable to work and unable to provide for their families. Things are only made worse since one can never really predict what kind of disaster would occur or when. Such events as lightning striking people have been known to occur after all, and in very unlikely places for some cases. So in order to make sure that your family will not be left out in the rain when the storm hits, applying for an Income Protection Insurance might be something that you want to consider.
The idea behind this type of insurance is very simple to understand. If you are forced to stop working because of sickness or injuries, it will provide a certain amount which is equal to a predetermined portion of your stated salary until you can get back on your feet. Usually, companies would provide up to 75% of your salary for Loss Of Income Insurance, which a lot of people would already consider to be quite satisfactory. This benefit will continue to be provided until the time period which you have chosen yourself is up, or if you are ready to get back to work. The time period can be decided by you and can be as short as only two years or up until you reach 70 years of age, depending on the company.
But before anything else though, it must be made clear that you will only ever be qualified for this service if you are unable to work due to sickness or injury or both and nothing else. If you lose your job because your department got dissolved, you got fired because of some misdemeanor or because your company went under, then you will have to rely on some other type of service entirely.
Accompanying this service though, is the choice of the waiting period. This basically means that before you can claim the benefits of your Income Protection Insurance NZ, you will have to wait for a certain amount of time. But don’t worry though as you will be the one to decide for how long the waiting period will be. If you wanted to, you could claim the benefits within two weeks. However, if you consider yourself to be rather tightfisted, you should know that the longer the waiting period, the less you have to pay for the premium. Just be sure that you won’t run into problems before you can actually claim it since you really won’t get to use it until then.
Some companies who provide Income Protection Cover also offer rehabilitation services. Unfortunately, this does not mean that they will pay for your rehab and stuff. Rather, they will pay a portion of your benefits while you work a job that pays less than your previous one. This will act as a supplement for your old income, thus encouraging you to get back on your feet and at least find a job instead of just relying on the benefits entirely.
This kind of insurance protection can also include situations wherein you are unable to perform basic tasks yourself, when you are on leave due to pregnancy or even just partial disability. Depending on the company, you might also receive benefits while training for an entirely new job, for when you need supplementation while still at school, and limited childcare. Finally, in the event that your previously claimed condition resurfaces within the following six months, there would no longer be a waiting period.
