Noah Johnson

In this day and age when the world at large is in an economic crisis and as a result many businesses are forced to close their doors or scale down on staff, ask yourself this very important question, are you protected? With businesses closing down everyday, we are all at risk, the only certain in life is death and taxes. We just never know when the company we work for might need to cut down on staff or even close down altogether.

When you spend your time working to provide and maintain a good lifestyle for your family, you want to ensure that when you are gone, your loved ones will be financially assisted in maintaining that lifestyle, instead of having to downgrade their lives due to the loss of income.

South Africa, even with its ever growing economy and modern lifestyle compared to the rest of Africa, still has a high mortality rate compared to most European countries. This places us all at risk and makes life assurance in South Africa a necessary part of our insurance portfolios. Not only are we all at risk, but most South Africans that are insured are under-insured. With this information at our disposal, it should highlight the vital importance that life insurance has in our lives today.

With the move into digital, many people have updated their lifestyles to accommodate digital products such as digital music players, laptops, smartphones and even digital shopping. Companies have made use of this trend to provide their products and services to a global market, saving time and money by using the internet to facilitate transactions.

If you are to pass away in an unforeseen accident, what will become of your family and will they cope financially without you? Death is never a pleasant thing to think about, but we have to consider that at some stage our lives will come to an end and we will leave loved ones behind. We cannot control when our time is up, but what we can control is what legacy we leave our family with. Leaving them with loving memories goes without saying, but have you left them with finances to fall back on?

Disability and work cover pays a lump sum of money out to you, the policy holder, in the case that you become disabled and are unable to earn an income as a result. Some may not deem this type of cover necessary, but considering what may happen if you do not have this type of cover in place may change your mind.

Most of us invest in insurance as a safeguard against our family sliding into debt when we are gone. The sudden loss of a family member is not only emotionally devastating, but has serious repercussions for the financial status of the family, especially if the person was the prime breadwinner of the family. Life insurance will pay beneficiaries a lump sum should the policy holder die, but what if you are involved in an accident which leaves you disabled, and unable to continue your old job?

Insurance providers in South Africa are making life, and insurance investment, easier for you than it has ever been before. Instead of spending hours on the phone, getting an earache and a growing phone bill while you listen to an insurance advisor try to sell you on various insurance policies, you simply need to gain access to an internet enabled computer.

When you are commuting to work, your mind is most likely racing with plans for the day ahead; perhaps you have a meeting to attend, assignments and tasks to complete, or schedules to plan. You may be thinking about future plans for the day, month or even the year, regarding your family. For instance, maybe you're planning a vacation, or moving house.

Income and insurance work hand in hand, as many see insurance as a way to protect ones income, whether it be because of disability or death. However life insurance and disability insurance are two very different polices that offer very different benefits. They are both vital as part of our income protection plan for the future, but pay out under very different circumstances.