12 Dangers of Christmas
14 Dec 2017
The following Christmas dangers could make all the difference to your mindfulness over the festive season.
1. Christmas Decorations
Decorating the house or trying to better the house next door’s plethora of sparking lights and roof top Santas invariably requires gaining some height. Using a ladder or, worse still, balancing on an unsuitable item of furniture can be dangerous. If you fell and were unable to work for an extended period of time would you be able to cover your outgoings until you could return to work?
2. Christmas Parties
Whilst they are most enjoyable and you make sure you have a designated driver or hire a taxi there are still those out there that drink and drive. If they caused an accident to the vehicle you were in and you were unable to work for an extended period of time would you be able to cover your outgoings until you could return to work?
3. Blue Christmas
Tens of thousands of kids sit on Santa’s lap every year in the garden centre, shopping mall or department store. Consider how many children he comes into contact with every day, and you have a health risk sitting there in scarlet and fur. Santa could be a carrier for viruses, bacteria, and larger creepy-crawlies that it’s better not to even think about. If they caught something nasty and passed it on to you rendering you unable to work for an extended period of time would you be able to cover your outgoings until you could return to work?
4. White Christmas
Winter brings a wonderland of soft white snow, snowmen, snowballs and ice skating, but where there is snow and ice there lies danger also! If you were to slip and seriously hurt yourself and were unable to work for an extended period of time would you be able to cover your outgoings until you could return to work?
5. Christmas Lights
Christmas lights brightens anywhere you put them, twinkling delightfully and catching the eye. But they can be a fire hazard and can catch more than the eye. Whilst the number of fires caused by Christmas lights is low there is still the potential for incidents to be severe due to the combustible material these lights are attached to, such as a dry Christmas tree. If your place of work burned down rendering you unable to work for an extended period of time would you be able to cover your outgoings until you could return to work?
6. Mulled Wine
Mmmm, lovely. With the warm glow from a glass of mulled wine the world will seem like a happier place. Drink too much though and you may find yourself in an alcohol induced accident rendering you unable to work for an extended period of time. If so, would you be able to cover your outgoings until you could return to work?
7. Roaring Fire
What can be lovelier than a roaring fire on a cold winter’s day. But, uh oh! Fire, wrapping paper, flammable decorations and tree, kids hootling around, alcohol! Danger, danger! Yep, fire can hurt and if it hurt enough you were unable to work for an extended period of time would you be able to cover your outgoings until you could return to work?
8. Christmas Presents
Buying Christmas presents is all about thinking about what your friend or loved one would like but would probably never buy for themselves as it seems too frivolous, expensive or they didn’t know it existed. It’s great to see their joy at such a considered, and possibly generous, gift. But, behind every great gift there’s a cost and the better you are at choosing the perfect present the bigger the bill at the end of it. So, if you were unable to work for an extended period of time would you be able to cover your credit card bills until you could return to work?
9. Carving the Turkey
Time to unfriend the pet Turkey on Facebook and get down to some serious cooking. Uh oh, hot oven and a big knife. Household accidents increase quite a lot around Christmas, as do A&E visits. So be careful, and take care of yourself and your kids, you don’t want to end up spending the holidays at the hospital and off work for an extended period of time unable to cover your outgoings until you return to work.
10. Family
Every year its time for a board game. Its fun, whether its Monopoly, Cluedo or Trivial Pursuits. But do you know how many arguments occur at Christmas whilst playing board games that end up in a serious injury? No? Well, you’ll be surprised to hear that I don’t either. But should such an event occur to you this year and you were unable to work for an extended period of time would you be able to cover your outgoings until you could return to work?
11. Children Listen
Don’t we just adore them at Christmas – all excited eyes full of tinsel and fire. But do they listen when you tell them to put their toys away? A nasty accident is waiting under foot. If you trod/tripped or garrotted yourself on one of their toys and was unable to work for an extended period of time would you be able to cover your outgoings until you could return to work?
12. Biggest Danger of All!!!
The biggest danger of Christmas, as can be seen from 1-11 above, is not having Income Protection Insurance.
Taking out the right policy means Income Protection insurance will provide you with an income should you get injured or become sick over Christmas. You can start receiving an income immediately, if for example, you are self-employed, or defer it until your employer’s sick pay ends.
The monthly income you receive can then be used for any purpose you choose, including paying the mortgage or rent, household bills, medical bills, credit cards, nursery costs and so on. The maximum amount you could be paid each month varies from insurer to insurer, broadly 50-70% of your gross monthly income (i.e. your earnings before tax) and tax free under the current rules, although this might change in the future. We can even get cover for you if you are self-employed and can’t evidence your earnings.
For more information click here
