Over 4 million self-employed people do not have a back-up plan if they were unable to work.
06 Mar 2017
The number of self-employed in the UK is now estimated to be 4.79 million – 15.1% of the workforce.
If you are in one of the two thirds (62%) of self-employed workers’ households that are reliant on that one wage earner’s income, then you can guess the consequences of losing that main income will be. So, it wouldn’t surprise you to learn that recent research from Scottish Widows suggests that one in five (21%) self-employed people say they would not be financially secure at all and 12% don’t know how long they would be able to pay their household bills if they or their partner were unable to work. Just under a third (30%) say they wouldn’t be able to rely on a single income.
So, its alarming to read the recent research from Scottish Widows which found that a mere 7% of self-employed people have critical illness cover to protect them if they were unable to work.
The research also unearthed that self-employed people have average savings of £31,442 but don’t know how long their savings would last if they were unable to work. Do you have that much? Do you know how long it will last? Will it be long enough?
With regard to Life insurance its estimated that a third (34%) of self-employed people are said to have this insurance. However, arranging financial protection for their family in case they die should not be the priority. Statistically it is far less likely that you will die during your working life. You’re far more likely to have a long term illness and so its important that you consider protection beyond Life insurance and consider both Critical Illness and Income Protection when deciding to protect your family against illness or misfortune to the main breadwinner.
Income Protection was declared the one policy every working adult should consider in Which? Money in 2013.
To find out how best to protect your family check out our webpage here and call LightblueOnline on 01702 719625
