The global financial crisis that took place a few years back seems to be rearing its head once again with the mightiest economic power in the world facing a downgrade of its seemingly invincible credit rating. If this trend continues, there could well be another round of massive job cuts that would affect many families around the world. In view of the uncertain and erratic economic conditions, it is essential to get income protection to ensure a secure life.

How Income Protection Insurance Helps

With an income protection insurance, you can have the confidence that in case you lose your job, you will not need to fall back on your savings for subsistence because you will receive about 75 percent of your last drawn salary. There could be other reasons for loss of income apart from the global financial crisis like falling ill, getting injured, or a mental problem. Any of these reasons could make you unable to work either temporarily or for a very long time.

If there is no income protection insurance, you might be left high and dry and unable to meet the basic requirements for maintaining your family. Income protection insurance will secure a large portion of your income. However, there may be a waiting period before you can receive the benefits. The premium that you might have to pay for this insurance would be well worth the benefits that you will get in times of need. This is an excellent way of saving for a rainy day and relaxing with the assurance that you will be safe even if you are unable to work due to an unexpected illness, injury, or accident. The insurance benefits that you get will help see you through till you are ready to work again.

How to Get Income Protection Insurance

If you want to take income protection insurance, the best thing to do is to browse different websites and find the most reliable one that provides insurance quotes from different insurance companies and enables you to compare the same. The most important criterion is the insurance premium that you need to pay, which depends upon several factors like your occupation. If you have a white collar job, you can get a low premium because the amount of risk would be low whereas blue collar jobs attract higher premiums.

It is also possible to tailor the insurance package that you need in line with your specific needs. You can also choose the type of insurance like 'agreed value' or 'indemnity'. In case you choose the former type of insurance, you can decide the amount of monthly payment that you will receive when you make the claim whereas in the latter type, you can decide the amount of monthly payment only at the time of making the claim.

The amount of insurance premium will depend upon the type of insurance that you choose and the length of the waiting period. The shorter the waiting period, the higher will be the insurance premium. The other factor that needs to be considered is the benefit period which signifies the length of time for which you need the income assistance, should you decide to make a claim. The normal benefit period ranges between two and five years or till a predetermined age.

Since no one can predict the future, it is essential to opt for income protection insurance to ensure that your family does not have to struggle for survival in case you are unable to work because of injury, illness, accident, or due to the global financial crisis.