Young and single.

When you’re young it’s easy to feel free from financial responsibilities, but illness can happen to anyone at any age. 

You may think that it won’t happen to you; ‘I’m too young to get cancer or to have a heart attack, and besides, I don’t have anyone relying on me for financial security’. But there is someone – you!

Think about the consequences of permanent disablement – how would you cope emotionally and financially. While it might seem unlikely, the reality is a critical illness can strike at any time, often with devastating consequences.

Catherine’s story

Catherine was an adventurous 26 year old with a bright future. She had a business degree, was active in local politics and loved to backpack to exotic countries.

Catherine had a job she loved, and soon earned enough money to put a deposit on, and move in, to her first home. 

One evening whilst watching television with a friend, Catherine complained of feeling unwell. Later that night she collapsed and was rushed into hospital. She was quickly diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. It took Catherine several months to recover from the lingering effects of her illness. The headaches and short term memory loss meant that she was unable to return to work for 6 months. Her first 8 weeks back at work were on a part time basis.

Catherine’s future without protection:

• Catherine’s employers were supportive and told her to take off time to recover, however after 3 months her earnings were reduced by 50% in line with their sickness policy. So at a time when Catherine should have been focused on recovery, she was concerned about whether she would still be able to pay her mortgage.

Catherine’s future with protection – Mortgage term assurance with critical illness cover:

• The lump sum payout from her mortgage term assurance with critical illness cover policy was enough to pay off her outstanding mortgage. This meant she could comfortably afford to pay the rest of her monthly outgoings with her reduced salary, even when she returned to work part time.
• Catherine also had enough money left over to pay for some additional holistic therapies that she felt helped speed up her recovery.

This is not advice, you should consider your individual circumstances when deciding what level of protection you need, if you are unsure you should seek advice from your financial adviser. All characters in this story are fictitious; any resemblance to people living or dead is purely coincidental.