Seven Families Raise Awareness of Income Protection

The groundbreaking ‘Seven Families’ Campaign launched today to a very warm reception in both the trade and consumer press.

The Seven Families Campaign is the brainchild of the Income Protection Task Force (IPTF),
a non-profit organisation established to educate both advisers and the public on the importance of income protection insurance.

The campaign is backed by leading charity Disability Rights UK and is funded by a consortium of some of the largest UK insurers and reinsurers, which provided over £300,000 in donations.

What is the campaign all about?

The campaign documents the lives of seven different families where the main breadwinner in the household has suffered a serious illness or injury and can no longer work. The campaign will fund each family for 12 months with a monthly income set at the amount they would have received had they taken out income protection.

The purpose of the campaign is to try and show just how big an impact this will have on the lives of the seven families, therefore demonstrating just how important it is to have income protection.

IPTF chairman Peter Le Beau, MBE, says: “Put simply, we want to highlight the need for people to plan financially in case they become too ill to earn.

It is the first campaign of its kind and it is probably the first time so many major companies have worked together for a common purpose and got widespread support for doing so.”

More than just money…

When most people think about insurance they usually just consider the amount the policy could pay out, but many insurers offer some extremely valuable additional benefits with their policies for free.

In line with this the seven families will also gain from two commonly offered additional benefits. The first is a nurse counselling service provided by Red Arc. This service provides practical information and emotional support both for those suffering from a serious medical condition and their families.

The second benefit could turn out to be even more important than the insurance payments. With the Best Doctors service your medical notes would be sent to one of the world’s leading specialists for a second opinion of your diagnosis and treatment recommendation. It is no understatement to say that this service has saved numerous lives.

The first recipient – Tracey Clarke

The first recipient of the Seven Families income benefit was reported yesterday by Jeff Prestridge in the Daily Mail and follows Tracey Clarke, the former pharmacy assistant from Sussex.

Sadly Tracey developed optic nerve atrophy which will eventually result in complete blindness. As Tracey didn’t have any income protection cover either personally or through work her condition meant that unfortunately they had to sell the family home.

Tracy now lives on a canal boat with her black Labrador guide dog called Oakley and hopes to use some of the money from the campaign to buy a computer and specialist software for those with deteriorating eyesight in the hope of going into publishing. You can read more about Tracey here.

Tom Conner, Director at Drewberry Insurance, says: “Income Protection is more than just financial support; it provides an essential platform to help people re-build their lives after serious illness or injury. Seven Families demonstrates this first hand by following the lives of real people during what is a very difficult time.”

How much does income protection cost?

As income protection pays out a monthly benefit to cover lost earnings due to illness or injury the price of your policy will naturally depend on how much you cover.

It will also depend on how long you can wait after ceasing work before needing the policy to start paying a benefit, which is called the deferred period. If through sick pay or savings you are able to extend your deferred period from 4 weeks to 13 weeks it can lower the premiums by as much as 50% with some insurers.

One vital area that isn’t usually worth cutting costs on is with regard to how long the policy could payout if you need to claim. In 2013 the insurer LV published that their average claim length was 7 years so it is usually best to avoid cheaper plans that can only payout for a maximum length of 12 or 24 months.

To find out how much this cover would cost for you, you can gain comparison quotations from the top 10 UK insurers here, or alternatively feel free to call us on 0208 432 7333 to speak to a specialist protection adviser.