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When others depend on us, we need to set up cover so if we’re not able to support them in the same way, they can still move forward.
Partners, children, parents: it’s about them. What would give us the most peace of mind? Knowing they’ll be okay even if something happened to us.
Wills help us provide for family members if we die, and state how we want to distribute what we own. Wills also let us specify who we would like to look after our kids, or to leave special gifts and meaningful things to people or organisations we choose. Dying without a will can cause a lot of unnecessary stress and cost for the people we leave behind.
Life insurance provides a lump sum of money if we die. In some cases a portion or the entire ‘sum insured’ can be paid out early if we are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
An enduring power of attorney (EPA) is a legal document giving someone the power to act for us. There are two types: one for money and property, one for personal care and welfare.
Income protection insurance pays a percentage of our income for a certain period if we suffer from an illness or injury that prevents us from working.
Trauma (also called critical illness), provides a lump sum if we suffer from certain illnesses or injuries such as cancer, heart disease or paralysis.
Disability insurance pays out a lump sum if we are totally and permanently disabled through sickness or accident.
When something unexpected happens, someone typically has to pay. It doesn’t have to be you. Protect the money you have now, and your future wealth, so it doesn’t get wiped out by an unforeseen bill.
Third party insurance on a vehicle, for example, can make sure we’re not the one paying if we accidentally damage someone else’s car. And contents insurance can cover us if there’s damage to the property we’re renting.
Third party insurance covers damage to another person’s vehicle or property, but not ours.
Contents insurance can provide ‘third party’ cover if we damage someone else’s belongings in the house we are living in. So it’s a good idea when flatting or renting.
Income protection insurance is also a way of protecting our future earnings. If we can no longer work, we still have money coming in.
Mortgage protection insurance is aimed at covering our mortgage if we can’t work due to redundancy, sickness or accident.
Travel insurance policies cover our belongings against loss or theft, extra costs we may need to pay if our flights are cancelled, and medical treatment if we have an accident or become ill.
House insurance, car insurance and contents insurance are all ways of protecting what we own. By letting an insurance company pool our risk with many others, we let them take care of it and keep things covered.
Insuring our home protects it against the risk of fire or other damage.
If our car is stolen or damaged in an accident it can be very expensive to repair or replace. Motor vehicle insurance will pay to repair or replace our car if these events occur.
Contents insurance covers damage and loss of our belongings.
Family trusts are designed to protect our assets and benefit members of our family beyond our lifetime. When our assets are in a family trust, we no longer have legal ownership of them – the assets are owned by the trustees, for the benefit of our family members.
It's so satisfying. You can track your progress using your Sorted dashboard – add a task to your checklist, or set a goal with the amount you're aiming for.
If we had all the money in the world, we wouldn’t need insurance – we’d just protect our people, money and stuff ourselves if something happened. That’s called ‘self-insurance’. Since most of us can’t do this, how much do we protect, and how much do we get a company to do for us?
Most of us are not crazy rich, but we can still cover some risks ourselves. The more we do, the less we have to pay an insurance company.
why
For those costs that would set us back too much (like losing a house), that’s for a company to cover. But the more we protect ourselves, the less we have to pay an insurance company. With every policy we choose an excess: the amount we’re comfortable with handling. The more we can, the more we save on premiums.
Good advice is gold, and an insurance adviser can help you identify what risks you have, and what insurance products are best to cover them. If you do need to make a claim, they can also help things run smoothly so it all pays out when you need it to.
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