Wise words from Phil Sims of Pennywise in Weymouth
It is easy to bury your head in the sand and not contemplate the unthinkable but the reality is that a large proportion of families would be unable to manage financially if either one or two bread winners were unable to work for any period of time, were struck down by a serious illness or hardest to contemplate of all, were no longer with us.
With many companies looking to control costs contractual sick pay is on the decline in many sectors. There are currently 3 million people in the UK who have been signed off sick for more than 6 months. Many people are unaware of their company's policy on long term sickness and the vast majority of people are under insured for this eventuality whilst having inadequate savings to cover their loss of earnings.
It is also a sad statistic that 1:4 men and 1:5 women will be diagnosed with heart failure, stroke or cancer before the age of 65. Thankfully survival rates are higher than ever, however the long term effects can have a massive impact on lifestyle and ability to provide for your loved ones.
If it is to difficult to imagine these situations, your partners or your own mortality is positively painful to consider. But can you afford to ignore life's realities? The emotional side of any of these occurrences is impossible to protect against, however it costs nothing other than an hour of your time, to review your families financial protection before you can get on with enjoying life, safe in the knowledge that you have done what you can to safe guard you and your family against the unthinkable.
Phil Sims for Pennywise, Weymouth
