“She’ll be right” is not a smart approach to your future

Australians are an optimistic bunch, known for our “she’ll be right” approach to life, but that attitude can leave you in financial trouble should the unexpected happen.

While we all want to believe “she’ll be right”, none of us knows what tomorrow brings, and it’s important to be ready for the things life can throw at you – be it a temporary illness or injury, a chronic condition or an accident or terminal illness.

Unfortunately, as a nation we are pretty unprepared. A recent study found only around a third of Australians aged 18-69 held life insurance. And only around one in five held disability cover, income protection insurance, or critical illness and trauma cover.

As revealed in the research mentioned above, of those Australians who do hold life insurance, it is often falling short of what would be considered adequate protection.

A report by Rice Warner shows that if Australian families had to call on their life insurance policy, half of them would find only 47% of their family’s basic needs, or 28% of the amount required to maintain their family’s standard of living, was covered.

Even more concerning: the median level of income protection would only meet 21% of needs. That figure drops to 14% for the average total permanent disability cover.

And while most Australians know they have insurance as part of their super, not many take the time to examine it properly and make sure they are adequately covered.

We at Smart Financial are firm believers in the important role personal insurance plays to protect your wealth and lifestyle. We can review your needs and ensure you and your loved ones are protected against the unforeseen with a plan that is tailored to suit your distinct needs.

That can mean taking into account your age, life stage, the number of dependents you have, your current lifestyle and the amount of debt you carry, as well as the income you would need should the unthinkable happen.

Personal insurance is never ‘set and forget ’- your needs will change at different stages of your life and while underinsurance is a concern, it’s also possible to be over insured if your circumstances have changed since you took out the policy.

If it’s been a while since you’ve looked at your personal insurance, come and have a chat with us.