Background:

I met the client in August 2023 after an introduction from his accountant. His main reasons for wanting to meet with an Adviser were to discuss his savings and retirement planning for his business. The client left employment and set up his own limited company.

During the initial meeting, we had an in-depth conversation about his circumstances, personally and financially. Following our meeting, I agreed to work with the client and build a plan for his main priorities.

However, I explained that I had identified other areas that he needed to consider, this is something we always do when providing holistic financial planning. The client agreed to have a separate meeting and talk about protection planning for himself and his family.

We talked about financial risks to either himself or his wife becoming seriously ill. Most notably, while they had life insurance in place, there was nothing to protect them financially should they fall ill and be unable to work.

Solutions:

We agreed to put two critical illness insurance policies in place with each paying out a tax-free lump sum if they were to become seriously ill or pass away. The first policy was underwritten for the client’s spouse in May 2024.

A separate policy for the main client was underwritten in June 2024 after we conducted a further search for policies that were suitable to the clients wishes but also within his budget. Both policies included additional benefits, one of which was for child critical illness cover. This would cover any existing or future children if they were to become seriously ill.

Outcome:

In July 2024, the client’s daughter had some routine blood tests and unfortunately some anomalies were discovered. After further investigations, she was eventually diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. After his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, we were able to claim on the additional benefit of both policies for the child critical illness cover.

A successful claim would pay out £25,000 for each policy to the family. The policy will continue even after a claim has been paid out. If both polices are paid out, the total amount of £50,000 would help the family in so many ways throughout this difficult time. The client expressed his gratitude to me for identifying this area and their wider planning needs.

It just so happens that the actions taken to mitigate this protection risk was in time by a matter of weeks. The advice provided to my clients was given after a full evaluation of their specific needs, circumstances and requirements. The solutions provided would not be suitable for others and the information provided does not constitute advice.

Key Takeaways:

• Protection planning should be considered in every financial plan, even if it’s not the main priority.
• Consider protection policies for non-working spouses.
• You should consider additional benefits such as child cover.