Injury/illness insurance for the self employed...
Discussion
This is kind of business/finance/health combined so I'm posting it here.
I'm self employed (mobile valeter), and I play quite a lot of football in the evenings and weekends. Recently at training I went over badly on my ankle and suffered quite significant ligament damage.
I ended up getting off lightly in that I only missed five days of work, but I struggled badly for a few weeks after that too, and it's still giving me a bit of grief after two months.
When I was sat in the hospital the night I did it, I was absolutely s
tting myself that it was broken and I'd have to be put in plaster and be unable to work. So, I decided I need some form of insurance that will cover leisure activities and pay me a wage if I'm out of action, long or short term.
I've been told that it's often so expensive that it's not worth bothering with. Does anyone have a policy they could recommend or a route I can go down?
Thanks in advance.
I'm self employed (mobile valeter), and I play quite a lot of football in the evenings and weekends. Recently at training I went over badly on my ankle and suffered quite significant ligament damage.
I ended up getting off lightly in that I only missed five days of work, but I struggled badly for a few weeks after that too, and it's still giving me a bit of grief after two months.
When I was sat in the hospital the night I did it, I was absolutely s
tting myself that it was broken and I'd have to be put in plaster and be unable to work. So, I decided I need some form of insurance that will cover leisure activities and pay me a wage if I'm out of action, long or short term.I've been told that it's often so expensive that it's not worth bothering with. Does anyone have a policy they could recommend or a route I can go down?
Thanks in advance.
I looked into this years ago and it was not only fairly expensive but the policies tended to only pay out after 6 months etc so I decided that by that time I'd have sold the house/car/got another job etc... so the policy was not worth it.
Hopefully they have improved these last few years and someone will come along with a good one.
Hopefully they have improved these last few years and someone will come along with a good one.
Dunno but the guy who did my patio broke his leg or something and couldn't work for 6 weeks
I did my ACL Ligament and I wouldn't have been capable of doing heavy work for months.
So if you are a regular footy player it might be worth the cost..
I did my ACL Ligament and I wouldn't have been capable of doing heavy work for months.
So if you are a regular footy player it might be worth the cost..
Edited by Mojooo on Tuesday 5th October 23:41
Edited by Mojooo on Tuesday 5th October 23:41
Having being self employed and in the building industry and therefore very much 'at risk' from this sort of potentially serious issue, I have quite carefully investigated most options.
However, with most types of insurance that have high risks, demand quite high payouts and payout quite quickly - as you might expect, the premium is expensive.
Therefore, I suggest you do the following, which is a nice kind of 'self insurance': Put aside a fairly reasonable chunk of cash every month. If you want £1000 pcm out of an insurance policy, put aside £500 pcm. After a year, assuming you haven't claimed, spend half your savings on a nice holiday/luxury items. Carry on putting the £500 aside. Every year, if you've not claimed: treat yourself.
An insurance company policy is not magic: They're not going to regularly pay our more than you put in. So do the above and enjoy the proceeds.
However, with most types of insurance that have high risks, demand quite high payouts and payout quite quickly - as you might expect, the premium is expensive.
Therefore, I suggest you do the following, which is a nice kind of 'self insurance': Put aside a fairly reasonable chunk of cash every month. If you want £1000 pcm out of an insurance policy, put aside £500 pcm. After a year, assuming you haven't claimed, spend half your savings on a nice holiday/luxury items. Carry on putting the £500 aside. Every year, if you've not claimed: treat yourself.
An insurance company policy is not magic: They're not going to regularly pay our more than you put in. So do the above and enjoy the proceeds.
I have a hospitalisation and sickness policy with combined insurance that pays enough to enable me to pay the rent on my workshop and a small wage.It costs £120 per annum and covers all activities including motorsport(the reason i took it out)there was a 6 month period where the sickness cover was not "live" but that was 20 years ago so not an issue now.
Two years ago i had a lump removed ,the wound became infected and i was off work for a month,they paid me more than i have paid in premiums so i'm up.
Two years ago i had a lump removed ,the wound became infected and i was off work for a month,they paid me more than i have paid in premiums so i'm up.
Muppet32 said:
Having being self employed and in the building industry and therefore very much 'at risk' from this sort of potentially serious issue, I have quite carefully investigated most options.
However, with most types of insurance that have high risks, demand quite high payouts and payout quite quickly - as you might expect, the premium is expensive.
Therefore, I suggest you do the following, which is a nice kind of 'self insurance': Put aside a fairly reasonable chunk of cash every month. If you want £1000 pcm out of an insurance policy, put aside £500 pcm. After a year, assuming you haven't claimed, spend half your savings on a nice holiday/luxury items. Carry on putting the £500 aside. Every year, if you've not claimed: treat yourself.
An insurance company policy is not magic: They're not going to regularly pay our more than you put in. So do the above and enjoy the proceeds.
Yes as above. The policies are very expensive. You may want to investigate them in terms of long term illness etc. I found that in order to keep the monthly payments down you had to increase the period before the payouts kick in. Mine will not payout until I've been unable to work for six months. So the savings idea above is a sound one. Also, you may want to consider straightforward private healthcover. If you pull, sprain or break something, private healthcare is likely to have you back on your feet quicker than the NHS, simply because you will not have to wait weeks for appointments. Also, you will have the option to choose the time for physio appointments etc.However, with most types of insurance that have high risks, demand quite high payouts and payout quite quickly - as you might expect, the premium is expensive.
Therefore, I suggest you do the following, which is a nice kind of 'self insurance': Put aside a fairly reasonable chunk of cash every month. If you want £1000 pcm out of an insurance policy, put aside £500 pcm. After a year, assuming you haven't claimed, spend half your savings on a nice holiday/luxury items. Carry on putting the £500 aside. Every year, if you've not claimed: treat yourself.
An insurance company policy is not magic: They're not going to regularly pay our more than you put in. So do the above and enjoy the proceeds.
pp
When I was in FT employment, I had a decent and very comprehensive insurance policy with L&G for unemployment, sickness, critical illness and death which was about £28 a month. When I became self employed I notified them and they advised that the premium would increase to £70 ish per month!
However, given my line of work (internet based), they conceded that it would be highly unlikely that they would find any reason to pay out under the policy as my "job" does not involve manual labour or travelling. I'm still not convinced by this argument, but regardless I cut my losses and cancelled the policy, but I'm still looking for some sort of suitable cover should I lose the use of my hands or eyes.
However, given my line of work (internet based), they conceded that it would be highly unlikely that they would find any reason to pay out under the policy as my "job" does not involve manual labour or travelling. I'm still not convinced by this argument, but regardless I cut my losses and cancelled the policy, but I'm still looking for some sort of suitable cover should I lose the use of my hands or eyes.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff