Family Protection is in many ways the very foundation of financial planning generally, and for the most people it is, or should be a first priority.
Family Protection includes not just Life Assurance needs, but also Permanent Health Insurance, Critical Illness Benefits and related areas such as Private Medical Insurance and Long Term Care Insurance.
There is a clearly demonstrable need for the breadwinner of a family to be covered against the various circumstances which could reduce or eliminate his or her ability to continue to provide the income to support the family.
It is however important to consider the effect that the death or incapacity of other members of the household, particularly spouses who are not engaged in paid work, would have. For example where one partner takes responsibility for looking after young children, if he or she becomes unable to do so, the result may well be that the other partner can no longer devote as much time to work, and the family's income overall may suffer. Unless their family's financial situation is protected against such eventualities, there is a high risk of a significant reduction in living standards as a result of death or disability.
It may well be that you have already taken out policies to provide protection against such circumstances. In many cases the cost of cover has decreased over the past few months/years. Therefore it may be possible for PFM to reduce the cost of your current cover, without reducing the level of cover itself.
PFM Associates is regulated by the FSA. No. 213724