Why you could be missing out on useful health and wellbeing services
Posted onIn last week’s blog, we looked at how lockdown could be everyone’s new reality without the right financial planning. Over the last few weeks, it’s been much easier to see what restrictions there would be on your lifestyle if you don’t put the right protection in place or make the right provision for your retirement.
Protection is one of the core components of financial planning. Life insurance, income protection and critical illness cover are just three ways of providing a capital injection when you need it the most.
As we discussed, now is a great time to review your protection and to ensure you have the right cover in place.
As well as providing the peace of mind that you and your family are protected if the worst should happen, many protection policies also provide a range of other little-known benefits.
Many of these could be particularly useful during the pandemic, so here is a guide to the vital health and wellbeing services you may already have access to.
The health and wellbeing services you could be missing out on
If you already have cover in place, then you’re reassured that your family and dependents are protected.
But did you know that you may also be entitled to a range of support services that could come in very useful at this time?
Many protection policies from providers such as The Exeter, Royal London, LV=, Legal & General and Zurich have bolt-on benefits that policyholders can take advantage of. These include:
- GP on-demand services – as the waiting list for a GP appointment rises, you may be able to access GP service through your protection policy. Many providers let you book phone or video consultations with experienced, UK-based GPs. You can also access clinical advice and guidance
- A ‘second opinion’ service – you can access a second opinion service where a diagnosis can be assessed by an independent expert. This can provide an alternative diagnosis, different treatment, or simply reassurance
- Lifestyle coaching – you can speak to a lifestyle coach and benefit from a holistic approach to your health, happiness and wellbeing. This is designed to provide sustainable and long-term improvements to your wellbeing – for example, managing chronic medical conditions
- Nutritional advice – you can receive one-to-one consultations with a fully qualified and registered nutritionist who can help you improve your health and wellbeing. It can also help you gain an understanding of the main food groups (fat, protein, carbohydrate), vitamins and minerals to help make long-term, sustainable changes to your diet.
Many insurers offer these services via an easy-to-use app, so you can create an account and make full use of the additional services available.
A quick reminder of the protection you should consider
Protection is designed to provide a capital injection when you need it the most. The main types of protection are:
- Income protection – provides a monthly income to enable you to keep paying your financial commitments if you were unable to work for an extended period
- Critical illness cover – provides a tax-free lump sum if you were diagnosed with a serious illness. You could take the time off work safe in the knowledge that you had a financial cushion to replace income, repay debts or pay for medical care
- Life insurance – provides a lump sum for your partner, family or dependents, enabling them to repay your mortgage and remain in the family home, meet an Inheritance Tax bill, or to ensure your children are provided for.
Review your protection today
If you’re interested in finding out more about the ancillary services offered by your protection policies, or you would benefit from a comprehensive review of your protection arrangements, please get in touch.
Speak to your Black Swan financial planner, email enquiries@blackswanfp.co.uk or call 020 3828 8100.
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