What’s worth more: you or your car?

by Mike LeGassick, Independent Financial Adviser, Manning and Company

Benjamin Franklin said, “But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

So how much life insurance would you take out to protect your family if you knew you were going to die in 6 months’ time? Would you invest in some critical illness cover if you knew you were going to have a heart attack, stroke or other critical illness, and survive it? Chances are you would get as much as you could and as quickly as you could.

So why is it then that only a fraction of the UK has any type of life or critical illness cover?


Let’s be honest, the answer is simple. It is against human nature for us to consider our own potential frailties – we assume that critical illness somehow won’t happen to us. We also naturally avoid thinking about our own mortality. But the reality is that at some point we will die; we just don’t know when - and therein lies the problem. At the point when you need insurance it will be too late to take it out.

After 20 years in this business it never ceases to amaze me that people insure their cars, pets and even their gadgets, yet not themselves. (OK, you have to insure your car by law, but it can be third party, fire and theft - yet most people choose comprehensive cover.) If your car is worth it, what value do you put on your own life? Are you even able to put a figure on it?

One of the most considerate things you can do is to make sure your loved ones are protected if anything should happen to you. It’s difficult enough to cope emotionally at a time of illness or loss without also being faced with financial hardship. It is within your power, today, to stop that happening to those you love. Please call us, and let us help you make one of the best decisions of your life, while you still can.