Life Insurance provides insurance cover that pays
a lump sum benefit to your Estate if you die during the period
of cover.
If you're the main income earner in the family,
life insurance can help provide a stable financial future for
your loved ones if you pass away prematurely. It can help your
family cope with major household expenses, such as paying off
the mortgage, education costs and funeral expenses.
How
much cover do I need?
Most review their life insurance at key stages
during their lives, like:
getting married
arranging a mortgage or a loan
starting a new job
the birth of children
buying a house
establishing a business
Your Synchron adviser is equipped to advise you
in all situations. He or she can assist you to determine the
amount of cover you require, arrange quotes from reputable life
insurance companies and advise on matters like whether you should
take a joint policy with your partner.
Total & Permanent
Disability
Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) cover is
life insurance that pays out if the insured person becomes Totally
and Permanently Disabled.
In the event of a claim, the TPD payment can be
used to eliminate debt, pay ongoing medical expenses, make necessary
home modifications, or hire home care services such as nursing,
cleaning and cooking.
It is usually purchased as an additional option
on another policy but can be purchased on a “stand alone”
basis.
Your Synchron adviser can advise you on the appropriateness
of this cover.
Trauma Insurance
Trauma insurance pays a lump sum in the event
that you suffer a major injury or illness such as heart attack,
stroke or cancer.
This type of cover is designed to help you cover
medical expenses associated with the trauma and other costs
that your family may be exposed to. Also, it can often be combined
with Life and/or TPD cover at a discounted price.
Basically trauma insurance fills in the gap between
life insurance, TPD insurance and income protection insurance.
For example, an insured person who suffers a mild
stroke and is able to return to work after 3 months would not
be able to claim under their life insurance or TPD and may not
be able to claim under their income protection policy.
That's why you should seek advice from your
qualified Synchron adviser.
Income Protection
Income Protection insurance is probably the most
essential type of insurance cover because your income determines
your standard of living, your ability to build wealth and your
capacity to provide for retirement.
It provides you with an income should you become
unable to work due to an injury or sickness. Benefits are paid
monthly. The amount of cover is usually restricted to 75% of
your gross salary. Premiums are tax deductible for most taxpayers
and the income is assessable because it replaces lost “assessable”
income.
The choice of cover depends entirely on your individual
circumstances.
Because of the number of choices, advice from
your qualified Synchron adviser is essential.
For example:
Benefit periods can vary from 2 years
to age 65 or life for accident cover
Waiting periods (the time before a claim
is paid) can range from 14, 30 or 90 days to even longer
Maximum benefit calculations for self-employed
people can be complex
Claims benefits can be escalated in
line with inflation
Your occupation determines your premium
and some companies exclude some occupations altogether
Policy definitions can vary greatly
between companies especially the definitions of "total
disability" and the differences between “own occupation”
and “any occupation” and “Indemnity”
vs “Agreed Value”
Premiums can be “Stepped”
or “Level”
Business Expenses
Insurance
Business Expenses insurance is like Income Protection
for your business.
It enables your business to continue to operate
if you are temporarily disabled and unable to work.
If your business stops operating, your income
might be covered by Income Protection, but if the ongoing expenses
of the business – for example rent, business mortgage
or loan repayments, equipment leasing costs and utilities payments
– aren't covered, the owner might need to use the
income protection proceeds to pay those, to keep the business
out of bankruptcy.
Ideally, a business owner would have the business's
net profit covered by income protection, any loans covered by
life insurance – possibly with some TPD cover –
and the expenses covered by business expenses insurance.
Superannuation
(Retirement Planning)
Retirement planning should start as soon as possible
after you start working because the longer you delay, the fewer
options you will have and the harder it's going to be to reach
your retirement income goal.
While 65 years is often considered the "official"
retirement age, there's a growing variation in the ages at which
people stop working
Your Synchron adviser will work with you to determine
your statistical life expectancy (and therefore how long your
retirement income will need to last), the lifestyle you want
to have in retirement, the expenses that may still need to be
covered and the likely impact of inflation.
With this information in hand he or she will discuss
the various investment options and your risk tolerance level.
Master Trusts/Wrap
Accounts
Master trusts (and wrap accounts) are managed
investments that allow you to pool your money with other investors
to create a fund large enough to access wider investment opportunities
or save costs.
Even though your money is pooled with other investors',
you still keep some control over your own investment. It's usually
easy to switch investments or change your strategy at any time
by instructing your adviser or the master trust or wrap account
operator. Sometimes you can do this over the phone or through
the Internet.
Some trusts offer you hundreds of different investment
choices. Some of the popular choices you may be offered include:
Your Synchron investment adviser will help you
to:
Understand the fee structure
Explain the different features
Advise on the future flexibility of your investment
Financial Planning
The role of your financial planner is help
you determine and assess your financial goals, taking into account
your individual circumstances and aspirations and the options
available.
In other words financial planning helps you determine
where you're going – what you want for your financial
future and then it helps you make it happen.
It is an ongoing process that takes into account
your income, assets, liabilities, and personal views like your
values, dreams, wants, needs, time horizons and your attitude
toward risk and reward.
The result is a custom-tailored strategy that
can help you:
Maximise your investment returns
Make your retirement years more comfortable
and secure
Handle your day-to-day finances faster and
easier
Increase your savings and optimize the growth
of your wealth
Improve your cash flow for a better balance
between income and expenses
Minimise the taxes you pay
Accumulate funds for special goals, like higher
education for children
Look after your dependents in case of death
or disability
Estimate your insurance needs
Have more confidence in your financial decisions
Transfer the assets of your estate to your
heirs in the most effective way
