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🏆 PA Awards x3 • FCA No. 226918
There’s no right or wrong motivation, just a goal worth planning for properly.
Put support in place if illness or injury prevents you from earning as you normally would.
Help give the people who depend on you greater financial security if you are no longer there.
Consider cover that could help with ongoing costs such as a mortgage and household bills.
Create a financial safety net before an unforeseen change puts pressure on your finances.
Protection planning begins by establishing where a financial shortfall could arise if something unexpected happened. We will look at areas such as your income, household expenditure, mortgage or other commitments and whether anyone relies on you financially.
We can then assess any protection you already have, identify potential gaps and determine the amount and type of cover that may be suitable. Rather than simply arranging as much insurance as possible, the aim is to provide appropriate protection without leaving you paying unnecessarily for benefits that do not serve a useful purpose.
We can help you with areas including:
- Life insurance for you and your family
- Income protection if you are unable to work
- Critical illness cover
- Assessing how much protection you may need
- Reviewing policies you already have in place
- Considering how life insurance should be arranged, including trusts where appropriate
Insurance policies can look similar on the surface, but the details behind them can differ considerably. Price is only one consideration; the type of cover, level of benefit, policy conditions and how well it matches your circumstances are equally important.
Our advisers can compare protection options from across the market and help you understand what different policies are designed to do. This gives you a clearer basis for choosing cover rather than relying solely on an online comparison or selecting a policy based on premium alone. Matthew Douglas says it has access to major life and protection insurers when sourcing cover for clients.
Protection also needs to reflect the way your life changes. Buying a home, having children, changing jobs, becoming self-employed or taking on additional financial commitments can all alter the amount and type of cover that may be useful. Existing arrangements can therefore be reviewed to check whether they remain suitable.
How a policy is set up can matter too. For example, Matthew Douglas currently highlights the use of trusts when arranging life insurance as part of its wider approach to protection planning. Where legal or tax considerations arise, these should be considered alongside appropriate specialist advice.
The objective is not to insure against every possible event. It is to identify the financial consequences that could have the greatest impact on you or your family and put sensible arrangements in place to help manage those risks.
If you are unsure whether you have enough protection, already hold several policies or want to arrange cover for the first time, our advisers can help you understand what is worth protecting and explore suitable options.
The value of investments can go down as well as up, and you could get back less than you originally invested. That’s exactly why independent advice matters: before you commit to anything, we make sure every risk is clearly explained and every question answered.
Independent Financial Adviser
Portfolio Manager / Independent Financial Advisor
Independent Financial Advisor
This will depend on your circumstances and what you want to safeguard. Life insurance can provide financial support following a death, income protection can provide an income if illness or injury prevents you from working, while critical illness cover can pay a benefit following certain specified diagnoses. Matthew Douglas discusses all three forms of protection within its financial planning guidance.
There is no standard level of cover that is right for everyone. Factors such as your earnings, regular expenditure, mortgage, existing savings and the number of people financially dependent on you can all influence how much protection may be appropriate. An adviser can assess these factors before recommending a level of cover.
Yes. Existing policies can be assessed alongside your current circumstances to see what protection they provide, whether there are any important gaps and whether you are paying for benefits you may no longer require. Matthew Douglas specifically states that part of its service involves removing unnecessary cover where appropriate.
It is worth reconsidering your protection following significant changes such as taking out a mortgage, having a child, changing your employment or income, starting a business or experiencing a major change in family circumstances. Even without a major life event, an occasional review can help establish whether existing policies still match your needs.
Free • no obligation • we’ll come back to you within one work day
🏆 PA Awards x3 • FCA No. 226918
Our qualified independent financial advisors from our Haleigh team are on hand to help you with your retirement planning.
Paul Hardy
Independent Financial Advisor• Matthew Douglas Ltd
Prefer to talk now? Call 01473 927072 (Mon–Fri, 9–5) or visit us at Wheatsheaf House, 4 High Street, Hadleigh, IP7 5AP.