Women could find themselves exposed by lack of cover

WHEN it comes to insurance, I imagine that your household, like most others in Scotland, has measures in place to cover the home and its contents in the event of emergency.

However, amid all the insurances on the market to suit our modern lives, many women fail to provide for themselves and their families in the event of illness or death. While it may be an unpleasant topic to broach, it can, nonetheless, be a significant and unaffordable financial disaster.

I often meet with women who tell me that their number-one priority is to make a solid, long-term financial plan, ideally working towards comfortable retirement and a decent pension, from which to continue the lifestyle that they currently enjoy.

However, I often find that this is made on the basis that they continue to enjoy their current income until retirement age, and that, in the case of families, there is always an additional partner available to contribute to the household earnings and continue the savings and financial plan which they have in place.

Many women with whom I have spoken over the years also tend to put their families' daily needs above more long-term planning, finding that their personal finances have not left room for regular pension and life insurance or critical illness contributions after paying for school trips or new trainers for the children.

If a long-term illness strikes one wage-earning adult in the family, it can have a serious effect on the security of the household's finances. Many households will have enough surplus cash to maintain mortgage and ancillary costs for a couple of months, but after that they may find themselves in debt to keep meeting everyday costs.

I would recommend that any individual should put in place, as part of their financial plan, a level of critical illness and life cover, and especially for anyone who has already taken the step of insuring their health.

For as little as £5 per month, you could be provided with life cover to provide a lump sum payout to your beneficiaries in the event of your death.

Depending on your circumstances, this can be worthwhile for many householders as a way of providing a cash sum, to leave their partners financially secure at a difficult time and without the extra burden of finding the means to pay an increased monthly mortgage repayment.

Alternatively, critical illness cover provides a tax-free sum to cover loss of income in the event of suffering a long-term illness, with the premium varying depending on your current age and state of health, and any pre-existing medical conditions.

While not wishing to be a harbinger of doom, I would stress that critical illness and life cover are important aspects of any financial plan and would recommend that if you are a home owner or are starting a family and do not have cover on either front, it would be worthwhile speaking to a financial adviser to discuss the options available.