Does the thought of being off work for three months due to a major mishap with a nail gun horrify you?
As far-fetched some accident stories may sound, the reality is, they do happen. Being a tradie, you are exposed to lots of risks, and if something does go wrong, it could cost you an arm and a leg to be off work while recovering from an accident or even an illness.
That’s where Personal Accident and Illness Insurance comes in to play. Designed to protect your most important asset, you. You’ve worked long and hard to establish yourself in the industry and the reality of a few months off work with no income could not only cost you your business but severely impact on your personal finances too.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, during the 2013-2014 financial year, there were over half a million workplace injuries reported, with a staggering 185 of these resulting in death from traumatic injury. If you are a self-employed small business owner or a contractor, Personal Accident and Illness insurance is an important type of cover to consider especially if you are not protected by Workers Compensation. There is an additional option to cover you for Death and Disablement which provides cover for accidental death, as a result of an accident and for partial disablement.
If you think that it will never happen to you then take some time to consider the poor self-employed electrician who suffered the unthinkable when he fell off a ladder whilst doing electrical work on the outside of a house and broke his leg. He was required to take a substantial amount of time off work to recover, however, he fortunately had Personal Accident and Illness insurance and was able to claim $600 per week, which greatly assisted him whilst he was off work. In total, he claimed a benefit of $8,571. Without insurance, he would have suffered severe financial hardship.
Did you know a Personal Accident insurance policy not only protects you whilst working on site, but protects you anywhere in the world, 24/7? That means that if you were to injure yourself while doing a bit of DIY around the house, or you break a leg whilst on that perfect overseas skiing holiday, you have peace of mind that there is income protection in place.
The beauty of this policy is that you can customise the options to suit your needs. You can select the amount you want to be covered for, the waiting periods and the type of Personal Accident Insurance policy you want to have in place. You can even select a Lump sum and capital benefits option which can be as either $50k or $100k in the event of permanent disability or death caused by accidental injury.
In addition to your policy, some insurers offer additional benefits at no extra cost. Some of these benefits include:
- Rehabilitation – return to work program
- Chauffeur Services
- Return to work assistance
- Reimbursement of professional or membership fees
Let’s face it, nobody likes the thought of filling out forms or even going to the doctor for that matter! That’s one of the advantages of Personal Accident and Illness Insurance, there are no health or medical checks required, keeping the application process hassle-free and easy.
Now take some time to reflect and think about your profession as a tradie, the day to day tasks you do and ask yourself some important questions like:
- If you were to have an accident or suffer a serious illness where you would be unable to work, do you have a plan in place to cover your income? How would you pay the bills and maintain living expenses?
- If you are self-employed you won’t be covered by workers compensation. Even if you have Workers Compensation, did you know that it only covers you whilst working and not outside of work hours?
Protect yourself today and get a free and instant online quote for Personal Accident Insurance today. Could you afford not to be covered?
Resource: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1709/em17-0212_swa_key_statistics_overview_0.pdf– accessed 16/2/2018
