Don't Ignore the Numbers

When we talk to clients about protecting themselves from risk, it is often difficult to appreciate what this actually means.

What is the risk of death?

How likely am I to be off work due to ill health?

What's the chance that I will be affected by a critical illness?

In reality; the risks are higher than you might think, but unfortunately, the most common reaction is that people think it will not happen to them. That they are somehow immune to the threat of accident, injury, or ill health that can have disastrous consequences on their financial stability.

To try to put this into context, LV have developed a Risk Reality Calculator that assesses population and industry statistics to give you a risk rating of any of the above incidents happening to you or your partner before retirement.

For example, a 35 year old, non-smoking couple, with a retirement age of 67, these are the risks:

• 63% chance that one of you will suffer a condition leaving you are unable to work for 2 months or more
• 27% chance of a serious illness
• 8% chance of death
• 69% chance of any of these affecting you before age 67!!

That is 2 in 3 couples like you, experiencing one of the above situations before retirement!

It is never easy to think about what would happen if you or a loved one were faced with any of the above possibilities. But you can't ignore the numbers. These risks are real, they happen to people every day, and although we can't stop them, we can make sure that you have the right planning in place to deal with them financially.

The full LV Risk Reality Report is available here for more information