Here we are at session number 87 , and I’m going to be talking to financial services industry luminary Peter Le Beau about an innovative approach to highlighting the benefits of income protection insurance called the Seven Families Initiative.

I’m always keen to point out here on MeaningfulMoney that there is no sense in building a plan for the future if that plan is built on shaky foundations. A good insurance program is essential to make sure that your plans are not too badly affected if the unthinkable happens to you, like being unable to work or becoming seriously ill. Much more on that to come, so stay tuned…

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Introduction

Income protection insurance is underused. As a nation we are massively under-insured. Waaaay back in session number 7, I covered the basics of personal insurance, so definitely check that session out for more info on this.

Peter le Beau has been awarded an MBE for his services to the insurance industry, but it is clear to me from speaking to him that his passion is for everyone to understand the benefits of life insurance and, in this particular case, income protection insurance, so that as many people as possible can benefit.

I hope you find the interview helpful.

Interview

Here are the questions I asked Peter. Click the blue button for the full transcript!

• Who are you, what do you do and how did you get to where you are now?
• What is the Seven Families Initiative and how did it come about?
• What is the primary aim of the initiative?
• Can you share an example (perhaps from one of the families) of how a family's life has been affected by an inability to work?
• Income protection seems to be underused and misunderstood by the population – why do you think that is?
• Can you give us a quick précis of how income protection insurance works?
• Many people are sceptical of paying for any kind of health insurance, concerned that when it came to a claim, they  might be refused and have paid premiums for nothing – can you comment on that?
• Returning to the Seven Families Initiative, I know there is more to this than just providing an income for the families – can you explain about the wider support being given to them?
• What do you hope will be the end result of the initiative for the families, when the year has passed and things return to normal for them?
• What do you hope will be the wider result for the general public and for the insurance industry
• How can people find out more bout the initiative and keep an eye on its progress?

You can find out more about everything we talked about today at the excellent Seven Families Initiative website – highly recommended.

Summary

I hope you enjoyed my chat with Peter le Beau as much as I enjoyed chatting to him myself. If you don’t have income protection in place, ask yourself what the impact would be if you were to suddenly become unable to work and earn a living. How would you survive financially? If the answer is something along the lines of disaster or severe hardship, then do consider income protection as part of the answer, as well as having an emergency fund.

Please do seek advice on this, as there are a few different types of policy and a good adviser will help identify the best fit for you. Hit the Work with Pete button above if I or one of my colleagues at Jacksons Wealth can help you.

iTunes Reviews

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Next Session Announcement

Next time we'll be talking about a bit more about protection, particularly in light of recent announcements by Lloyds Bank who have laid off all their protection (that is, life assurance) advisers from their branches. And it’s quite timely to revisit this straight after speaking with Peter this week. My thanks again to him. If you have a question on any aspect of life, critical illness or income protection insurance, or any other financial query that you want answering here on the show, then the best way to do that is to leave me a voicemail at meaningfulmoney.tv/askpete.

If you have any questions or comments on today's session, please leave them in the comments section below. Look forward to speaking to you again next week!