15 December, 2011

Winter has arrived, and if this one follows the pattern of recent years, we all need to take extra care as the ground turns icy. Minor accidents such as slips and trips happen all the time, and life carries on as usual - but have you thought about how you and your family might cope if you were to sustain a more serious accident or injury this winter?

Should the worst happen, and an accident or injury leaves you unable to work, you could, for example, find yourself in a very vulnerable financial situation.

While accidents and injuries sustained in the workplace are likely to be covered by your employers' liability insurance, it's actually more likely that an accident will happen outside of work. Research carried out by ROSPA found that, at the extreme end of the scale, 4,996 people were killed in accidents at home in 2009, compared to 171 being killed in accidents at home in 2010/11.

If something happens in your own time which prevents you from working, your employers may not have any responsibility to pay you while you are off, and you could even lose your job if you cannot return to work quickly enough.

Similarly, if you are self-employed you may already have cover whilst at work, but if an accident happens away from the workplace, you may be left without any source of income, for an indefinite amount of time.

One way to protect against this happening is by taking out a personal accident insurance policy. Although no one thinks or expects an accident will happen to them, it is advisable to be prepared just in case.

Depending on the type of injury sustained, different personal accident policies offer different levels of cover, which can be in the form of either a weekly or monthly payment or a lump sum payout (usually in the case of more serious or permanent injuries). The money you receive could enable you to remain in a stable financial position whilst you recover, giving you and your family one less thing to worry about.

Cornish Mutual's personal accident insurance offers a weekly benefit at 75% of your income, payable for up to two years.

If a more serious accident costs you life or limb, then the policy will pay a lump sum to you or your family.

To find out more about Cornish Mutual's personal accident insurance, contact  our Member Services Team on 01872 277151.

Image source: RobotSkirts on flickr.com