Latest research from LV= has found that there are 3.2 million working couples in Britain that are open to financial ruin if one of the two loses their earnings. They have classed this group as ‘Double Income, No Option’ households (DINOs) which means they are dependent on two incomes to make ends meet and would struggle to cope if they lost one of their incomes.

It is not unusual to find households today that rely on two incomes to maintain their lifestyle, or even just to get by. Six in ten of the UK population aged 16 and over live together as a couple and LV= say that over half (51%) are both currently working. Yet, without adequate savings or protection insurance, millions could be at risk of financial loss if one of the earners was unable to work for a period of time.

The Money Advice Service (MAS) says that each year one million people in the UK find themselves unable to work due to serious illness and according to the UK labour market statistics published in September 2017, there are 2 million people who are not in work due to long-term sickness.
MAS warn that ideally, everyone should try to save enough money to cover three months of living expenses. Although, they acknowledge that it can take time to save up this amount of money.

If you think you're falling short on your savings (and your options), here we look at how you could better safeguard your future.

The Money Advice Service says that if you don’t have savings, income protection insurance might be a cost-effective way to protect yourself.

Income protection is an insurance policy designed to help you if you can’t work because you’re ill or injured. It ensures you continue to receive a regular income until you retire, die or the end of the policy term - whichever is sooner. LV= report that three in five (59%) say that neither they nor their partner has any form of income protection, with 25% assuming it’s too expensive. In reality, a 40-year old non-smoker could get £1,500 a month worth of cover for under a pound a day.

Another common reason so few people take out income protection is that they simply think “it won’t happen to me”. Sadly, ill-health can happen to anyone, at any time. More than 137 million working days were lost due to sickness or injury in the UK in 2016, and although minor illnesses (such as coughs and colds) were the most common reason for sickness absence, a significant proportion of people find themselves absent from work long-term (for four weeks or more).

Stress and acute medical conditions remain the top causes of long-term absence, followed by mental ill health, musculoskeletal injuries and back pain. Mental ill-health is a growing problem, now affecting one in four UK adults each year. In England, 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week (MIND).

With so many households now relying on two salaries to get by, it has never been more important for couples to protect their joint income. We believe taking out protection insurance is one of the best ways for people to equip themselves should they find themselves unable to work for a period of time. We want people to be confident that they’d be able to cope if they were to find themselves in such a situation.

Income protection can be an affordable and valuable safety net that can provide a much-needed boost to a working couples financial resilience. We believe it’s important to listen to you to understand your needs and so we can get every detail of your cover right. Our experts offer no obligation advice and we’ll recommend the right policy for your circumstances and budget.

For further information or advice please contact an advisor on 0800 612 8005.