• Every 2 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer.
• Every 7 minutes someone in the UK will have a heart attack.
• Every 12 minutes someone in the UK will have a stroke.

And yet so many of us are without a plan in place to help ourselves or our loved ones cope financially in the event of serious illness or death.

Aviva reported in March this year that amongst families with dependent children, 76% of parents have no plan for dealing with lost income due to ill health, while 68% have no plan for dealing with their own death or that of their partner.

A belief that income protection or life insurance is unaffordable, that it doesn’t pay-out or an ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude, all play a part in the lack of planning.

Insurers are working hard to dispel the myths about insurance not being paid out and now regularly publish their ‘claims paid’ statistics and we’ve previously written about the fact that the majority of claims are paid.

But, what if you are one of those people who think because you are fit and healthy, serious illness is unlikely to come your way? Sadly, none of us knows what is around the corner and here we share Tony’s story. He too had always considered himself to be a fit and healthy person, who led an active and busy life. Until aged just 38, he was admitted to hospital.

Married with two young children, Tony from Hertfordshire didn’t think he had anything to worry about health-wise. However, because his family depended on his income he had taken out an income protection policy in 2009.

In the spring of 2015, he had a succession of chest infections and thought, as he was unusually ill, he was just unfortunate and carried on. By late June, however, his health had deteriorated significantly and he was admitted to hospital. Tony recalls the speed with which the events unfolded.

“I had a bone marrow biopsy the next day and was diagnosed the day after,” he says. “It was so quick. Because I had what’s known as acute leukaemia, they couldn’t mess around. When the consultant broke the news, my brain went into immediate overdrive on all the practical things.”

One of the first things Tony did was contact the broker he used to take out his income protection policy. He admits he never expected to need it and always considered it a bit of a waste, he says “I was someone who hadn’t ever conceived that I would get any significant illness, and yet literally out of the blue I suddenly had.”

Because he had his policy in place Tony had peace of mind throughout his treatment, a bone marrow transplant and his recovery, he didn’t have to worry about the financial impact of his illness.

“It was an enormous comfort to know that the benefit was there to make sure my wife and family were provided for,” he said.

For Tony having the right policy in place meant that he got the financial support he needed when he needed it most. Tony has successfully returned to work part-time and he is working towards a full-time return.

Every year 1m workers in the UK unexpectedly find themselves unable to work because of injury or illness, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Income protection insurance replaces part of your income if you can’t work because you become ill or disabled. It pays out until you can start working again - or until you retire, die or the end of the policy term - whichever is sooner.

It means in most cases that you can cover your bills and living expenses without resorting to building up credit card and overdraft debt if you are unwell.

Of course, we all hope that we remain healthy and there won’t be any need to use this type of insurance, but insurance is all about planning for the worst – and if the worst does happen, it could make a very difficult situation a little easier to cope with!

Helping families to protect the financial future of the ones they love is a key part of our business, we are proud to be able to help so many people and give them the peace of mind they seek. If you would like to speak to one of our advisors about your insurance needs, give us a call on 0800 612 8005 – we’d be happy to help you too!