Most of us insure the car and the house without much thought. Far fewer have checked whether their income, their mortgage and their family would be looked after if illness or injury stopped them working, or if they died. That is the gap we help close — sized to your situation and set up correctly from the start.
Most of us insure the car and the house without much thought. Far fewer have checked whether their income, their mortgage and their family would be looked after if illness or injury stopped them working, or if they died. That is the gap we help close — sized to your situation and set up correctly from the start.
Protection planning means looking honestly at the financial risks you carry — illness, injury, death — then putting the right cover in place to meet them. At H&D Financial Planning we are independent financial advisers. Based in Maidstone, Kent, we provide services throughout Kent, London and the South East. We size each policy to your circumstances and, just as importantly, set it up correctly, so it does its job if you ever need to claim.
54%
of UK adults reported increased anxiety or stress because of the cost of living — about 28.4 million people
28%
reported losing sleep because of money worries
24%
reported their mental health suffering because of money worries
Source: FCA Financial Lives Survey 2022 (key findings). fca.org.uk
Protection planning is the process of identifying the financial risks that illness, injury or death would create for you and the people who depend on you, then arranging insurance to cover them. It puts a plan in place so that if your income stopped or you were no longer here, the mortgage, the bills and your family’s day-to-day life would still be provided for.
The questions behind it are simple ones, even if the answers are not. They are planning questions, not reasons to panic — and good cover is what turns them from worries into something already handled.
The risks it covers
The building blocks
The right mix depends on you. As MoneyHelper, the government-backed guidance service, makes clear, which combination of cover is right depends on your circumstances — which is exactly where independent advice earns its place.
At a glance
The four main building blocks of a protection plan — what each one pays, when it pays, and what people most often use it for.
| Type of cover | What it pays | When it pays | Typically used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income protection | A regular replacement income | While illness or injury stops you working, until you recover, retire or the term ends | Keeping up everyday bills and the mortgage when your earnings stop |
| Life insurance | A lump sum, or an income, to your dependants | On death within the policy term (or whenever you die, for whole-of-life) | Clearing the mortgage and replacing your income for the family |
| Critical illness cover | A tax-free lump sum | On diagnosis of a serious illness defined in the policy | Clearing debt, adapting the home, funding time off or treatment |
| Family income benefit | A regular income, not a lump sum | On death within the term, paid to the end of the term | Replacing income for a set number of years while children grow up |
Two policies that look similar on price can differ a lot on what they actually pay for. The detail is in the definitions — which is where reading the policy, and getting independent advice, matters most.
A regular replacement income while illness or injury stops you working
A lump sum, or income, for your dependants if you die within the term
A tax-free lump sum on diagnosis of a serious illness in the policy
A regular income for a set number of years while children grow up
The right mix depends on you. A complete protection plan usually draws on these building blocks, with the option of writing some policies in trust so the money reaches the right people at the right time. As MoneyHelper, the government-backed guidance service, makes clear, the right combination depends on your circumstances — which is exactly where independent advice earns its place.
The building blocks
A complete protection plan usually draws on a few main types of cover. Here is what each one does, and where the choices that shape it really matter.
Replaces part of your earnings if illness or injury stops you working, paying a regular monthly income until you recover, return to work, retire or the term ends. The deferred period, payout term and level of cover all shape how it works — often set to begin when employer sick pay runs out. Because it is built around your earnings and existing benefits, it pays to size it carefully.
Pays a lump sum, or sometimes an income, to your dependants if you die during the term — most often to clear the mortgage and replace lost income. Term, level, decreasing and whole-of-life cover each suit different needs, and many policies include terminal illness cover. Not everyone needs it, and good advice says so honestly.
Pays a tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed with a serious condition defined in your policy, such as certain cancers, a heart attack or a stroke. It pays out while you are still living. Cover depends entirely on the policy terms and exclusions, so the definitions matter more here than almost anywhere.
Pays a regular income to your dependants, rather than a single lump sum, if you die within the term. It suits families who want to replace a salary for a set number of years while children are growing up, and is often a lower-cost way to provide substantial cover.
Has no end date and is designed to pay out whenever you die, rather than covering a temporary risk. That makes it more expensive than term cover, and better suited to estate-planning goals — where the aim is to leave a guaranteed sum behind.
Private medical cover can pay for faster access to treatment, and some people hold it alongside their protection policies. The cost of care in later life is a separate planning question with its own rules around means testing.
Why the mix matters. A protection policy is only as good as the way it is matched to you and set up. The right combination depends on your income, your mortgage, who depends on you and what you already hold — which is the work independent advice is for.
Writing a life insurance policy in trust means the payout is held by trustees for your chosen beneficiaries, rather than paid into your estate. A policy that is not in trust can add to the value of your estate and may increase an inheritance tax bill, and the payout can be held up while the estate is settled. Putting the policy in trust at outset usually avoids both — and most insurers offer it at no extra cost.
Where suitable, the payout can be kept outside your estate, helping with any inheritance tax position.
The money reaches your family without waiting for the estate to be settled.
You decide who receives the money and on what terms.
Most insurers offer it at no extra cost — it just needs setting up at the right time. The wider question of inheritance tax is covered on our IHT & estate planning page.
The FCA does not regulate trust and estate planning. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
For business owners
Businesses and the people who run them have protection needs of their own. These sit alongside personal cover rather than replacing it, and they are worth getting right early.
Protects a company against the financial loss of a director or essential employee whose absence would hit the business hardest.
Provides the funds for remaining owners to buy out a colleague’s share if they die or become seriously ill, keeping control of the business in the right hands.
Tax-efficient death-in-service cover for an individual employee or director, arranged through the business.
We cover these in full on our page on business protection for companies and their owners.
What it costs
Our fees are agreed with you in writing before any work begins — nothing is charged that you have not seen first. For protection policies we may receive commission from the insurer rather than charging you a separate fee; either way, we tell you what we are paid before you commit.
What a policy costs in premiums depends on your age, your health, the level and type of cover, and the term, and we explain all of that before anything is arranged. Protection sits within your wider plan rather than apart from it, which is why it connects to our wider financial planning service.
A protection policy is only as good as the way it is matched to you and set up, so we work through the same three steps we apply to every plan.
Understanding what you have, and what you need.
We start by understanding your situation: your income, your mortgage, who depends on you, what cover you already hold, and what your employer provides. Many people already have some protection, such as death-in-service through work or an old life policy taken out with a mortgage, and the first job is often to work out whether it is enough and set up correctly.
Cover sized to the need, set up correctly.
We research the whole market, recommend cover sized to the need, and arrange it properly, including writing policies in trust where that is appropriate. Getting the cover right at outset means fewer problems if you ever need to claim.
Keeping pace as your life changes.
Life changes, and protection should keep pace. A new mortgage, a child, a change of job or a pay rise can all shift what you need, so we review your cover as your circumstances move — making sure it still does the job it was put in place to do.
Behind that process sits a firm with unusual continuity. The H&D name traces back to Harris & Dixon, a City of London house whose roots reach toward 1797 — a name that has moved through different trades and several centuries. What endured was never the ledger but the instinct behind it: knowing your client, holding their interests above the transaction. The advice business that carries the name today has looked after individuals and families since 1987. Read more about our heritage, or meet the team behind H&D.
H&D Financial Planning is independent. We are not tied or restricted to any product provider, and our recommendations are based on a comprehensive and fair review of the market, made in your best interests. On a decision as long-lived as a protection arrangement, that difference compounds. You can check the firm’s status on the Financial Services Register.
A restricted adviser chooses from a single provider or an agreed panel; we consider every suitable option and recommend what fits you.
We recommend cover sized to the need and arrange it properly, including writing policies in trust where that is appropriate.
We are part of the Loyal North Group; where a group firm is among the options we consider, we say so clearly, and any recommendation is made on its merits.
“
My job is to help you make the decisions that still make sense years from now.”
Protection planning is the process of working out the financial risks that illness, injury or death would create for you and your dependants, then putting insurance in place to cover them. It typically brings together income protection, life insurance and critical illness cover, arranged around your income, your mortgage and your family.
The main types are income protection, which replaces part of your earnings if you cannot work; life insurance, which pays your dependants if you die within the term; and critical illness cover, which pays a tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed with a serious illness defined in the policy. Family income benefit, which pays a regular income rather than a lump sum, is a common addition.
It depends on how long your employer sick pay lasts and what you would live on once it stops. Many employer schemes pay full salary for only a few months. Income protection can be set up with a deferred period that begins when your sick pay ends, so the cover takes over rather than overlapping. Whether you need it comes down to your savings, your outgoings and how long you could manage without an income.
Life insurance pays out when you die within the policy term, providing for the people you leave behind. Critical illness cover pays out while you are still living, on diagnosis of a serious condition defined in the policy. Some people hold both: life cover to protect the family, and critical illness cover to deal with the financial impact of a serious illness they survive.
For many people it is worth considering. Writing a policy in trust can keep the payout outside your estate for inheritance tax, get the money to your family faster without waiting for probate, and let you control who receives it. Whether it suits you depends on your circumstances. The FCA does not regulate trust and estate planning, and tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
Yes. Businesses and their owners face risks that personal cover does not address. Key person cover, shareholder and partnership protection, and relevant life policies all help a business cope financially if an owner or key employee dies or becomes seriously ill. You can read more on our business protection page.
If you’d like to understand what cover you and your family actually need — and make sure what you already have is set up correctly — get in touch. The first conversation is on us, with no obligation to proceed.
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