International Women's Day 2022

International Women’s Day 2022

No matter who you are, what you believe in or where you come from, if you’re a woman then International Women’s Day is all about celebrating your achievements and all of the great things you do. Not to fear, men of course will have their time of recognition too, later on in the year. 

The theme of International Women’s Day 2022 is to #BreakTheBias. This can be interpreted in so many ways, but one particular aspect that we’ve decided to focus on is women’s health and finance. Some people think there is a gender bias in healthcare, with there being less research into women’s health, leading to there being less known about the health of women and trans people (International Women’s Day, n.d.). Women make up 51% of the population, but use a healthcare system made by men, for men, to the point where the UK government actually has a Women’s Health Strategy. 

Women’s health

Through the years, women’ health has also improved. For example, our average life expectancy in the UK in 1992 was 76, and is now close to 83 (ONS, 2021). Though 4 years might not seem like a lot, it’s an improvement nonetheless.

As women, we have some quite specific health concerns which others may not go through, such as the menopause, ovarian cancer or cervical cancer. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer and endometriosis too.

There are conditions related to women’s health which can’t be avoided or predicted, but there can sometimes be steps you can take to reduce your chances of developing them. Trying to stick to a balanced diet with regular exercise can make a big difference on your overall health and can prevent a number of different conditions. There is a great deal of information on the NHS website, to help provide information on exactly what you’re looking for. 

Whilst this is the case we are not saying that people that have developed breast cancer or other women’s conditions have not been eating well or exercising right. There are genetic factors that do make some women more likely to be diagnosed with certain conditions. Sometimes there is simply nothing you can do to prevent these things happening.

With their being gaps in research and knowledge, it can take much longer than hoped to receive a diagnosis, which is why we should take a stand to #BreakTheBias, to progress the research of the effects and symptoms of health conditions on women.

Within protection insurance, there are some women’s health conditions that pop up more than others:

• Breast Cancer
• Cervical Cancer
• Endometriosis
• Fibromyalgia
• Miscarriage
• Menopause
• Postnatal Depression

Each of these can be experienced differently and the symptoms can vary massively. If you have been diagnosed with one of the conditions mentioned above or want to know a little bit more, we have more condition specific information on our website which can give an indication of what insurance you might be able to get.

Women’s finance

Women have come a long way in society, with more women than ever before in employment and being financially independent. It could be that you’re a family woman and have dependents to care for, you could be totally independent and own your own home, you could be single and planning for your future financial stability if you fall ill and cannot work. There’s many situations that you might be in, and many of them call for an adequate protection insurance policy.

Life insurance

There are some key things to consider if you’re looking into life insurance.

• Do you have a mortgage or large debt that your partner or children could inherit?
• Does your family have the funds to pay for your funeral?
• Would you partner need to reduce their workload and earnings to look after any dependents if you were to die?
• If your partner is unable to reduce their workload, could they afford additional care for any dependents?
• How would your family cope if you were to die and they no longer have your income in the household?

   

Some health conditions can have an influence on the life insurance that insurers offer you. Without going into each and every health condition, it’s impossible to say exactly what terms you would be offered.

Insurers make their decision based on research, they look into how your health condition affects your ability to work and your overall health. Your health condition might have no effect on your life insurance, and you could find cover that suits all of your needs at standard rates (no price increase). There are times when an insurer might increase the price of the policy after taking your health condition into account.

Critical illness cover

Critical illness cover will pay a cash lump sum of money if you were to be diagnosed with a medical condition listed on an insurer’s claims set (one of their covered critical illnesses).

You will find that the price for critical illness cover is higher than the price of a life insurance policy. There is a reason behind this: you’re more likely to be diagnosed with a critical illness than you are to die during the term of your protection insurance policy.

On top of some of the questions asked for life insurance, there are a couple of other things you should take into account for critical illness cover

• Do you have a mortgage or large debt that you would struggle to pay if you were diagnosed with a critical illness?
• Do you have money spare to adapt your home or move home if your health was to change?

   

Though the UK has quite an extensive benefit system, but it’s only designed to meet the most basic needs whereas the payout of a critical illness policy can help to make your life much more comfortable and allow you to focus on your health without any added stress of your financial situation.

Quite often people will have combined life insurance and critical illness cover. Some insurers will offer life insurance with little to no added cost. Even if you didn’t initially consider life insurance, it’s worth checking the price difference and seeing if it suits your needs.

A critical illness policy often has a survivability clause, meaning the insurer won’t pay a claim if you were to die within the first 10-28 days of being diagnosed with a critical illness. This is where it’s beneficial to have a combined policy, as the life insurance aspect may then kick in allowing a claim to be made.

Income protection

Income protection can be massively misunderstood, it’s purpose is to replace your monthly income if you were unable to work because of ill health. 

Similar to critical illness cover, it’s likely to be more expensive than a life insurance policy. That’s because you’re far more likely to have time off work because of an illness than you are to die during the term of your policy.

Some of the key things to ask yourself are 

• Are you entitled to an enhanced sick pay from your employer?
• How long can you support yourself financially if your income was to stop?
• Statutory sick pay is £96.35* per week for a maximum of 28 weeks, is this enough to cover your living expenses?

   

This last one doesn’t always feel too clear, so it’s best to think of it this way: can you live off £2,697.80 for 6 and a half months? If the answer is no, then you really should consider income protection.

Not only does income protection help you in the here and now, it can help you plan for the future. If you have are putting into a pension or investments, you could use part of your claim to continue to pay towards these, so that your financial plans don’t fall apart.

Like all types of protection insurance, we hope to not have to ever claim on the policy. If you were ever in the situation to claim, these types of policy can make a huge difference. If you have any questions or concerns, our advisers are more than happy to help.

References

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Missions/17128/Power-privilege-and-priorities-Break-the-bias-in-women-s-healthcare [Accessed 20 Feb. 2022].

https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/womens-health/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2022].

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/lifeexpectancies/bulletins/nationallifetablesunitedkingdom/2018to2020 [Accessed 20 Feb. 2022].

‌*as of 7 March 2022 https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay

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