In case of an emergency: protecting your family properly

Mar 31, 2022.

As a parent, you want to enjoy this wonderful time, which makes it all the more important to be prepared for unpleasant situations. However, an accident or illness can cause major financial problems. Protect yourself and your family against such risks. In our «In case of an emergency: protecting your family properly» series, we explain the basics step by step.

 

Loss of earning capacity due to disability: Protecting your family financially

Does your family mainly live on a single salary? Then this income should be protected so that you can finance your everyday family life even in case of an extended loss of earnings. If you are employed, certain risks are automatically insured through your employer. Self-employed persons must arrange their own comprehensive insurance.

 

Even if the majority of the Swiss population thinks that there’s nothing to worry about, the statistics show a different trend: in 2020, 247,000 people across Switzerland received a pillar 4 pension due to loss of earning capacity. The reasons for this are:

  • 81% due to illness
  • 7% due to accident
  • 11% due to congenital anomalies

 

Accidents, and illnesses in particular, are not therefore not as rare as you might think. But what insurance should you have against such risks? To be able to answer that and to find out which insurances are important, we first have to consider the two different reasons for a loss of earning capacity: accident or illness.

 

CONTINUED PAYMENT OF SALARY IN THE EVENT OF ILLNESS

If you are unable to work for an extended period because of an illness, your salary will continue to be paid for a certain period. In your first year of working with a company, your employer must pay your full salary for three weeks. After this, salary payments continue for a “reasonable additional period”. The courts have defined what this wording means in the Basel, Bern and Zurich scales (see “Continued salary payment in the event of illness”). Depending on the number of years of service at a company and the scale, this timeframe is between one and six months.

 

If your employer has collective daily sickness allowance insurance, your benefits are better. In this case, you usually receive 80% of your salary for about two years. Daily sickness allowance insurance generally only kicks in after a waiting period of 30 days. During this time, you continue to receive your salary from your employer.

 

CONTINUED PAYMENT OF SALARY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT

If you become unable to work due to an accident, accident insurance will pay your wages. You will receive 80% of your last salary. The maximum insurable annual income is CHF 148,200 (as at 2022).

 

Good to know: All employees are automatically insured against occupational accidents. Employees who work an average of more than eight hours a week for the same employer are also insured against accidents during non-working time. Unemployed individuals must conclude insurance for non-occupational accidents from their health insurance. Thereafter, the employer will continue to pay the salary as in the case of an illness.

DAILY ALLOWANCE INSURANCE – WHEN TO CONCLUDE PRIVATE INSURANCE

What did your pension analysis reveal? Would you be faced with financial difficulties after a few months without a salary? Then you should conclude private supplementary insurance, for example daily allowance insurance. First, you must answer two questions:

 

WHICH WAITING PERIODS MAKE SENSE?

  • Daily allowance insurance only pays out after a certain waiting period. The longer this waiting period is, the lower the premium.
  • If you are employed, you are better off choosing the same waiting period as your employer, which by law is at least three weeks.
  • As a self-employed person, you will need a daily allowance right away if you become unable to work. However, the premiums for this are very high. For this reason, many self-employed persons opt for an insurance with a waiting period and bridge the first few weeks or months with their savings. 

 

ACCIDENT, ILLNESS OR BOTH?

  • Self-employed persons usually conclude daily allowance insurance for accident and illness. Whether or not additional voluntary UVG insurance is worthwhile is a very individual choice. This insurance includes widows’ and orphans’ pensions, for example. If you do not have a family, you are paying part of the premium for nothing.
  • Employees benefit from the accident insurance automatically provided by their employer. If you earn more than the insured maximum of CHF 148,200 per year, you can expand your cover with a private daily allowance.

 

Good to know: If you are not employed and have no loss of earnings as a result of an accident or illness, you can still take out daily allowance insurance from us.

 

WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO ADVISE YOU

Many families do not want to carry out this pension analysis themselves. Our insurance advisers would be pleased to assist you. You will learn how to protect yourself against the various risks and what it costs. You can conclude individual risk insurance from as little as CHF 50 per month.

 

WHY A PENSION ANALYSIS CAN HELP

What will happen if your family circumstances suddenly and radically change? A pension analysis can provide the answer to this question. It is based on your family budget and reveals how well you are protected financially if you lose part of your family income for a specific reason. The following risks are assessed in a pension analysis:

  • Loss of earnings: Can your family survive financially if part of the family income is lost for an extended period due to illness or accident?
  • Disability: Will you receive enough money from social insurance to finance your living expenses?
  • Death: Will your family be left in financial difficulty if a parent dies?

Find out more

What happens if the main breadwinner of the family becomes disabled? In part two of our “In case of an emergency: protecting your family properly” series, we explain the most important things to consider.

 

Do children also need to be insured? Which insurance policies should parents consider? In part three of our “In case of an emergency: protecting your family properly” series, you can read everything you need to know.

 

One topic that families often avoid talking about is death, but families really should be prepared for this tragic eventuality. We tell you how in the fourth part of our series.

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