Here’s the uncomfortable question I avoided for years: if something happened to me tomorrow, would my family actually be ok?
Not emotionally – that’s a different conversation. I mean financially. Would they be able to stay in our home? Keep the kids in their schools? Have breathing room to grieve without immediate panic about money?
For most of my early career as a doctor, I told myself I’d sort it out “later.” I had employer life insurance. Wasn’t that enough? Turns out, it covered about 18 months of my income. After that? My family would have been on their own.
The problem isn’t that high-earning professionals like us don’t care about protection. It’s that we’re too busy, too overwhelmed by options, and – if I’m honest – too guilty about spending money on ourselves actually to do anything about it.
Here’s what changed for me: I stopped trying to build the perfect insurance portfolio and started asking three simple questions. These questions cut through all the noise and helped me create a protection plan that actually works – without spending hours comparing policies or second-guessing every decision.
The 3 Questions That Changed How I Think About Insurance
Question 1: If I Died Tomorrow, Would My Family Be Secure?
Let’s start with the hardest one. This isn’t about being morbid – it’s about being honest.
When I actually sat down and did the maths, I realised my employer life insurance was a joke. It covered about £180,000 – less than two years of my salary. After that ran out, what then? The mortgage would still be there. School fees. Living costs. My kids’ university funds.
My partner would have had to go back to work full-time – while grieving, while managing everything alone. That’s not the legacy I want to leave.
Here’s how I worked out what we actually needed using the DIME formula:
- Debt (mortgage, loans, final expenses): £350,000
- Income replacement (15 years until youngest finishes uni): £1,350,000
- Mortgage remaining: Already counted above
- Education (two kids through university): £200,000
Total: Around £1.9 million. Sounds massive, right? But when you break it down, it’s just ensuring my family can live the life we planned together.
The surprising bit? Term life insurance for £2 million costs less than you think.
I went with term life insurance because I don’t need lifelong cover – just protection during the years my family depends on my income. Once the kids are through university and the mortgage is paid, the need drops dramatically.
The key realisation: Even a non-working partner needs coverage. My partner manages our household, does the childcare, handles the emotional labour. Replacing that? Easily £30,000+ per year in childcare and support. We both have policies.
Question 2: If I Couldn’t Work for a Year, What Would Happen?
This one hit differently. Because unlike death – which feels abstract and unlikely – I’ve seen colleagues face this exact situation.
A patient I knew well had a stroke at 39. Completely healthy, regular runner, no warning. He was off work for 14 months. His savings lasted about four months. After that? Credit cards, loans from family, genuine financial stress on top of recovery stress.
Here’s the stat that woke me up: 43% of 40-year-olds will face a long-term disability before they reach 65.
Think about that. Nearly half of us. And yet most of us spend more time choosing a holiday than protecting our income.
I sorted two things:
Income Protection Insurance: Replaces 50% of my gross income if I can’t work due to illness or injury. I chose a 90-day waiting period because we have three months of expenses saved. That keeps the premium reasonable.
Critical Illness Cover: Pays a lump sum if I’m diagnosed with something serious – cancer, heart attack, stroke, MS. I can use it however I need: pay the mortgage, fund private treatment, give my family time without financial pressure. That’s another £45/month for £100,000 cover.
The key realization: Your ability to earn is your most valuable asset. More valuable than your house, your car, anything. Protect it first.
Question 3: If My Partner Faced Either Situation, Could We Cope?
This question showed me where most people get protection planning wrong.
We tend to insure whoever earns more and call it done. But households need both partners – whether you’re both working or one manages home and family.
Individual policies for both of us cost more than a joint policy, but joint policies only pay out once. After one of us is gone, the other has no cover. Given our ages and health, individual policies made more sense.
My partner has:
- £500,000 life insurance
- Income protection (covers 50% of their income)
- Critical illness cover
Yes, it costs more. But after running the numbers on what it would cost me to replace everything they do – childcare, household management, school runs, appointments, emotional support for the kids – I realised we couldn’t afford NOT to have it.
The Insurance Mistakes I See Busy Professionals Making
Look, I’m a doctor and a former financial advisor. I see these mistakes constantly among colleagues – smart, high-earning professionals who should know better:
Mistake 1: Relying solely on employer life insurance
Most employer schemes cover 1-4x your salary. Sounds good until you realize that’s just 1-4 years of income. What happens after that?
Mistake 2: Insuring the mortgage but not the lifestyle
Paying off the house is great. But your family still needs to eat, get to school, have some quality of life. Don’t just cover the debt – cover the life.
Mistake 3: Thinking “it won’t happen to me”
Everyone thinks that until it does. I’ve seen too many colleagues blindsided by sudden illness to believe in my own invincibility anymore.
Mistake 4: Ignoring the non-working partner
Childcare alone costs £15,000-£30,000+ per year depending on where you live and ages of children. Add housekeeping, emotional support, logistics management? You’re looking at serious money to replace.
Mistake 5: Waiting for the “right time”
Premiums increase with age and health conditions. The right time was yesterday. The second-best time is today.
My Simple Framework for Protection Without Overwhelm
Here’s my no-nonsense approach to each type of cover:
Life Insurance: Start Here
Use the DIME formula I mentioned earlier. Be honest about your numbers. Remember this isn’t just about replacing income – it’s about your family maintaining their life.
Term life insurance is usually the right choice for most working families. It covers you for 10-30 years at a fixed rate. When your kids are grown and your mortgage is paid, you won’t need as much cover anyway.
Whole life insurance makes sense if you want to leave money to kids, cover inheritance tax, or want lifelong coverage with cash value. It’s more expensive. For most people starting, term life is the better move.
Income Protection: Your Safety Net
Think of this as salary insurance. If you can’t work, it keeps paying you.
Choose a waiting period that matches your emergency fund. Got three months saved? Pick a 90-day waiting period. This dramatically reduces your premium while still protecting you.
Pro tip: Check what your employer offers first. Some provide income protection as a benefit. You might just need to top it up with personal cover.
Critical Illness: Time to Recover
This pays a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a serious condition. You can use it for anything – mortgage, bills, private treatment, taking time to recover properly.
Look for policies that cover partial payouts for less severe conditions. More modern policies will pay 25-50% for conditions that don’t meet the full payout criteria.
The Extras Worth Considering
Personal Umbrella Policy: Extra liability coverage beyond home and car insurance. If you have assets to protect, teenage drivers, or just want peace of mind, this is relatively cheap protection.
Health Insurance Choices: Compare total costs – premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums. A high-deductible plan with an HSA can work well if you’re healthy and want to save on taxes. A PPO costs more monthly but gives predictable costs if your family uses healthcare frequently.
Long-Term Care: Most people ignore this until it’s too late (and too expensive). If you’re in your 40s, you can lock in much lower premiums for care you’ll likely need in your 70s or 80s.
How to Actually Make This Happen
I know what you’re thinking. “This sounds expensive. I’m already stretched thin.”
Here’s the truth: You don’t need to do everything today. Start where you are.
Start with £10/month if that’s all you can do
Basic term life insurance can start from £10-15/month for reasonable cover. It’s not perfect, but it’s infinitely better than nothing.
Get that in place. Then add income protection when you can. Then critical illness. You’re building protection over time, not overnight.
The 10-Minute Audit
Grab a piece of paper and answer these honestly:
- Life insurance: Is my payout enough to replace income AND clear debts for 10+ years?
- Income protection: Could my household survive 6+ months without my salary?
- Critical illness: Would we have funds to manage recovery without touching savings?
- Partner cover: Are both roles in our household protected?
- Other coverage: Do our assets/lifestyle create liability risks we haven’t covered?
If you answered “no” or “I’m not sure” to any of these, you’ve found your gap.
Why “Good Enough Now” Beats “Perfect Later”
I spent two years researching the “perfect” insurance setup. You know what happened? Nothing. I did nothing for two years because options paralyzed me.
Then a colleague had a heart attack at 44. Watching his family scramble financially while he recovered snapped me out of it.
I booked calls with two brokers, compared their recommendations, and made decisions within a week. Are my policies perfect? Probably not. But my family is protected while I sleep. That’s worth more than perfection.
The Real Reason We Avoid This
Let’s talk about why this is so hard for high-earning professionals.
It’s not really about time or complexity. It’s about guilt and identity.
We’re trained to help others. To put ourselves last. To feel uncomfortable spending money on protection that might never pay out. There’s a voice that says “that money could go to the kids’ university fund instead” or “we should be more grateful for what we have.”
That voice is wrong.
Protecting your family isn’t selfish. It’s not pessimistic. It’s not wasteful. It’s the most loving thing you can do – ensuring that if the worst happens, they can grieve without financial panic.
You wouldn’t skip home insurance or car insurance. Why skip life insurance?
Final Thought
Insurance isn’t about fear. It’s about freedom.
Freedom for your family to make choices based on what’s right for them, not what they can afford in a crisis.
Freedom for you to take career risks, start businesses, or work less if you want – knowing your family has a safety net.
Freedom from the 3 am anxiety about “what if something happens.”
You’ve built a good life. You work hard for your family. Now protect it with the same commitment you brought to building it.
Start today even if it’s imperfect even if it’s just one policy.
And if you want more insights on building a life of time and financial freedom, sign up for our weekly newsletter at www.building-out.com
This post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research and, if needed, seek guidance from a qualified financial adviser regulated by the FCA
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