A healthy approach to business

Laura Crowden iSelect

For small-business owners, a major concern is the possibility of being unable to trade. While this can often be out of their control, there are ways to help lessen the impact of business interruptions. Your ability to respond to unexpected events such as becoming sick or injured can be improved with a health insurance plan designed to specifically suit your needs. The small amount of time it takes to do the groundwork to secure an appropriate plan will pay off for years in the future, for both you and your business. Here’s why…

  1. Get better, faster

If you’re a man down in a one-man team, business comes to a halt. Having the right health insurance in place will ensure you don’t have to go on a public-hospital waiting list for elective procedures, allowing you to return to work as soon as possible. Your plan can be flexible, and can be amended as your business develops and your health needs change.

  1. Time is of the essence

You may want to consider making further savings on your health insurance plan by looking into the lifetime health cover loading (LHC). If you do not have hospital cover by the first day of July after your 31st birthday, you have to pay a “loading” if you do finally decide to take it out. For every year after that date you don’t take it out, you have to pay an extra 2 per cent on top of your premium for an extra 10 years. For example, if you wait until you are 35 to take out private hospital cover, you’ll pay an extra 10 per cent on top of your premium, and if you wait until you are 40, you’ll pay 20 per cent, and so on.

This means that if you don’t have private health insurance and are younger than 31, you can avoid paying LHC down the track by taking out hospital cover before July 1. If you are already paying LHC because you took out cover after turning 31, you can still minimise the amount you pay by ensuring you are on a plan that is both the most financially viable option and services your health needs most effectively.

  1. Go that one step further

When sorting out your health insurance and evaluating your situation, it is worth considering the future of your business in the case of sudden trauma or disability. Life insurance, trauma insurance and income protection can protect both you and your company, ensuring that not all is lost should something unexpected occur such as a long-term injury that prevents you from being able to work.

Nobody wants to spend time thinking about their health cover, especially people who are busy running a small business, but the reality is that a small amount of time invested up front to make sure you’re covered for the right things will save you both time and money in the long run.

More importantly, it will give you peace of mind so you can focus on the more important job at hand.

Laura Crowden, www.iselect.com.au