What would happen if you got sick and couldn’t work for a while? Would you be financially secure? Or would all income stop? Would you be forced to use your savings, or do you have something in place that would keep the money flowing?

I ask because I recently got sick. Last summer I suffered a stroke (I’m 23) and couldn’t work for 3 months. This year I’ve had to deal with a number of consequences of the stroke, the most serious of which is epilepsy and being prone to mental and physical exhaustion.

This exhaustion can take me out of pretty much everything (including this blog). I’m only just starting to get back on top of things after the last bout. That’s by-the-by however.

The point is I had to make sure I could have money coming in if I couldn’t work for a spell. Most employers offer sick-pay - where you get paid for a period of time if you get sick. Usually the time period sucks. Some employers offer a form of enhanced sick pay benefit, in the form of a salary-sacrifice scheme. That is, you give up a portion of your monthly wage to fund the scheme which gives you sick pay for a greater length of time. In my case, I would get 3 months full pay and then 12 months half pay instead of just 3 months half pay. By enrolling in the scheme, I ensured I had enough money coming in to pay my mortgage and utility bills.

Covering the very basics is all fine and well, but it would leave things rather tight. Plus, would you really want all your proverbial eggs in one basket? When taking out credit, many lenders will try and sell you unemployment insurance. The idea here is that for an extra premium, your repayments will be covered in the event you find yourself unable to work (through sickness or unemployment). My understanding of this type of policy is that if you ever do need to use it, your credit rating will be severely affected.

Another, more extreme type of cover is Critical Illness Cover. CIC is generally part of a life insurance policy. This type of policy will payout a large lump sum (usually tax free in the UK) in the event you suffer a “critical illness” as defined by your policy. Usually this includes stuff like heart attacks, cancer, most terminal illnesses… and strokes. I didn’t claim on mine. The only issue with CIC is if you ever need to claim (assuming you will survive), that’s it, you’ll likely not be able to get much in the way of CIC again, which can effect your chances of getting something like a mortgage. It was because of this and because I was going to make a full recovery that I didn’t claim on mine.

One final way to cover your self should something happen. One final way - and one which I am working on realising - is to have streams of AIS (Automated Income Source). I’ve talked very briefly about having systems that work on auto-pilot, but not in depth. Examples of AIS systems include niche content websites with advertising revenue, affiliate schemes, and selling information products with an payment/automated download system.

These are just some of the ways you can protect your income if you get sick for an extended period of time. As always, you should seek independent financial advice before making any decisions.