---
title: "Get Prepared for Life - Sapience Financial"
description: "We understand what people like you typically think about when making their plans to protect and provide. Life always feels better when you have a backup plan."
url: "https://sapience.com.au/services/for-life"
date: "2026-05-29T15:08:48+00:00"
language: "en-GB"
---

#  Prepared For Life

 ![Four images showing 4 stages of life's risks](https://sapience.com.au/images/site-pics/catagorys/get-prepared-for-life.jpg)## Being prepared for life looks different across all phases of life

### We understand what people like you typically think about when making their plans to protect and provide. Life always feels better when you have a backup plan.

### Why do people use risk insurance?

Life is unpredictable.

Its not unusual for life and business to be interrupted by unexpected events. Most are manageable annoyances, but other have the potential to derail your plans and the more serious ones, the potential to dissolve your hope for a better future. Knowing you have a backup plan to return you to normal, just in case, makes many of life's problems more bearable.

Nobody does their best work in an unexpected crisis and we all need coping skills and backup plans well before we face a potential catastrophe.

When it comes to life's biggest risks with the greatest potential to set you back in life and earnings, risk insurance is there to help you return to normal.

**Life's statical risks are the most dangerous to face**.
Some risks in life are simply avoidable – that's why we teach our children to look both ways before they cross a road, that's why we don't eat chicken that's been left unrefrigerated and why we don't run with scissors – many known risks in life can be minimised or simply avoided. The other risk in life are statistical. **The statistical risks of life cannot be avoided**, we all face them – **so we need to manage them**.

### The big idea behind planning for the unexpected

Risk Planning is designed to help return you to a position where you can continue life and business when you recover after an unexpected serious sickness or illness, or to compensate your estate for lost income earning value, should you unexpectedly pass away. This is so your family and loved ones don't miss out on the lifetime value you would either earn or create, over the course of a normal full working life.

Our aim is to protect you against the [statistical risks of life](https://sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=387:the-statistical-realities-of-life-and-business&catid=9:uncategorised) and make sure you and your family (be they logical or biological) are financially compensated if one of these statistical risks were to occur to you.

This way, your plans for your future continue regardless.

### What is personal insurance?

There are many types of insurance, but *personal insurance* (also known as risk insurance) is a contract that provides a binding guarantee that compensation will be paid in case of an injury, illness or death.

The big difference with *personal insurance products* is they are *guaranteed to be renewable* each year (as long as you continue to pay the premiums) and renewed automatically – regardless of any future changes in your health or type of occupation.

To fully appreciate the range of life insurance capabilities, it’s important to learn about what makes *Life insurances* very different to *general insurance*, (like car or home & contents insurance policies).

- The *personal insurance* products are called life 'insurances' (that's why there is an additional 's) and are considered **the gold standard** of insurance policies because they're non-cancelable by the insurance company.
- [Life insurance](https://sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=198&Itemid=756) is a great choice when your protection needs are expected to be high for a set period of time, then later drop back down; such as when your family is just starting out and growing, you're carrying a large mortgage debt, when you have a non-working partner, frail aged parents or a special needs sibling that might [financially dependant upon you later in life](https://sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=268:help-my-ageing-parents-have-no-retirement-savings&catid=83:blog&Itemid=734).

This level of certainty is highly valued (and probably why getting such a type of policy [can take a little more time and involve a lot of questions](https://sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=227:why-does-getting-a-life-insurance-policy-sometimes-take-longer-then-expected&catid=83:blog&Itemid=734)). But once it's in force, you have a powerful piece in your backup plan.

### Life is risky

Life is inherently risky and that’s normal – not having a backup plan for life – that’s not.

- Playing sports, doing home renovations, driving a car – even crossing the road – it all involves a level of risk and that’s where we use our good sense and judgment to help manage those dangers.
- That’s why we teach our children to make better decisions and not to run with scissors, to swim between the flags at a beach and to cross a road at a pedestrian crossing when walking to school.

### Business Life is risky too

Regardless of the type of small business you run, the [one common thread](https://sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=382:the-numbers-of-business&catid=83:blog&Itemid=734) connecting them all is business runs on its people – so the statistical people-based-risks become amplified when you add a small business structure to an individual, and their family structure.

- The more business [Partners](https://sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=174&Itemid=738) you have (or people in your supply chain) the more you increase your exposure to the statistical [Numbers of Life](https://sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=373:the-numbers-of-life&catid=83:blog) that either a business partner or supply chain provider will unexpectedly become sick or injured and unable to work, disabled or even unexpectedly pass away.

While it may sound counter-intuitive, risks are actually magnified within any small business environment that runs on people.

> Simply said; business owners need to protect themselves and their families, from their businesses.

### Protecting and Providing - it's the very essence of being human

The most important things in life, actually aren't things – they’re people. That's why we have Life insurances.

### When do you need insurance?

Since no one’s circumstances are the same, their insurance protection plan shouldn’t be either.

Generally speaking, insurance is an important strategy to use **when someone depends on you financially**, and if **you have large long-term debt obligations** like rent, a mortgage, or a business loan, or **when you're part of someone's support network** or backup plan.

### Protecting against the 4 Statical Risks of Life we all face

Life insurances (yep there is an extra 's' in insurances for a reason) are actually a set of four (4) types of policies each designed to help cover one particular known major statistical risk, we all face.

The reason we say these 4 risks are faced by everyone is that they're statical realities. This means, they aren't personal – they're statical – and therefore cannot be avoided, just managed.

- At Sapience Financial we call these major life risks **The Numbers of Life**.
- Small Business owners face an additional layer of these statistical risks, which we call **The Numbers of Business**.
- These additional unique business risks are also simple statistical realities small business people can't avoid, but we can prepare for them ahead of time - just in case.

While everyone feels more secure knowing when a Life insurance policy is in force, you may want to consider whether you could also benefit from protecting yourself from the other 3 Key risks of the [Numbers of Life](https://sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=373:the-numbers-of-life&catid=83:blog) too, depending on where you are at this point in your life.

### The Numbers of Life | The Statistical Risks of Life we all face

**![Crisis and Trauma insurance](https://sapience.com.au/images/DEV/icon-insurance-critical-RedCenter.svg) Crisis & Trauma** We all have a **1 in 3** chance of suffering a critical medical trauma or significant illness during our working life.

**![Income Protection insurance](https://sapience.com.au/images/DEV/icon-insurance-incomed-protection-Red.svg) Income Protection** We all have a **1 in 4** chance of being sick or injured and unable to work for at least 3 months during our working life.

**![Life and Terminal Illness insurance](https://sapience.com.au/images/DEV/icon-life-insurancec-Red.svg) Life & Terminal Illness** We all have a **1 in 10** chance of unexpectedly passing away during our working life.

**![Total and Permanent Disability insurance](https://sapience.com.au/images/DEV/icon-insurance-tpd-Red.svg) Total & Permanent Disability (TPD)**
We all have a **1 in 20** chance of being disabled long term with a total and permanent disability.

Source: Life Underwriting Guidelines

### Risk Insurance | Factors that affect the cost of an insurance policy

**![Amount of Cover](https://sapience.com.au/images/icon-svg/cover-shield-amount-GreyDark.svg) Amount of Cover** The more you’d like to receive, the more it will cost.

**![pie chart GreyDark](https://sapience.com.au/images/icon-svg/pie-chart-GreyDark.svg) Claim payment benefit period** It’ll cost more the longer you want to receive payments.

**![calendar month GreyDark](https://sapience.com.au/images/icon-svg/calendar-month-GreyDark.svg) Waiting period before claim** Your premiums will be less expensive if you’re willing to wait longer to receive payments.

**![birthday cake GreyDark](https://sapience.com.au/images/icon-svg/birthday-cake-GreyDark.svg) Age**
Disability insurance may be less expensive when you’re young.

**![health cross GreyDark](https://sapience.com.au/images/icon-svg/health-cross-GreyDark.svg) Health**
Your costs will be lower the healthier you are when your first apply.

**![briefcase occupation GreyDark](https://sapience.com.au/images/icon-svg/briefcase-occupation-GreyDark.svg) Occupation**
If you have a dangerous job, your premiums can be higher.

#### INSURANCE KEY TAKEAWAYS

- The **good news about insurance is** if you need it, you probably have someone and something of value to protect – a partner, a family, a best friend, a home, and your ability to earn an income. You could say insurance is the price we all pay for prosperity.
- **Life's biggest risks are statical not personal** — so while we can't avoid them but we can prepare for them ahead of time, just in case.
- **Different levels of risks grow out of particular types of jobs**, a persons current state of health, and their pastimes.

#### WHO SHOULD CONSIDER IT?

- In general, in the early years, most people will have large financial commitments but a low level of salable assets to support them in case they get sick or injured or unexpectedly pass away.
- Having the right amount of Life insurance in place for you, your family (and your business), is not a goal in itself.
- Having sufficient Life insurance is all about protecting and providing so your family has a place to live, your children can complete their education and your partner can continue to live where they are most supported, in case you are no longer there to support them. Its also designed to help you be able to financially retire when you need to.
- How much insurance is enough for you really depends upon how much living you have to do, and that's where we can help you understand whats possible.

### How we can help

Using personal insurance is a simple and necessary decision to transfer the responsibility of the bigger things in life to a Life insurance company, rather than having to be responsible for them yourself and risk burdening your family with crippling debts and a bleak future.

Call us for a confidential chat about your needs.

---

###  Related: Types of Life's Risk we help manage

1. [ Children's Life Insurance](https://sapience.com.au/services/for-life/childrens-life-insurance)
2. [ Accident Only Insurances](https://sapience.com.au/services/for-life/accident-only-insurance)
3. [ Double Income Family with a Double Income Mortgage](https://sapience.com.au/services/for-life/double-income-family-with-a-double-income-mortgage)
4. [ Severity Based Insurance](https://sapience.com.au/services/for-life/severity-based-insurance)
5. [ Total & Permanent Disability Insurance (TPD)](https://sapience.com.au/services/for-life/total-and-permanent-disability-insurance-tpd)
6. [ Insurance Claims Assistance](https://sapience.com.au/start-here/insurance-claims-assistance)

## Schema

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 1,
            "name": "Home |",
            "item": "https://sapience.com.au"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 2,
            "name": "Get Prepared for Life",
            "item": "https://sapience.com.au/services/for-life"
        }
    ]
}
```