When is the best time to get sick or injured?

I often hear the objection from potential clients: “Now is not a good time.” While it’s understandable that the last five years have been financially challenging, the question I often ask is, “When is a good time?” However, this question sounds like it’s begging the point. As anyone can tell you, panhandling is not the way to win customers. So the question I ask instead is, “When is the best time to get sick or hurt?”

This question always seems to give the prospect pause, and for good reason. I’m never sure what the person is really thinking, but obviously they are thinking. That is exactly the point I am trying to make. The fact that we mentally decide to postpone things does not change what could and statistically can happen to us.

Here are some statistics to help prove my point.

Do you save any of your annual income? 48% of American families do not.

68% of adult Americans do NOT have savings set aside for emergencies.
65% of working Americans say they wouldn’t be able to cover normal living expenses for even a year if they lost income from their job; 38% were unable to pay their bills for more than 3 months.

Just over 1 in 4 of today’s 20-year-olds will be disabled before they retire.

Every 40 seconds someone in the US has a stroke. 600,000 people will suffer their first stroke (this year).

Every 34 seconds, an American will have a heart attack. 785,000 will have a new coronary attack (this year).

Of course, the honest answer to the question is that there is no good time to get sick or injured, but for many Americans getting sick or injured would be financially devastating. That’s why it’s important for employers to offer voluntary benefits like accident sickness plans, disability income and critical illness plans.

Employers should offer these plans as a generous way to offer some type of benefit to their employees. On a practical level, it helps cover any liability the employer may face. Plus, it helps break down existing benefit plans like deductibles, coinsurance, etc. Employees should closely weigh their options regarding the things that matter most to them. Does cancer run in the family? Am I the only breadwinner in the family? Does anyone in the family participate in sports or other activities that could be accident-prone?

There is no good time to get sick or hurt. There are ways to protect yourself and your business. Now is the best time to act. As the old adage goes, “There is no time like the present.”

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