Wage losses due to illness are underestimated
In the event of illness or accidents, there is also a risk of loss of income. Many Swiss people are ill-equipped for this.
Many people in Switzerland are ill-equipped to cope with a loss of income due to illness or accident. One in four people do not have enough savings to cover a loss of income for a single month. Another quarter of the population only has enough money to cover a loss of income for one to three months. This results in a representative survey by Zurich Insurance Group in eleven countries in collaboration with the University of Oxford. In Switzerland, 1000 people between the ages of 25 and 60 were surveyed.
The probability of losing income due to illness or accident is considerable. 40 percent of those surveyed stated that they had already lost all or part of their income. For one in five of those affected, the loss lasts a year or longer. 4 percent of those affected have to permanently forgo part of their previous income because they become unable to work. Many companies reduce income if employees are unable to work for more than three weeks. If a company has not taken out daily sickness benefits insurance, sick employees lose their entire income after the statutory continued payment of wages has expired, until the disability insurance (IV) awards a pension after lengthy investigations.
Many more sick people than accidents
In addition to the amount of savings, the decisive factor is whether someone is unable to work due to illness or an accident. If a person falls ill for a longer period of time and becomes unable to work as a result, they can often only expect a pension of 60% of their previous income from the IV and the second pillar. After an accident with permanent disability, the pension is significantly higher at around 90 percent. Among people in Switzerland who are unable to work, the proportion of accident victims is around 10 percent, while the proportion of sick people is around 90 percent. This means that many people have to make do with low pensions.
Although a loss of income due to illness is high, very few people in Switzerland are specifically insured against disability. While one in three people has death insurance, only one in four has specific insurance against disability.
Financial protection is possible
With disability insurance, you can secure an additional income in the event that you become unable to work due to a serious illness or accident. This is not only interesting for working parents who want to secure their family's standard of living. Young professionals and students are particularly affected by the financial consequences of disability, as they only receive low disability benefits from the first and second pillars.
Source: Zurich
