In line with the trends of the last 3-4 years, many insurance companies have announced their claims statistics for critical illness cover. As a brief reminder, the idea with critical illness cover is that it will pay out a lump sum (usually) in the event of diagnosis of a number of serious illnesses. Critical illness cover is purchased for a variety of reasons, with the main ones being to cover a mortgage loan (both personal and business) and for family protection purposes.

When we start working with a new client who's, say, aged 50, it's always interesting to get down to what they want to aim for in life. After all, if life is not about thoroughly enjoying doing things you love most, what is it about? So when the 'Retirement Reality' study from an insurance company came out the other day, it was something that we took notice of. It looked at what retired people actually did in the first year or two of their retirement.