Drivers who don’t wear seatbelts are not the only ones taking risks

Up to two million drivers in the UK risk driving their car without wearing a seat belt, warns a recent poll by insurer LV.

According to government figures, if you have a crash, you're twice as likely to die if you are not wearing a belt. So why do so many people take the risk?

Graham Hope, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Sussex says that many of these drivers simply believe "it won’t happen to me". He says that "there is a self-serving bias where people think they are more likely to survive than other people, and less likely to ever be involved in an accident in the first place."

Refusing to wear a seat belt is not the only way in which some people take unnecessary risks, because they think it will ‘never happen to them’.

As Wealth Planners, we see people every day who take risks with their financial security. For example, parents who buy insurance for their mobile phones, but have no life cover or who contribute to a pension, but have no idea how much they have invested or if it will provide them with enough income in retirement.

There are people who rely on their working salary, but have no savings in place should they be made redundant. They simply don’t put on the safety buckle when it comes to their own wealth, because they don’t realise the risks they are taking.

The problem is that when it comes to money, there is no prompt for people to review their financial situation. No one will ‘pull you over’ to give you a telling off because you never bought life cover after having a baby. Nor will you be taken aside to talk about inheritance tax planning or when you go to pick up your pension. If you need financial advice, you have to go out and ask for it.

For many people, simply appointing a financial planner can seem like a daunting step. Yet advisers are simply highly skilled people who can help you through the process of reaching and understanding your financial goals. This means knowing when you will need to use your money, what you will be using it for and then laying out a plan of action to achieve those goals, and importantly to minimise risks of not reaching them.

What a good financial planner will do for you? • These are some of the things that we will

work with you to establish;• What , if anything, you need to do

differently • How much you need to save• What types of retirement accounts would

best suit your needs • What type of mortgage you should have• How much, and what type of life and

health insurances you need to protect you and your family’s financial security.

• How much to keep in an ‘emergency fund’• Whether there are any changes that may

improve your tax situation• What rate of return you will need to earn

to achieve your goals over a given time frame, and suggest appropriate investments according to your attitude towards taking risk

• Whether you need to take any steps towards inheritance tax planning; and the various options you should consider when that time arises.

Speak to your Financial Planner about reviewing your current plans; if you don’t have an appointed adviser emailletstalk@sanlam.co.uk.

This article is for information purposes and should not be treated as advice. Individual circumstances should always be considered prior to purchasing any financial products. For further information please contact your Wealth Planner.

Sanlam is a trading name of Sanlam Wealth Planning UK Ltd (Reg. in England 3879955) and English Mutual Ltd (Reg. in England 6685913). English Mutual Ltd is an appointed representative of Sanlam Wealth Planning UK Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.