Denis Kuzmin Director of unemployment insurance Sberbank division “Protective insurance products and services” Denis Kuzmin on how to protect yourself from loss of income 03/01/2023 at 12:21

Life is unpredictable. At any moment, something could go wrong and we could lose our favorite job and stable income. And no one will cancel mandatory expenses and basic expenses. A simple piece of advice will help to get through the period of involuntary unemployment relatively painlessly.

Point one: the financial airbag.

It’s worth having a cash reserve for unexpected expenses. Job loss is just that. As a general rule, an airbag should provide a standard of living for at least three months while working and six months when self-employed.

To create it, it is worth saving money regularly and from all received income, for example, 10-30% of what you earn. Don’t wait for better times, always do it. If there are problems with self-discipline, modern financial instruments can come to the rescue. Therefore, many Internet banks have a “Targets” function. An account is opened, money is transferred to it – it is automatically debited from the main account.

The main purpose of the financial airbag is protection in difficult times. It is important to be able to withdraw money quickly. Deposits in this regard are optimal, because they allow you to avoid spontaneous expenses, but at the same time they can be used, allow you to quickly transfer money, and interest is charged on the balance.

Second point: money – voila!

When there is a reserve and the habit of saving has already emerged, you can consider generating additional income through investments. It is better to immediately diversify the basket by combining federal loan bonds (OFZ) and shares of promising companies, for example.

If there is little experience or desire to understand all the intricacies of the securities market, but you still want to invest, you can use the services of management companies, choose the best strategy (conservative or riskier). Investors’ funds are consolidated for further placement in securities to generate income and assets are managed by professionals.

Third point: If you borrow, then with a safety net.

According to statistics, almost every third Russian uses a loan. In the case of a large purchase, a loan is justified when even overpayments still turn out to be lower than the level of inflation and price increases. For example, buying real estate or a car.

The general rule is to try to arrange a loan under insurance, for example, to renovate an apartment. When applying for protection, you can choose one or more options: insurance against job loss, insurance against salary reduction, health and life insurance.

A SberLife Insurance survey showed that a third of Russians want to insure their health during the loan repayment period. About the same number of thoughts about life insurance, every tenth want to be insured against losing their job, and only 3% – from a salary cut.

It is clear that the greater the insurance risks, the more expensive the policy, but sometimes this is not the case. For example, with an insurance amount of 100,000 rubles per year, the cost of connection for any insurance risk, be it life, health, loss of job or salary deduction, will be 2,400 rubles per year, and for four options together – 4,800 rubles. per year.

Job loss insurance takes into account not only the fact of reduction, but also the termination of relations with the employer “by agreement of the parties”. The payment amount for both events is the same. The monetary amount of the payment is collected from the first day of unemployment and credited to the customer’s card from the 32nd day after dismissal.

Loss of earnings coverage typically covers four months of job searching (122 days). At the same time, payments can reach up to 2,000 rubles per day or 60,000 rubles per month, which corresponds to the average salary in the country.

Let me give you an example: if a customer is insured for 100,000 rubles for a period of 1 year, the insurance will cost 2,400 rubles per year, and the insurance company will pay the customer 30,500 rubles for two months. job search (61 days).

The insurance company is obliged to settle the insured event. To confirm the insured event, you only need to provide the documents related to the dismissal and register on the job exchange. The important thing is to have at least one year of work experience.

This protection ensures that you don’t cut your budget too far when looking for a new job. You can choose a place with the most comfortable working conditions and high salaries, not the first place you come across without haste.

The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.