The iMas Insurance Brokers Financial Wellness Ethos: Insuring your assets is a crucial part of your financial wellness journey

Acquiring assets, building generational wealth, and planning for your retirement are the main financial building blocks towards financial success. However, what does this really mean? Which assets should you acquire, how do you build generational wealth and how much should you save for retirement? At iMas Insurance Brokers we believe that the first step to take towards financial wellness is to insure your assets so that your belongings and future are secure. Lize Badenhorst, GM: Short-Term Insurance at iMas Insurance Brokers shares some of her insights.

When should you start acquiring assets and which assets should you invest in?
Lize: It all depends on your financial situation. Ask yourself if you can afford an asset such as a car or a home. It is also important to do your homework – in addition to affordability, make sure that you know what the interest rate is that you will be paying on the loan that you take up to buy the asset, what the insurance will cost you and what the growth potential of the asset is. It is a good idea to invest in assets such as property, however, it is important to make sure that you understand what you are really in for before you take that big step.

What does securing your assets mean?
Lize: Owning a property or a vehicle, but not having insurance on the asset, is a massive risk to take. I almost want to go as far as saying that you cannot live financially well if the assets that you invested so much money into, are not properly insured. Reason being that if you get into an accident, or if your house gets broken into or gets damaged etc. you will suffer financial loss which set you back. So even if you own an asset, you might be worse off if you do not insure the asset.

What is generational wealth and how do you build it?
Lize: Generational wealth basically means being able to give your children the financial building blocks to build their future. This includes paying for their education, perhaps saving for a deposit on their first property, or helping them to buy their first car. You do not want your child to enter adulthood with debt, such as a study loan or a big car payment. That is why it is so important to insure your assets – if you are not insured and suffer financial loss because of it, then you will not be able to start building generational wealth.

Is your company pension fund enough for your retirement or should you have additional investments?
Lize: Again, it depends on your financial situation and your affordability. However, it is advisable to speak to a financial advisor who will be able to assess your financial situation and advise where you need to invest, so that you can retire comfortably. A lot of people only rely on their company pension fund, but this might not be enough for when you retire, especially when you take inflation into account. In addition, it is advisable not to have our pension pay out as a lump sum when you resign, but rather move those funds to another pension fund. iMas Insurance Brokers offers different retirement annuity options, savings, and investment plans to secure your future so that you can enjoy your retirement.