A new client aged 32 is self-employed and married with three children, aged 8, 6...

For a 32-year-old self-employed client with three young dependants, the most immediate financial vulnerability is loss of earned income. Unlike many employees, self-employed individuals often have limited employer-provided sick pay and fewer workplace benefits. If illness or injury prevents them from working, household expenditure still continues, and the family may rely heavily on that income to meet essential outgoings such as mortgage or rent, utilities, and childcare. Therefore, sickness cover, commonly delivered through income protection, is typically a high priority because it aims to replace a proportion of earnings if the client cannot work due to incapacity. Long-term care cover is generally a later-life planning issue and is unlikely to be the top priority at age 32. Inheritance tax cover may be relevant for high-net-worth estate planning, but it is not usually the first protection need for a young family unless there are clear IHT exposures. Key person cover is a business protection policy designed to protect the firm, not the family’s personal cashflow, so it is not normally the highest personal priority in this fact pattern.