Shares contribution gets bad rep for tax avoidance

Taxes and insurance products sometimes share the same reputation, but insurance often provides legitimate assistance.

09:53 04 July 2013

John Mills’ contribution of shares rather than cash was deemed a move to avoid taxes on a sizable amount. While many people could do without so many taxes, insurance seems to have the same connotation at times though it usually offers a legitimate product, however intangible it might be. Products such as pet insurance and travel insurance may offer certain individuals very helpful protection. Here are a just a few examples of the types of situations with which these insurance products can assist:

 

• Medical issues—both travel insurance and pet insurance offer some protection for medical issues. If your pet needs to have an emergency surgery or other procedure, pet insurance can help cover the costs, even if you are traveling overseas. Likewise, travel insurance helps cover insured people with medical issues and procedures as well.

 

• Cancellations—both insurance products offer assistance when plans needs to be cancelled leaving you stuck with non-refundable tickets and fees, even though you aren’t able to follow through with your holiday or trip plans.

 

• Documents—both insurance products also help you obtain the necessary documents for traveling if they become lost or stolen while you are travelling. This is especially important considering the amount of time that could pass while trying to get the documents, not to mention what would constitute an otherwise unexpected expense.

 

• Personal belongings—for travel insurance this would cover such things as baggage, assuming that appropriate steps were taken to ensure the security of the belongings. For pet insurance, the most important thing is your pet itself. Pet insurance products commonly help with offering rewards if you pet becomes lost while travelling.

 

• Safety concerns—both travel and pet insurance products provide certain cover for safety. Travel insurance can offer additional cover for extreme sports activities and pet insurance might help obtain or replace specific travel crates that meet airline qualifications.