Income Protection

Unlike life cover or critical illness cover it pays monthly rather than as a lump sum, and it keeps paying while you remain unable to work — until you recover, the policy term ends, or you reach the end date you chose. It responds to your ability to work rather than to a named list of conditions, which is the main difference between it and critical illness cover.

It sits alongside the other covers on our protection page.

The cap exists so that the policy provides a meaningful income without matching what you earned. We do not publish a figure here because it is not one number — it varies by insurer, by how your income is made up, and by what other income would be taken into account at claim. We work out what is achievable for your situation before anything is applied for.

The point of choosing it deliberately is that it should begin roughly where your other income stops. If your employer pays you for three months, a deferred period that starts at three months leaves no gap and no overlap. If you are self-employed with nothing underneath, the gap starts immediately. Which periods are available varies between insurers.

Own occupation assesses you against the duties of your own role. Suited occupation assesses you against work your education, training and experience would support. Any occupation assesses you against work in general. Insurers name and word these differently, and which are offered depends on your occupation. The question worth asking of any policy is how its own wording defines the test, and we read that before you apply.

The part that needs care is evidencing income. Insurers assess self-employed earnings differently — net profit, drawings, or a blend — and the method matters as much as the figure. Getting this right before an application is made is a large part of what we do on these cases.

Whether a particular policy covers a particular condition depends on its own terms and on the underwriting of your application. Where someone has a relevant history, an insurer may apply an exclusion or a loading, and insurers differ in how they approach this. We will tell you honestly what to expect before an application goes anywhere.

The premium itself depends on your age, your health, your occupation, the benefit and term you choose and the deferred period. We do not publish figures because a number without your details would mislead rather than inform. Protection is optional and never a condition of your mortgage.

The same arrangement applies across all protection advice.

A short-term policy caps each claim at a set period. A long-term policy pays while you remain unable to work until the term ends or you reach the end date you chose, which is often set to an expected retirement age. Both exist and both are used; the thing to know is which one you have.

Many policies can pay a reduced amount if you go back part-time or to lower-paid work while still affected — sometimes called proportionate or rehabilitation benefit. The rules differ between insurers and are set out in the policy. It is worth knowing what yours says before you need it, because a return to work is the usual outcome.

Employer sick pay, a group scheme, certain state benefits and other policies can all be relevant at claim. This is why arranging cover without establishing what is already in place can produce a benefit that cannot all be paid. We start with what you have.

Non-disclosure can cause a claim to be refused or reduced, which is why the application matters as much as the product. The other common reason is a mismatch between what someone believed the policy tested and what it actually tested. Both are avoidable at the point of applying, and neither is avoidable afterwards.

Restarting later is a new application at your age and health then, which may mean different terms, new exclusions, or no offer. If affording it becomes difficult, tell us before you cancel — reducing cover is a better outcome than losing it.