What is Income Protection?

Accidents and illnesses happen. They are facts of life. But what would happen if you were unable to work? Your employer’s sick pay may only cover you for a few months at best. If you are self-employed, will you be able to support yourself, if you are unable to work? So what happens to the bills, the mortgage – and everything else that your income used to cover?

With income protection you don’t have to worry. Not only does it supplement your income, it also provides support to get you back to work – and your life back to normal.

How Income Protection works

Covers illness, accident and injury

Receive a monthly benefit to replace your salary if you are unable to work due to illness, accident or injury.

Choose when your plan starts paying

Choose when the benefit starts to pay-out, from as soon as 1 day up to 12 months. The longer you defer the payout period, the cheaper the plan.

Provides support to help you get life back to normal, as soon as possible

Take the pressure off by maintaining an income when you can’t work, so you can focus on your recovery.

Short or Long Term plans available

Short term plans can pay out for up to 2 years, or long term plans can continue to pay out right up to your planned retirement age.

Pays up to 70% of your gross salary

You can cover up to 70% of your pre-tax salary, depending on the policy and insurer.

Guaranteed, age-banded or reviewable premiums

Depending on your age and circumstances, you can choose to fix your premiums for the life of the policy or choose to have your premiums reviewed throughout the term of the plan.

Free Income Protection Quote

Get the right advice, on the right product that suits you and your circumstances.

Let’s get started on your Income Protection quote.

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Types of Income Protection

Select the policy term that best suits your needs…

Short Term
Long Term

Short-term income protection is designed to cover you should you be unable to work due to injury, or long term sickness.

The period of claim is for a fixed amount of time, usually one to two years.

Long-term income protection is designed to cover you should you be unable to work due to injury, serious or terminal illness.

Pay-outs will continue until you return to work or when the policy expires – usually when you reach retirement, or at the end of a fixed period.

How would you cope?

Have you really ever thought about your current and future financial situation? What would you do if your income stopped due to illness, accident or injury?

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Paul R - Field Supervisor

Paul had eye cancer 7 years ago and had tried to get income and life cover several times before however had been turned away by insurers, due to the condition.

Paul contacted Covertree and spoke to Tim about his concerns about supporting his family. Tim was able to recommend a plan for Paul that meant he and his family were covered should the worst happen. In Paul’s own words ‘I felt like we were a team and they were all on my side, fighting my corner.’

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Daniel W - Area Compliance Manager

For a long time Daniel had tried to take out an Income Protection plan and had failed, due to a not so straight forward medical history in his teens.

He says ‘most brokers couldn’t find the time to look for the specialist cover I needed. With Covertree it was different – I entered my details onto the Covertree website and was very quickly called back to discuss my needs. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, due to my medical history, but rather than fobbing me off, they did a vast amount of research on my behalf keeping me up to date throughout the whole process, and I’ve now got the cover and peace of mind I need.’

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Chris W - Nurse

Chris is employed as a nurse and used to work for the NHS, however had now moved into private nursing. Her new employer was not able to offer the same benefits as the NHS and so Chris was worried about paying the bills should she be unable to work. She had previously had to take time off from work due to stress and other health issues, therefore an income protection plan was essential to help with her peace of mind.

Chris contacted us at Covertree and after much searching we were able to find cover that would provide the right amount of benefit if Chris was unable to work.

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What the average family spends in a week (Source: ONS 2017)

Family Spending	Average
Travel & Transport	£79.70
Recreation & Culture (holidays, pets, TV, cinema) etc	£73.50
Housing (net), fuel & power	£72.60
Other expenditure items (Rent, mortgage, council tax)	£72.00
Food & non-alcoholic drinks	£58.00
Restaurants & hotels	£50.10
Miscellaneous goods & services	£41.80
Household goods & services	£39.30
Clothing & footwear	£25.10
Communications	£17.20
Alcohol & tobacco	£11.90
Health	£7.30
Education	£5.70
Total	£554.20

Could you continue your current lifestyle?

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Income Protection?

Income Protection insurance pays an agreed monthly benefit if you are unable to work due to long term sickness or injury. This can be particularly useful if your employer does not provide an adequate sick pay scheme.
The monthly benefit can be used to help to maintain your lifestyle and make sure that your financial commitments such as mortgage and bills are paid.

You can receive up to 70% of your regular (pre-tax) monthly income depending on the plan that you take out.
If you are unable to work due to sickness or injury, you may only be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), therefore an Income Protection plan can supplement an income until you are able to return to work. If you do not have an Income Protection plan in place you may have to rely on savings to cover living costs while you are unable to work.

Income Protection insurance is very beneficial if you are self-employed and do not have a sick pay scheme.

I’m self-employed can I get cover?

Yes. The amount of benefit you are allowed to take will be based on your annual income. You may be required to prove your annual income during the application process.

You will also need to complete a medical and lifestyle questionnaire as part of the application and disclose any dangerous or hazardous activities you are required to do as part of your job.

How does it work?

You are unable to work due to long term sickness or injury.
You make a claim directly with the insurer, who may require you to provide a GP sick note.
The insurer will start paying your monthly benefit after the policy deferred period has been reached.
Your policy will pay out until you return to work or until the policy pay out claim length.

What are the options?

Deferred Period
The deferred period is the length of time between being unable to work and when the insurer will start paying the monthly benefit. Deferred periods can range from as soon as 1 day up to 12 months.

As an example a policy with a 4 week deferred period will commence payments once you have been off work for a period of 4 weeks.

How long the deferred period should be will be determined by a number of factors, for example, does your current employer offer any additional sick pay benefits, do you have any other sick pay arrangements, how long you can survive with reduced income, do you wish to use any savings. Typically the longer the deferred period is on the plan the cheaper the monthly premiums are.

Claim length
You can choose a plan with either a short or long term claim length.

Short-term income protection is designed to cover you should you be unable to work due to injury, or long term sickness. The period of claim is for a fixed amount of time, usually one to two years.

Long-term income protection is designed to cover should you be unable to work due to injury, serious or terminal illness. Pay-outs will continue until you return to work or when the policy expires – usually when you reach retirement, or at the end of a fixed period.

Amount of benefit
Dependent on the insurer, you are able to cover anywhere between 50% to 70% of your (pre-tax) salary.

Waiver of premium
With waiver of premium you won’t have to pay your policy premiums during periods when the income protection policy is paying you benefits.

Premium Basis

Guaranteed premiums – the monthly premium cost will remain the same throughout the term of the policy.
Reviewable premiums – the provider may increase the monthly premium cost during the term of the policy. Providers will review your premiums periodically, although typically most providers will not change the premiums within the first 5 years.
Age-costed premiums – the monthly premium will increase every year on the anniversary of the plan or your birthday (provider dependent). The rate of increase is dependent on the level of benefit, your age, and your chosen deferred period.

How long am I covered for?

You can choose a plan with either a short or long term claim length.

Short-term income protection is designed to cover you should you be unable to work due to injury, or long term sickness. The period of claim is for a fixed amount of time, usually one to two years.
Long-term income protection is designed to cover should you be unable to work due to injury, serious or terminal illness. Pay-outs will continue until you return to work or when the policy expires – usually when you reach retirement, or at the end of a fixed period.

Income Protection