Income Protection

According to Which? ‘The one protection policy every working adult in the UK should consider is the very one most of us don't have - income protection.’ It is especially important given the low levels of State aid available if you can’t work through accident or illness for any period of time.

Income protection, which is also known as permanent health insurance, is basically a back-up plan that pays you an income if you can’t work because you’ve had an accident or a long term illness. It won’t cover you for unemployment.

Research by Unum and Personnel Today has shown that only 12% of employers support their staff for more than a year if they’re off sick from work. If you are self employed then the chances are that you have no sick pay benefits in place.

The options that you have with these plans can be complex so you need to make sure that you have exactly the right cover for your circumstances. These include whether you are self employed or employed, how you are paid your income (eg dividends from your own ltd co), your occupation, how long you can wait before you will need to make a claim (the deferred period) and a number of other policy related choices. The small print is really important with this type of plan and you need to get it right at the beginning.

We are very familiar with the terms and conditions of these plans and the way that they vary between providers. This is a plan where it really does pay to take advice.