What is income protection insurance for?

Income protection insurance is a policy that is designed to pay out if you find yourself unable to work because of an injury or sickness. It can also pay out if you are made redundant (involuntarily), and can help you to pay the bills when our of work.

Income protection will usually pay out until you are fit to return to work, or find new employment, and the cover can last until you retire.

Income protection doesn’t cover voluntary redundancy or if you leave your job for another reason – it is there to help if you suddenly become unable to work due to unforeseen circumstances that are out of your control.

Although we all know about medical and health insurance and have these sold to us by salespeople on a regular basis, income protection insurance is less well-known – but the fact is that this is cover that every working adult in the UK should consider getting.

Why should I get income protection insurance?

According to recent research, only 12% of employers in the UK say they support their staff for over a year if they are off work due to sickness.

That statistic, coupled with the relatively low level of state benefits available, means that if you find yourself unable to work for long periods of time then it could have a very detrimental effect on your household finances.

Similarly, the stress to find another job following an involuntary redundancy is helped by having cover that will help to pay the bills – giving you a bit more breathing room to find your next job without worrying about where the money is going to come from.