Covers you against: Illness or injury 

Type of benefit paid: Regular income

In the event of an accident or sickness income protection insurance pays out a monthly income to cover a proportion of your salary. You decide at the outset how many months before the policy will pay out (the deferment period) and how long it will continue to pay (the benefit period). This can be until you are either well enough to return to work, you reach retirement age or the policy term ends.  Income protection insurance provides you with the peace of mind of a regular on-going income that can help you maintain your lifestyle should you fall ill or have an accident and are unable to work. 

• provides regular payments that replace part of your income if you’re unable to work due to illness or an accident
• pays out until you can start working again – or until you retire, die or reach the end of the policy term – whichever is sooner
• typically pays out between 50% and 65% of your income if you’re unable to work
• covers most illnesses that leave you unable to work – either in the short or long term (depending on the type of policy and its definition of incapacity)
• can be claimed as many times as you need to while the policy lasts.

There’s often a pre-agreed waiting (‘deferred’) period before the payments start. The most common waiting periods are 4, 13, 26 weeks and a year. The longer you wait, the lower the monthly premiums.