Income Protection Cover

If you go off work due to any of the following, you will not be covered:

• A medical condition that has been diagnosed or treated during the 12 months before the start date and which comes back within 24 months after the start date.
• Normal pregnancy
• Back ache – without x ray evidence
• Stress
• Inappropriate use of alcohol or drugs

This policy does not cover any period of unemployment:

• which you receive notification of, or which commences, within 120 days after the Start Date
• if you were not in Employment for six consecutive months prior to your first unemployment claim
• which you knew to be impending at the start date
• which results from you voluntarily leaving your employment unless as a result of constructive dismissal
• due to a normal or seasonal occurrence or which is a regular feature of your Employment
• after a period of casual, temporary or occasional work
• which results from misconduct leading to your dismissal
• as a result of you being detained in prison
• resulting from any chronic condition from which you knowingly suffered on or before the start date
• if you are a contract worker, which results from the natural expiry of a fixed-term contract unless:

o immediately prior to your claim, you were employed on an annual contract which has been renewed at least once
o immediately prior to your claim, you have been employed on a contract with the same employer for a period of 24 months or
o immediately prior to the commencement of your fixed-term contract, you were employed on a permanent basis by the same employer. (This exclusion will not be applied if you are self- employed.)

• if you are a contract worker and your contract is terminated early, any period of unemployment beyond the date your contract would have otherwise naturally expired

Please click here to read the full list of policy exclusions

It's worth considering income protection if you're a working person with nothing to fall back on, or who wouldn't want to have to use your savings to pay bills, should you lose your income due to sickness, accident or unemployment. Would you need a regular income to pay for?

• Rent
• Mortgage Repayments
• Food
• Bills
• Holidays
• School
• Servicing debt
• Everyday living expenses

You may not need it however if you already have one or more of the following financial safety nets:

• Company sick pay allowance
• State benefits
• Savings (and are happy to use these during a period of disability or unemployment)
• Family or partner support.

If you don’t think these would be enough if you were off work for a long period then Income Protection Cover might provide a useful alternative.

Things to think about before buying:
This is a short-term income protection insurance policy. We are not offering any advice about the product so it’s important you check whether the product meets your needs, is right for you and if you will benefit from the cover.

A checklist of useful points:
Before deciding whether this type of insurance is right for you, ask yourself the following questions:

1) Are you permanently employed?
To be eligible for this cover you need to be in permanent paid employment, including self-employment, for at least 16 hours per week.

2) What sick pay do you receive from your employer?
Income Protection Cover is designed to pay out benefits once your employer stops paying you sick pay or if you receive no sick pay from your employer. If you receive sick pay for a reasonable period of time then you should consider whether you could survive on that or whether you would still benefit from extending that period with benefit payments from Income Protection Cover.

3) Do you have a partner who is working?
Are you the major breadwinner in your household? If you are, then could your household survive without your income? If not, then could you survive on your partner’s wages for a period of time if you needed to?

4) Do you receive any kind of state benefit support while you are working e.g. Universal Credit, pension etc?
You should check your entitlements to state benefit in the event of unemployment, sickness or accident. Receiving payments from Income Protection Cover may affect your entitlements to state benefits.

5) Do you have savings that you could fall back on?
If you have savings, would you be prepared to use them for living expenses while unable to work? If so, then how long could you keep going on that basis?

6) What age are you?
Would you be able to take early retirement if you lost your job or became unable to work due to sickness or accident?

7) What is your current state of health?
If you have any pre-existing medical conditions at the start date of your cover these will be covered after you have had your policy for 24 months.

Based on the questions above, do you think that Income Protection Cover will benefit you? If you do, simply complete our simple online application process and as long as you meet the eligibility requirements, you can be accepted immediately for instant cover. Alternatively, call our friendly UK customer services team on 0343 178 1227.

If you don’t think Income Protection Cover is what you need then please click here to review the other protection products that we offer to see if something else would be more suitable.

It's simple. First you need to choose the policy that best suits your needs:

Cover Type – what this income protection policy will cover you for:
• Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover
• Or you can choose Accident and Sickness cover only.

Benefit Period – the maximum length of time that the policy pays out for any one claim:
• Benefits will pay out for 12 months or when you return to work, whichever is sooner.

Monthly Cash Benefit – the money that you'd receive on a monthly basis in the event of a claim:
• Choose how much cash you'd need to receive on a monthly basis (up to £1,500 or 50% of your monthly income before tax, whichever is lower).

Waiting Period – the number of days you'd need to be continuously incapacitated and off work before the benefits are paid. Choose between:
• 30 days
• 60 days
• 90 days
• 120 days
• 180 days

Our instant quote form will quickly guide you through these options.

It’s important that you select cover with a monthly premium that you can afford, so if you could survive for 60 days on savings, then you could increase the waiting period to get a lower premium. And remember, this is a flexible policy which means that if your personal requirements change, then assuming you are not already claiming, you’re able to make changes to the cover to suit your circumstances.

Once covered, Income Protection Cover pays out a monthly cash sum for you to spend when and how you like if an accident, sickness or unemployment keeps you at home. If you have chosen the unemployment option then you would also receive cover if you have to give up work to become a carer for a member of your immediate family.

What's not covered?
As with all insurance policies, there are certain exclusions. You'll not be able to claim if you're off work as a result of one of them:

Accident and Sickness Exclusions
This policy does not cover inability to work:
a) that began before the start date.
b) resulting from a chronic condition that you knowingly suffered with before the start date.
c) resulting from any medical condition that you have received treatment for; had diagnosed or had investigations for, in the 12 months before the policy start date and which comes back within 24 months of the start date.
d) due to spinal and related conditions where there is no physical or radiological evidenced abnormality confirmed by a doctor.
e) due to stress, anxiety and depression where there is no diagnosis by a recognised psychiatrist.
f) due to intentional self-inflicted injuries.
g) due to conditions or injuries resulting from taking alcohol or drugs (unless they are taken under the direction of a doctor and are not for the treatment of drug addiction).
h) due to conditions or injuries resulting from you being detained in prison.
i) due to conditions or injuries arising from war, military duty, riot as an active participant, revolution or similar.
For a full explanation of the Accident and Sickness policy exclusions, please click here.

Unemployment Exclusions
This policy does not cover unemployment:
a) that began before the start date.
b) that you are notified about or that begins, within 120 days of the start date.
c) if you were not employed for six consecutive months before your claim.
d) that you knew about at the start date, whether or not you had received official notice.
e) resulting from your employer announcing job losses, departmental or company restructure or merger before the start date or within 120 days of the start date.
f) if you are a contract worker and your contract expires unless prior to your claim:
- you were employed on an annual contract that has been renewed at least once.
- you have been employed on a contract with the same employer for a period of 24 months.
- immediately before the fixed term contract started you had been employed on a permanent basis by the same employer.
g) if you are a contract worker and your contract is terminated early, any period of unemployment beyond the date that your contract should have expired.
h) if you leave your employment voluntarily unless as a result of constructive dismissal.
i) due to normal or seasonal occurrence or which is a regular feature of your employment.
j) after a period of casual, seasonal or temporary work.
k) resulting from misconduct leading to your dismissal.
l) resulting from  your being in prison.
m) resulting from a chronic condition that you knowingly suffered with before the start date.
n) resulting from a medical condition that you have received treatment for; had diagnosed or had investigations for, in the 12 months before the policy start date and which comes back within 24 months of the start date.
o) resulting from intentional self-inflicted injuries.
p) due to conditions or injuries resulting from taking alcohol or drugs (unless they are taken under the direction of a doctor and are not for the treatment of drug addiction.
q) due to conditions or injuries arising from war, military duty, riot as an active participant, revolution or similar.
For a full explanation of the Unemployment policy exclusions, please click here.

Carer Cover exclusions
This policy does not cover any period of being a Carer:
a) if we believe you were aware of the need or likely need that a member of your immediate family would require a carer at the start date
b) if you apply for Carer’s Allowance or are notified of receipt of a Carer’s Allowance within 120 days of the start date unless the condition of the member of your immediate family requiring a care was due to an unforeseen event happening after the start date
c) where the person you are caring for is not a member of your immediate family
d) arising from war, invasion, riot as an active participant, revolution or similar
For a full explanation of the Carer Cover policy exclusions, please click here.

Download policy documentation

Please read the policy documents carefully. Clicking on the files below will open a new window in which a PDF document will appear. You will need Adobe Reader to see these documents.

Policy Wording

Insurance Product Information Document (IPID)

We do everything we can to ensure we’re giving you the best possible service, whatever your circumstances. If you require additional support and would like to find out more or to request information in a different format, please contact our friendly customer services team on 0345 026 1101.

Here's what some of our customers have said about what income protection insurance means for them. These customers purchased an income protection cover that we no longer offer, which covered sickness and accident. With our new Income Protection product you can also protect your income against involuntary unemployment as well as accident and sickness:

Allen (46) from Coventry – Support Worker - No dependants
“I took out income protection insurance for the security of knowing that Steve and I are going to be secure if I’m unable to work…I wanted to know in the background that there’s something there that is going to protect us should the unforeseeable happen”

“We need that insurance, we need that guarantee that something is there that we can fall on if we need it”

“Thankfully I haven’t had to use it, but it’s nice to know that it is there if I do need it”

Paul (36) from Wrexham – Postman – No dependants
“I did it for peace of mind really. I’m living with my girlfriend now so if I was out of work, she wouldn’t be able to cover the bills. I’m just making sure we can still live comfortably - I wouldn’t want her to skimp. I'm getting a bit older now, and if I go off work any time I need something that covers my wages.”

Adeola (46) from East London – Carer – Sole earner – 3 dependants
“I bought it just in case anything happened to me, my children will have something, as I am the only one providing for them. It’s a sort of way to protect yourself.”