Income Protection
Having the right cover in place can ensure you maintain a monthly income if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury.
What is Income Protection?
Income protection supports you financially if you can’t work due to illness or injury. It pays you a monthly income (based on a percentage of your salary) which can be used to help pay your bills and maintain your lifestyle. This means you can focus on recovering and getting back on your feet rather than worrying about making ends meet.
Do I need Income Protection?
You might want to consider income protection if you have any concerns about being able to meet your financial obligations if you were too poorly to work. This might be because you don’t have enough savings to cover an extended period of leave, or perhaps you’re self-employed and don’t benefit from sick pay or other employee benefits.
How we can help
Finding the right income protection can be time consuming and confusing. At Downton Mortgages & Financial Services, we take the time to understand your unique circumstances, research the insurance market for you and answer any questions you might have. Once you are happy with your choice of provider, we will manage the whole application for you.
How does it work?
You pay a monthly amount to your insurer and if you are unable to work because of an accident or illness that’s medically supported, you will receive regular monthly payments until you can start working again.
There is an option to take out full cover which means the insurer would pay your claim until the end date of your policy. Alternatively, if budget is a major consideration, there is short-term cover which would pay a claim for 1, 2 or 5 years. You have the ability to claim as many times as you need to while your policy lasts.
Frequently asked questions
How is Income Protection different to Critical Illness cover?
Both income protection and critical illness policies are designed to help you financially when you fall sick, but there are significant differences.
- What it covers you for: Income protection typically covers you for a wider range of circumstances such as mental health conditions, musculoskeletal issues, broken bones and cancer. Critical illness tends to be limited to specific types of cancer, heart attack and stroke.
- The claim itself: Income protection pays out if you are unable to work due to an illness or injury, whereas critical illness pays out on diagnosis of a specific medical condition. Therefore, you don’t need to be off work in order to get paid out for Critical illness cover.
How it pays you: Income protection pays you in monthly instalments (similar to the wage it is replacing) whereas critical illness policies tend to pay out in one lump sum.
We totally understand that it can be very confusing, so let us explain everything in more detail for you so you can decide what sort of policy is right for you.
Can I get Income Protection if I’m self-employed?
When your income is totally reliant on your wellbeing, it can be easy to worry about what will happen if you fall ill and can’t work for a period of time. Income protection is a sensible consideration if you are self-employed.
Is Income Protection taxed?
No, the monthly payments you receive are tax-free.
Does Income Protection cover mental health?
If you are unable to work due to an extended period of stress, anxiety, depression or any other mental health condition that is medically supported, then it’s possible that an income protection policy could pay you a monthly benefit. As with most insurance products though if these are pre-existing conditions, it is unlikely to be covered. This will be made clear to you after an application is completed.
Do I need Income Protection if my employer offers it as a benefit?
If you get similar benefits with your employer, then you may not need to take out separate income protection. We can help you to determine if your current employee benefits are sufficient to cover your outgoings and then advise you accordingly. We’ll never advise you to take out cover you don’t need.
You may have many more questions about Income Protection that aren’t covered here. If you want to speak to a friendly and knowledgeable financial adviser in more detail, then get in touch to arrange a no obligation call to discuss your individual circumstances.
Get in touch
We’re here to help with any questions you might have about our services. Send us an email, pick up the phone or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
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