What is income protection insurance?
Income protection insurance covers you if you can't work because of illness or injury. It’s a kind of salary protection insurance to make sure you get a regular income until you retire or go back to work.
Income protection cover is different from critical illness cover. Critical illness cover pays out a lump sum if you develop a life-threatening illness.
To find the cheapest income protection policy, compare as many income protection quotes as you can. That way you can find the best income protection insurance for your situation. Here’s more about how income protection insurance works.
What types of income protection cover are there?
An income protection policy can be either short-term or long-term.
A short-term income protection plan can cover you for involuntary redundancy. But it's normally limited to a set time period.
Long-term income protection insurance usually covers you until you return to work, retire, or pass away. Or it covers you until the income protection cover ends.
There are other types of loss of income insurance. These include guaranteed policies, reviewable policies and age-related policies.
Guaranteed policies have fixed monthly premiums. That means you know exactly what you'll have to pay each month.
Reviewable policies let you change your cover after a set term.
Age-related policies are when the premiums increase as you get older. But your occupation or lifestyle has no effect on your premium.
Do you need an income protection plan?
Work out what your monthly expenses are, and think about how you’d cover them if you lost your income. If you couldn’t afford to pay your bills, it might be worth your while to consider an income protection insurance policy.
Salary protection insurance can be especially useful if you're self-employed or a freelancer. It’s also handy if you’re a contractor. Without an employer, you don’t get benefits such as sick pay. Here’s more information on how to decide if you need income protection cover.
How do you find the best income protection insurance?
The best income protection insurance policy will give you the income cover you need. It’ll also cover you for the length of time you want and offer the cheapest monthly premiums.
To find the cheapest policy, compare income protection insurance policies from as many insurers as possible. Getting lots of income protection quotes means you can choose the cheapest income protection quote that meets your needs.
When you apply for an income protection plan, make sure you share correct information about yourself. If you don’t, your income protection cover might not be valid and you won’t get a payout. For example, don’t say that you’ve never smoked if that’s not the case.
How much does salary protection insurance cost?
An income protection plan can cost as little as £10 per month. Others cost more than £80 per month.
It’s important to find the best income protection for your needs. But, while you must look for the best income protection policy for you, the cost will also affect your decision. The price depends on your situation and what you’re looking for. Factors that affect the price include your age, the length of your policy and the level of maximum cover.
For example, it’s likely that your premium will be higher the older you are. Similarly, your policy will cost you more, the longer you’re covered for, or the larger the amount of cover is.
Some policies cover for illness and injury, while others cover for unemployment too. You should bear these factors in mind when deciding which income protection insurance quote to choose.
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