Choose the right Income Protection Insurance Policy

• Home
• Resources
• Choose the right Income Protection Insurance Policy

You wouldn’t NOT want to protect your home, or your shiny car parked outside your home would you?

And by the same token you wouldn’t overlook the importance of protecting the expensive belongings and personal effects, would you?

And let’s not start on taking a chance on your health, as that would just be plain neglectful. No, you see there’s any amount of insurance products on the market which provide a financial safety net for you if any of these key areas in your life and times are compromised for any reason. Unseen reasons, let’s be clear. So why then would you even consider risking your fiscal wellbeing if your job suddenly came under threat; and with it your very livelihood and means of funding pretty much everything you see around you/aforementioned materialistic trappings.

Be it by means of ill health, an accident or perhaps even an unforeseen redundancy. There are numerous scenarios which could easily impact on you and your loved ones’ financial situation.

So how do you go about safeguarding your occupation?

By arranging a dedicated Income Protection Insurance Policy provided by Quick Quote Protect.

Income Protection Levels of Cover

Now we’d be the first to admit, on the surface the choice of Income Protection policies looks a little daunting at first; but don’t be put off by the jargon.

We at Quick Quote Protect are here to simplify all insurance matters.

The first thing to look at is the different levels of Income Protection Insurance cover so as to give you an idea as to what might work best for you and your personal circumstances.

Never lose sight of the underlying fact that any Income Protection package exists purely to financially compensate for a percentage of the insured persons regular income, in the event they unexpectedly become unable to continue with their current role due to a sudden onset of illness or injury. Which as we all know, could happen at any time.

In terms of Income Protection insurance levels, there are the three main levels of cover these are ‘own occupation’ refers to a scenario arising whereby you cease to be able to fulfil the remits of your

Own Occupation: means if you are no longer in a position to complete the tasks within your current role

Suited Occupation: if you are unable to do a role similar to your current one or a role that suits your experience and qualifications.

Any Occupation: is the terminology used to describe when the insured party is deemed too ill/incapacitated to perform any type/definition of work.

Can You Expand on These Core Descriptions Some More?

Let’s say that your job entailed the physical inspection of properties on a regular basis in the capacity of a professional surveyor, and you developed a medical condition/serious illness which significantly compromised your ability to walk.

Under the ‘Own Occupation’ criteria met, you’d be in a favourable position to file an Income Protection insurance claim.

However the same rule wouldn’t apply were you to have taken out an ‘Any Occupation’ plan, and you wouldn’t receive a payout based on the assumption that you’d still be able to perform other duties in various alternative roles.

Both types of Income Protection insurance policy operate at alternate ends of the spectrum, offering notably differing options, and to reflect the gulf between the two for the most part Own Occupation packages tend to work out the most expensive, while Any Occupation represents the most cost-effective means.

According to recent statistics, when it comes to handling complaints about Income Protection insurance policies, the industry reports that most focus on whether or not a policyholder meets the definition as documented within their particular agreement. Also in terms of success rates, the insurance sector confirms that Own Occupation claims are more likely to pay-out than alternatives.

Are There Differences in Amounts Typically Paid Out for Income Protection Claims?

Yes, and the key differences centre around how you set-up the plan from the beginning, in terms of if you choose a policy which pays out a set/pre-determined amount (to cover bills and outgoing, etc) or instead opt for payments based on a percentage of your income.

Also remember that should the policyholder still be in receipt of an income when they lodge a claim for Income Protection insurance – such as if the insured party was entitled to their employer’s sick pay scheme – the numerical amount of benefit would be reduced to reflect this overall income received by the policyholder.

Duration of pay-out is another core element which needs to be agreed before starting an Income Protection Policy, the main one being the length of time Income Protection insurance monies would remain available, and until such time as the maximum stated limit is reached.

Bear in mind, a policy will only ever pay-out up to its maximum stated limited, pre-agreed at the commencement of the policy. Convention tends to dictate that these Income Protection insurance policies will take into account a policyholder’s expected retirement date, or the date in the future when an insured party’s mortgage is due to be settled in full; while other examples of this cut-off point include when any children complete their full-time education. Ergo the maximum length of time will correspond with the expiry date of the policy.

Is There Anything Else I Need to Know While We’re on the Subject?

Well, it’s not unheard of for some Income Protection insurance plans to strictly adhere to a fixed period of pay-outs, ordinarily in the region of 5 years, and these by and large work out more competitively priced. In the event that the policyholder returns to their place of employment following a claim, yet unfortunately are struck down by the same illness, the insurers will, for the most part, view (and accept) this scenario as a continuation of the initial claim; and thus pay-out the benefit with immediate effect.

It is worth noting that the insured party can claim on various separate occasions under the same Income Protection policy if they succumb to ill health – resulting in sustained periods of work absences.

Any Other Considerations Before Arranging Income Protection Insurance?

It’s always prudent to be mindful of the underlying factors which essentially influence the cost of premiums before you make any commitments, and beneath we’ve compiled a summarised list of the predominant variables to afford you a little insight. In no particular order they are;

• Age
• The amount (monetary value) you want to cover
• The duration of the term (effectively, just how long you wish to be covered)
• Whether you smoke (currently) or have had a habit in the past
• Your occupation (in as much as the more manual or indeed, specialist, the higher the premium on average)
• Your general level of health as it presently stands (comprising weight, family medical history, etc)
• Disability – definitions of – with reference to disclosure of own occupation, suited occupation or any occupation, as discussed above
• The excess waiting period/deferred period the insured party agrees to

When do Income Protection Insurance Policies Typically Pay-out?

Again, this hinges on a number of factors which differ from policyholder/claimant

Below we have highlighted the main reasons;

• Not until such time as the insured party’s savings run out
• Not until such time as a policyholder’s statutory sick pay runs out (traditionally 6 months)
• The deferment period elapses (i.e., the amount of time the insured party is off sick; also known as the excess or waiting period)

In addition, the policyholder might determine that if they can’t work, they wouldn’t require payments getting underway until;

• An employer’s sick pay runs out (does vary between companies, yet could be extended/rolled on as much as 12 months hence)
• Certain scenarios would suggest that an average 6 months’ sick pay plus a further 6 months’ worth of savings might warrant deferral of Income Protection insurance claim for up to 1 year
• Ideally, the longer the waiting period, the more cost-effective – in terms of premiums – the Income Protection policy will be; with 4, 13, 26 and 52 weeks being recognised as the most commonplace

What about Guaranteed Premiums and Reviewable Premiums?

As we’ve already mentioned, some Income Protection insurance providers offer policyholders the choice of either a fixed or guaranteed premium (monthly payments); the latter referring to the insured party being liable to pay an unchanged sum of money each and every month throughout the term of the agreement.

Despite it turning out to cost marginally more in the short-term, huge numbers of people prefer the security involved in knowing what their future payments will be, going forward; subsequently allowing them to budget accordingly.

That said, other people might prefer premiums which can be reviewed on a timely basis; and where envisaged rates are typically reconsidered every five years. It really is up to the individual in question at the time of weighing up the pros and cons of the bigger picture. In this case, the initial investment as such may well be lower from a financial viewpoint, however is subject to rise over time and is influenced by the policyholder’s increasing age, medical issues and health.

If you’re still undecided about which policy you might be interested in buying or learning about Income Protection insurance in more detail, then your first port of call should be with Quick Quote Protect;

Don’t delay; speak with one of the team of Income Protection insurance experts here at Quick Quote Protect today!