If you lost your income because you got sick, had an accident, or were fired from your job for no reason of your own, you might have a hard time finding the money to pay your bills. But there is a safety net called "income protection" that could give you a replacement income as long as you check the exclusions.
Before you buy income protection insurance, you must check the exclusions. Some products have exclusions that stop you from being able to make a claim. Some common ones are if you work part-time, are retired, have a medical condition that has been around for a while, or are self-employed. Providers can put other exclusions in the fine print, so you need to check to make sure that a policy is right for your situation.
If it is, you can get income protection for much less money from an independent specialist. The insurance is very different from lender to lender, though, so you should get several quotes and compare them. When looking for protection, you should not only compare quotes, but also try to find the best plan with the fewest exceptions. Also, make sure that your coverage starts the day you stop working and that you won't have to pay anything extra when you make a claim. If you can, you should also make sure that the company selling the cover is qualified to do so and has experience selling payment protection products.
A good income protection policy will start paying out between day 31 and day 90, and it will keep paying out between 12 and 24 months after that. The payout won't be taxed, and it will give you enough money to keep living the way you do now without making too many changes. It will also cover your essential expenses. The premium for income cover depends on how much coverage you want. You can usually cover up to a certain amount of your monthly income, which is usually stated at the start. It will also depend on how old you are when you get the insurance.
Income protection can help people who don't get health insurance through work or who worry that their savings would run out quickly if they had to rely on them if they got sick and couldn't work. But you should check to see if you are eligible to claim. Lucky for you, an independent, stand-alone provider should give you access to the exclusions. This way, you can read the exclusions and make an informed decision, knowing that you will be able to make a claim. All ethical specialists should give free advice about the products they sell and have a "Frequently Asked Questions" page that answers a wide range of general questions.
