Income Protection
This type of policy pays a monthly income tax-free if you are unable to work due to an illness or injury. The monthly income under the policy will be between 50 and 70 per cent of your salary and will be paid until you are fit enough to return to work or reach retirement age.
State benefits aren't generous and only a few employers will continue to support their staff through a long illness, so income protection policies can help families through difficult financial times. You can choose the date at which the policy would payout in the event of a claim. This can range from a month to up to a year. Policies that payout sooner will have higher premiums.
Long-term income protection plans typically come into effect between the period your employer no longer provides sick pay, and when you collect your pension.
Shorter-term plans are typically used to protect a loan, mortgage or other payment. These usually start within a month but completely cease after 1 or 2 years. Short-term policies often have the option to include cover for unemployment and redundancy, whereas long-term plans do not.
To clarify, Income Protection Insurance only applies to products that pay you an income if you are unable to work due to sickness, injury. Policies to protect mortgages, loans or credit card debts are often called Accident Sickness Unemployment (ASU) policies.
We will happily explain this in more detail to you.
Income protection policies that don't have an investment link have no cash in value at any point throughout the term of the policy and will cease at the end of the policy term. If premiums are not paid, the plan will lapse, and you will not be covered.