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Nevertheless this website is packed full of information to help you fully understand the policy you require.

For a comprehensive understanding of our policies, please see the policy wording and read below.

We are an independent financial advice company. We can feature any income protection policy we choose. We have chosen to feature the "Pioneer" policy because we feel it offers excellent cover at a reasonable price. Over 96% of claims were paid in 2005.

Income Protection has the following benefits :

• It will continue to pay out either until you return to work, retire or the policy expires
• It will continue to offer cover even after a claim
• The benefit can increase in line with inflation
• The benefit is paid tax free
  

Our preferred policy has the following excellent features :

• Identical rates for men and women
• No additional charges for occupation
• No additional charges for smokers
• Cover available from day one
• Excellent claims rate (over 96% paid in 2005)
• "Own Occupation" definition for all occupations
• Up to £10,200 per annum cover for Housepersons

Income Protection - The Simple Stuff .....

These notes are intended as a guide only. You will need to decide whether you feel this policy is suitable for your needs. The policy is sold on a non-advice basis. We strongly advise you to read the full policy wording, which you can download from this site. The policy wording is the document you will rely upon in the event of a claim.

Income Protection Insurance (Permanent Health Insurance) is a fully underwritten medical policy designed to pay you a regular monthly income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.

It is not possible to cover unemployment in the form of redundancy on this type of policy.

The benefit will continue to pay out until; you return to work, recover from the illness but decide not to return to work, reach your selected retirement age, the policy term expires or you die.

Some policies will only pay out if you are unable to perform any type of employment whatsoever. All occupations on our featured policy have an "own occupation" definition which means that if you are unable to perform your own job you will receive benefit from the policy.

You should be aware that whilst the definition of incapacity is “own occupation” for the first 52 weeks of a claim, if, after this period, you are able to carry out some other occupation to which you are suited by training, education or experience, then you must do so.

Policies of this nature tend to be written on an "own" or "any" occupation basis. This can cause some confusion. In very simple terms a policy that is written on an "any" occupation basis will only pay out if you are unable to perfom any other suitable role. A policy that is written on an "own" occupation basis will pay out if you are unable to perform your own occupation. This obviously means that a policy written on an "own" occupation basis is more likely to pay out in the event of you being off work. While this makes policies that offer cover on an "any" occupation basis slightly cheaper, you may feel that the saving is not worth the risk. Our preferred policy is written on an "own" occupation basis.

You can protect up to 65% of your gross income up to £60,000 per annum. If you earn more than £60,000, you can protect 40% of this additional amount up to a maximum of £120,000. For example:

If your earnings are £25,000 per annum then you can insure yourself for £16,250 per annum or £1,354 per month. Remember as the benefit is paid to you TAX FREE the difference between what you were earning while at work and the benefit you receive from the policy is not as great as it may seem.

If your earnings are £80,00 per annum, then the maximum cover you can have is £47,000 per annum or £3,916 per month. This is made up by taking 65% of £60,000 which equals £39,000 and 40% of the remaining £20,000 which equals £8,000.

While it is possible to start receiving benefit from the moment you are off work, you can also choose a deferment period (a number of weeks at the start of your illness when you can't claim on the policy). It makes the cost of the policy cheaper and is also useful for people who receive sick pay from their employer for a period.

If your employer will pay you for up to three months if you are off sick then it would be sensible to choose a policy with a deferment period of 13 Weeks. If you are receiving income from your employer while you are off sick, the insurer may reduce the benefit you receive from the policy. We recommend that you select a deferment period that coincides with the point where your employer will stop paying you.

This should be viewed as a long term policy. A 30 year old who is eligible to claim could receive benefit for as much as 30 years. In such an example the benefit paid at the age of 30 may not be sufficient to live on at age 60. We would therefore advise you to consider index linking your benefit. This will also increase your premium.

Please note : The premium will go up in line with your age irrespective of whether your choose to index-link the benefit.

Income Protection - Comprehensive information ...

The insurer uses the phrase incapacitated. A full definition of this is given in the policy wording.

It is also possible for housepersons to have up to £10,200 per annum covered on the policy.

If you are between jobs and are unemployed at the start of a period of incapacity then you will only be entitled to a maximum of £10,200 benefit.

This policy does not cover redundancy or any other means of unemployment.

As this is a medically underwritten policy, you must disclose all material facts to the insurer. At the outset you will be required to complete a medical questionnaire. You can either do this online or one of our telephone assistants will do this with you. You must also keep the insurer updated during the term of the policy of other material changes such as changes to your employment status.

While it is possible to index-link the policy benefit we would advise you to regularly review your level of cover. This is so that you have sufficient cover to meet your needs, but not too much so that any pay out would be reduced.

Your benefit must not exceed 65% of your personal taxable income up to £60,000 per annum and 40% of any income in excess of £60,000 per annum prior to incapacity. When added to any continuation of salary, wages, dividends or income from any other source during or as a consequence of incapacity, the benefit payable will be reduced so that the total shall not exceed 65% of your personal taxable income up to £60,000 per annum and 40% on any income in excess of £60,000 per annum prior to incapacity.

You are able to have benefit paid from Day One of your period of incapacity. You can choose a deferrment period. This is a period of time from when you first become incapacitated to when you first receive benefit from the policy. Deferment periods are similar to an excess that you would have on a home contents policy. The bigger the excess the cheaper the policy. In the same fashion the longer the deferred period the cheaper the policy.

Available deferred periods are 1, 4, 8, 13, 26 or 52 weeks.

Receiving benefit should not affect your entitlement to receive State Incapacity Benefit. Other state benefits may be affected.

If you are receiving benefits from other insurance policies, your benefit will be reduced by the insurer to ensure that the total benefit you receive from all policies does not exceed the policy limits (stated above)

The policy must have a minimum term of 5 years. Typically it will run to retirement age (50 - 65). Even if you plan to retire after the age of 60 you may choose to only run your policy to age 60 to again benefit from cheaper rates.

It is important to make you aware that you are not obliged to pay the premium for the entirety of your selected term. Obviously if you stop paying the premium you will lose all cover that you had in the policy. This policy has no surrender value and premiums are not normally refundable.

The premiums for this policy are age related. This means that the premium will go up each year in line with your age. The insurer also has the right to review all premiums and may increase the premiums as part of these reviews.

Upon application you will be required to complete a medical questionnaire. The insurer may also contact your Doctor for a report and/or require you to attend a medical. The insurer will pay for these services.

As a result of medical investigations the insurer may exclude certain illnesses and conditions from the policy or charge an additional premium. This is known as loading.

If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness then the policy will pay out in line with the standard terms and conditions. It will not pay your spouse, partner or family an income after your death.

There are no occupation distinctions in providing cover. This means that if you become incapacitated and are unable to perform your job, you would be eligible for benefit. The insurer may require you to undergo examinations and tests by their medical experts. Regrettably there are some professions where cover cannot be offered. These are :

• Armed forces personnel
• Divers
• Underground Miners
• Oil rig workers
• Professional or semi-professional sports persons
• Nightclub security personnel
• Police Officers
• Firefighters
• Pilots ( flight crew can have cover)
• Certain equestrian professions for example riding instructors

Individual consideration will be given to Offshore Fishermen/Trawlermen.

The insurer can change this list from time to time.

If you are receiving benefit, the monthly premium will be waived (after a period). This means that the policy remains in force, but you do not have to pay the premium. In the event of a claim, for Day One cover, 1, 4 and 8 week deferred periods, you will be required to pay the first three months’ premiums from the date of incapacity. After this time the premium will be waived. For 13, 26 and 52 week deferred contracts, premiums will be waived from commencement of the claim.

The policy will not pay out as a result of an act of war, whether declared or not. HIV is also not covered on the policy. For a full description of this condition please see the policy wording.

When you take out your policy you must be resident and actively at work in the UK, with no immediate intention
to move or work abroad. Applicants who have not been resident in the UK for the last three years will not be accepted. If you suffer illness or accidental injury anywhere in the world you are covered. However, the insurer will only pay benefits for periods of incapacity while you are in any country which is a member of the European Union or in one of the following countries:

• Australia
• Canada
• Channel Islands
• Cyprus
• Gibraltar
• Iceland
• Isle of Man
• Malta
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Switzerland
• United States of America

These notes are intended as a guide only. They are not a personal recommendation, nor a contract of insurance. You will need to decide whether this policy meets your needs. The official policy wording is available on this website, we strongly advise you to read it as it is the document you would need to rely on in the event of a claim.

Upon application we will confirm you have supplied all necessary information, and inform you of the terms and conditions of the selected provider, before the policy comes into force.

If you think these notes are incomplete or misleading in any way, please contact us immediately.