Income Protection insurance

It's when you need to make a claim that you realise just how wise investing in health and medical insurance can be.

If you're unable to work because of illness or injury, under an employers group sickness scheme (Group IPI) salary is continued but is subject to tax and NI in the usual way.

The maximum amount of income you can replace through insurance is broadly the after-tax earnings you have lost, less an adjustment for state benefits you can claim. As with all insurance, it is important that you have the right type of policy which provides all that you need it to do for you.

Long-term income repayment policies usually come into play between the time when your employer stops paying sick pay, and when you collect your pension.

Shorter-term policies tend to be used to protect a mortgage, bank loan or other payment. These usually commence within a few weeks but stop entirely after 12 months or 24 months. Short-term policies often include unemployment and redundancy, unlike longer-term income protection cover which does not .

To clarify, Income Protection Insurance only applies to products which pay you an income if you become unable to work due to sickness or 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.