Income Protection

This is a key area in most peoples' planning. Quite simply, if you are not financially independent and, in the event of ill health, your employer stops paying you at any point before your retirement planning is complete, then you need to protect your income.

Income protection provides a tax free income in the event you have been ill and unable to work until either: you return to work, the end of the contract term or until you die, which ever happens first. Premiums vary hugely and are determined by varying factors such as age, sex, smoking habits, the nature of your occupation, the deferred period between a claim and the start of the payments and the length of the contract.

We believe that, in many cases, income protection is more important than life insurance. If you die you are no longer a financial burden but if you can't work for 12 months and your employer stops paying you after 3 months, things could get very difficult indeed.

One of the most important aspects of income protection is that, as long as you maintain premiums, you are allowed to make as many claims as you need to without the provider imposing a variation in premium (Guaranteed contracts only) or cover.

Remember, the State has stopped offering any sort of meaningful support in this area. Invalidity Benefit based on your salary is a thing of the past. Long Term Incapacity Benefit is now £76.45; Short Term IB is £57.65. If you can live on this figure, then fine, no problem; if you can't, you need to plug the gap.

Give this matter some very careful thought. Quotations cost nothing!!