Income protection

You choose a monthly amount, a waiting period and how long payments can last. If illness or injury stops you working and you meet the policy's definition of being unable to work, the insurer pays you each month once the waiting period ends.

The waiting period (the deferred period) is the time between stopping work and the payments starting. Many people choose one that matches when their sick pay from work drops or stops.

How long payments last. Some policies pay for a set time on each claim, such as one, two or five years. Others, often called full-term policies, can keep paying until you can work again or the policy ends.

Covering your mortgage. You can set up income protection to cover your monthly mortgage payments, with a policy that runs until the end of your mortgage term.

How much you can cover. Insurers limit the cover to a share of your gross earnings (your pay before deductions). The maximum level of cover varies between insurers and may be lower for earnings above certain thresholds.

When you claim, the insurer checks your earnings. If they've gone down since you took out the policy, it may pay less than your cover amount, and it won't refund what you paid for cover you can't use. It's worth reviewing your cover if your income changes.

While a claim is being paid, you usually don't pay for the policy.

Income protection is worth considering if your household relies on your earnings to pay the mortgage and bills, and your sick pay from work would soon drop or stop. That often includes self-employed people, who don't get sick pay.

You may need less cover, or none, if your employer pays sick pay for a long time or has its own income protection scheme, if you have savings that would cover a long time off, or if your household could manage on other income.

• We look at your sick pay, savings and spending to see how long you could manage, and what a policy would need to cover.
• We compare how the insurers decide you can't work, and their waiting periods and payment periods, for your job.
• We recommend a policy in writing and explain what it won't cover.
• We help with the application.

We offer products from a carefully selected number of insurers to provide a fair analysis of the market for Income Protection, Critical Illness Insurance, and Life Assurance.

We don't charge you a fee for protection advice. If you take out a policy through us, we're paid commission by the insurer.

As with all insurance policies, conditions and exclusions will apply.

The cost of this insurance depends on several factors, such as your age, where you live and your occupation. As a result, the cost you will pay is based on your own circumstances.

Income protection is different from critical illness cover, which pays out for specific illnesses whether or not you're off work.

Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 a week (or 80% of your normal weekly pay, if that's less) for up to 28 weeks. Your employer may pay more for a while: check your contract or staff handbook.

When working out what to pay, insurers take off some other income, such as sick pay from your employer or other income protection policies. They don't usually take off state benefits, but your income protection payments may reduce benefits that depend on your income, such as Universal Credit.

After Statutory Sick Pay, you may get New Style Employment and Support Allowance: up to £95.55 a week (£75.65 if you're under 25) while you're assessed, usually for 13 weeks, and up to £145.90 a week if you're then placed in the support group. Universal Credit depends on your income and savings: savings over £6,000 reduce it, and you can't get it with savings over £16,000. These are the GOV.UK rates when we checked on 8 October 2026. They change each April.

• It won't pay during the waiting period, so you'll need sick pay, savings or other income for that time.
• It doesn't cover unemployment or redundancy.
• A policy with a set payment period stops paying at the end of it (for example, after 24 monthly payments), even if you still can't work.
• It won't pay more than the share of your earnings the insurer allows when you claim.
• The insurer may exclude a specific illness, sport or activity when it accepts your application.
• Payments can stop if you spend a long time living or working abroad.
• You need to tell the insurer promptly when you stop working. Telling it late can delay or affect your claim.
• Inaccurate answers on your application can mean a reduced payout or none.
• If you miss payments (for example, three in a row), the insurer can cancel the policy and you get nothing back.

Your age, medical history, smoking and job all affect the price, along with how much cover you choose, the waiting period, how long payments last, and whether the cover is level or increasing.

Some insurers set the longest policy they'll offer by your job, and some need you to be working at least 16 hours a week when the policy starts.

We don't publish example prices.