Many homeowners don’t have income protection

Only 2 in 10 UK homeowners have income protection (1), even though it’s likely to be needed at some point in a person’s life. Take a 35-year-old woman who is a non-smoker – for her, there is a 4% chance of death, but a 34% chance that she will be unable to work for 2 months due to illness (2).

Don’t rely on savings or sick pay

With income protection, you wouldn’t need to use savings if you were off work. Besides, 42% of working adults think their savings would only last them for up to a month(3). Most salaried employees are entitled to £109.40 per week for up to 28 weeks in statutory sick pay, which may not be sufficient. Meanwhile, freelancers would not be eligible for any help from the state, making protection particularly vital for them.

 

The difference between the types of insurance

Even if you have critical illness insurance, income protection is strongly recommended. Critical illness policies usually only cover specific illnesses, while income protection can help if you are signed off sick due to any injury or illness. Life insurance, on the other hand, is there to help your loved ones in the event of your death. But income protection directly benefits you, regardless of whether you have loved ones to care for.

 

As with all insurance policies, conditions and exclusions will apply. 
1 Royal London
2 Risk Reality
3 Legal & General

 

15 April, 2024

More news

16 May, 2024

Eager home sellers got the year off to a good start before it had even begun, with over 10,000 prope
Sellers were not the only ones returning to the market – at the start of the year, buyer enquiries were up by 7% when compared with the same period in 2023. This translated into 16% more sales agree

13 May, 2024

In a survey of UK workers, 37% of respondents thought life insurance and income protection cost more
This is a significant oversight considering that 40% stated that affordability was key when deciding on a policy. Those surveyed estimated income protection to cost £35.20 per month, but the average

7 May, 2024

Having barely shifted since last autumn, many analysts expect that interest rates may start edging d
Time for a fall? Most analysts agree that interest rates have peaked but there is less consensus on exactly when they will start to drop.   One forecast1 has suggested that Bank Rate rates will