Posted January 29, 2020

Blog by Barry Jones, Moneyfacts UK Protection Adviser of the year 2019

Income protection should really be the most common cover that people have in place, yet the percentage of people that take this cover up is persistently low, and perhaps that is because advisers are not prioritising it themselves and explaining it correctly.

You may be lucky enough to work in the public sector and benefit from the traditional 6 months full pay and then 6 months half pay and feel that you have adequate employer protection, but most people are not in this position.

The average client I sit with to advise has between 1-3 months sick pay from their employer and would then be reliant upon statutory sick pay- currently £92.05/week- not a sum that many people could manage to live upon. Those clients who are self employed do not benefit from even this.

Income protection effectively replaces your salary if you are signed off work by your GP, after a pre-set waiting period- typically aligned with your employer provision. It is a cost effective solution to ensuring that you can still pay the bills and look after yourself and your family whilst you are unwell. This may be a short term illness, or more serious long term ill health.

So why wouldn’t you want and need this cover?

There are a few people who do not need this cover, specifically those who say:

“I can self insure this risk, I have enough money in the bank to never need to work again”

Or, “I’m lucky enough that my employer will pay me forever”

Or, and the least likely one here, “Don’t worry, I can guarantee I will never be ill, and if I was I would definitely be able to continue to work through it”

With that aside, if you actually need to go to work to be able to live, and how many of us can not say that is true, insuring yourself to protect your household against this not being possible should really right at the heart of adviser’s discussions.

To know more about protection then simply gives us a ring on 01270 620555, or email us at advice@watts-ifa.com and one of our team of Protection Specialists will give you a call straight back.