If you are in full time work and fear that you could become unable to work due to having an accident, sickness or unemployment and worry where you would get the money to carry on paying your essential outgoings then some thought should be given to income protection.
Income protection is taken if you want peace of mind that you would still have some money coming in each month which will enable you to carry on paying your outgoings and continue living your lifestyle without too much change. An income protection policy can be taken out to protect up to a certain amount of your monthly income which would then kick in once you had been out of work for a defined period of time continually. The amount of time you have to wait before you can claim is typically between the 31st day and the 90th day of being out of work and the majority of policies are backdated to day one. Income protection would then continue to payout for up to 12 months and with some providers for up to 24 months to continue giving you peace of mind and ease the worry.
You do however have to check the small print of a policy because there are reasons which can stop you from making a claim. Some of the typical reasons which could mean you would be ineligible to claim are if you are only in part time work, suffer from a pre-existing medical condition at the time of taking out a policy, being retired or a part time worker.
Income protection can give you peace of mind but it does have to be given some serious consideration if you want to make sure you have the safety net it should be. Sticking with standalone and specialist providers is the best way to make sure that you get among the cheapest premiums for the cover and the information you need to ensure that the product is suitable for your needs.
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