Individual income protection is taken out by a person seeking to independently protect their income in the event of being unable to work due to illness or injury. This insurance can be bought personally through an insurance broker or independent financial adviser (IFA), or in some cases, direct from an insurance provider.

You can apply for income protection if you:

• Work in full time employment 
• Work in part time employment 
• Are self employed 

You can also apply if you have a pre-existing medical condition, however depending on how serious your condition is, insurers may charge you more, or they may apply a specific exclusion to your policy.

How to know if individual income protection insurance is for you?

Here are some of the things you might want to consider:

• What would happen if you became ill and couldn’t afford to pay the bills?
• If you’re employed, do you have sick pay to fall back on and how long is this paid for?
• If you’re self-employed, what would you do if you couldn’t work for any reason?
• Do you have enough savings to cover any personal loan or debt repayments?
• Do you have any dependents, and will you have enough savings to cover you and your dependants if you are unable to work?

The cost of an Individual Income Protection Insurance product will be determined by the type of policy you want to buy, and your individual circumstances.

Factors that affect the amount you pay: type of job, your age, the percentage of income you want covered, your health, including any pre-existing conditions and when you want your policy to end.

Employer provided income protection, or group income protection is insurance cover that employees can only get through their employer. This usually forms part of an employee benefits package.

Group income protection allows employers to choose a policy that fits their business needs and budget. Businesses can pick and choose how long a policy runs for, whether it’ll be fully funded by the company or part-funded by the employee, what percentage of salary it pays out, which employees get it and how long they must be off work before the income benefit kicks in.

Key benefits of employer provided income protection insurance

• No medical underwriting, which means that individuals with pre-existing health conditions do not have to worry about exclusions related to their conditions and they are also able to receive additional support for these conditions.
• Financial peace of mind at an uncertain time, as policies pay a regular income if you are unable to work.
• Access to dedicated support from your insurer though Employee Assistance Programmes and access to professionals such as mental health specialists and physiotherapists.
• Expert case manager to assist employees to recover and return to work as soon as possible.
• A specific focus on wellbeing with access to preventative support services and tools, helping to empower employees with maintaining their health and wellbeing.

It is advisable to talk to your employer about whether they provide this company benefit and to understand the support services available to you.