Don’t Get Caught Out When Buying Income Protection

When buying Income Protection it is vitally important to look under the bonnet to find out what the policy actually covers. There is a huge difference between policies with regards to the definition of incapacity they will use to assess your claim.

The most comprehensive type of income protection pays out if you cannot undertake the main duties of your specific job due to any medical condition, this is called ‘Own Occupation’ income protection.

Watch out for Suited Occupation cover

Many online comparison websites sell plans where the insurer would assess your experience, education or training to see if you are capable of undertaking another job before paying a claim – this is called ‘Suited Occupation’ income protection.

Many of these Suited Occupation policies are provided by payment protection insurers and the vast majority of them do not publish their payout rates.

Making Sure You Get Own Occupation cover…

Most reputable Own Occupation income protection insurers publish their claims statistics each year and typically payout over 90% of all claims made

Get a quote or contact us on 02084327333 if you would like to be provided with a personal recommendation for a policy that will cover you in your own occupation.

It is important to be very wary of polices that appear ‘cheap’ and check whether they cover you for your own or a suited occupation. At Drewberry we tend only to recommend own occupation cover, you can try our income protection occupation definition tool to see how likely our insurers are to offer you own occupation cover.

What Does A Suited Occupation Definition Look Like?

If you are taking out income protection it is important to have a look in the policy terms and conditions to see what ‘definition of incapacity’ is being used.

Many policies do not offer own occupation cover (where you are covered for your specific type of work) but rather use the suited occupation incapacity definition, which is often worded like below:

“A bodily injury/illness or physical or mental condition that prevents you from carrying out your normal occupation or any other work you are reasonably able to do given your experience, education or training and for which you are under the continuing care of a doctor.”

An Own Occupation incapacity definition usually includes the first part of the sentence above but not the part from ‘or any other work’ in bold.

Examples of claims that could be declined:

• A builder who can no longer undertake manual work being told that given their experience they could work in a DIY store instead
• A surgeon that damages a hand being told that they could teach medicine instead given their education
• A pilot that can no longer fly given a medical condition, such as the loss of sight in an eye, being told they could teach navigation to new trainees
• A sales professional that could not work due to stress and anxiety being told they could undertake a less stressful office role given their experience

Which Insurers Publish Their Claim Payout Rates?

It is very uncommon for payment protection insurance (PPI) providers publish their claims payment rates. Read into that how you will but compare it to the mainstream income protection providers that typically publish their payout rates every year.

To see the individual payout rates for various income protection insurers please see use our tool below. The average payout rate (claims paid as a proportion of total claims) across all income protection insurers was 92.9%, as published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Unfortunately, our Protection Survey found that 1 in 6 people look for incapacity protection when they are already ill or injured, and in a lot of cases it is too late to take out cover.

Get Expert Income Protection Advice

Income Protection is a very important policy for anyone that would struggle financially if they lost their income due to illness or injury, and as such it is vital ensure that you are confident about the quality of policy you are taking out.

Why Speak to Us…

We started Drewberry because we were tired of being treated like a number and not getting the service we all deserve when it comes to things as important as protecting our health and our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to let us help.

• There is no fee for our service
• We are independent and impartial
  Drewberry isn’t tied to any insurance company, so we can provide completely impartial advice to make sure you get the most appropriate policy based solely on your needs.
• We’ve got bargaining power on our side
  This allows us to negotiate better premiums for you than you going direct yourself.
• You’ll speak to a dedicated expert from start to finish
  You will speak to a named expert with a direct telephone and email. No more automated machines and no more being sent from pillar to post – you’ll have someone to speak to who knows you.
• Benefit from our 5-star service
  We pride ourselves on providing a 5-star service, as can be seen from our 3900 and growing independent client reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5.
• Gain the protection of regulated advice
  You are protected. Where we provide a regulated advice service we are responsible for the policy we set-up for you. Doing it yourself or going direct to an insurer won’t provide this protection, so you won’t benefit from these securities.
• Claims support when you need it the most
  You have support should you need to make a claim. The most important thing when it comes to insurance is that claims are paid and quickly. We are here to support you during the claims process and make sure it’s as smooth and stress free as possible.