Income Protection

Every client is different - so our flexible cover can be tailored to suit your clients’ individual needs.

• Payment period options – Tailor cover to your clients’ circumstances, with a choice of one year, two year,
  five year or full term to a specific age (up to age 70).
• Deferred periods – Align with your clients’ sick pay arrangements or flex to fit their budget, with a choice of four, eight, 13, 26 or 52 weeks.
• Level or increasing cover – Choose the option that best suits your clients’ needs and budget. Increasing cover can help keep up with rising living costs and comes at an extra cost. Cover can increase at either a fixed rate of 2% to 5% or in line with the retail price index (between 2% and 10%).
• Plan term – Choose between five and 52 years to meet your clients’ needs.
• Sabbatical flexibility – If your clients take a planned career break their cover can continue, avoiding gaps in protection or the need to reapply later.
• Redundancy flexibility – Clients who become ill or injured within three months of redundancy can still claim under our Own Occupation definition, helping provide reassurance during a time of financial uncertainty.

Our cover includes these enhanced features as standard, at no additional cost:

• Child illness and loss benefit – We’ll pay up to £25,000 (six times monthly benefit) if a child becomes seriously ill with one of the 46 main conditions covered under our Standard Children's Critical Illness Cover, plus £5,000 on death, with no deferred period.
• Child hospitalisation benefit – If a child is in hospital for more than six nights in a row, we’ll pay £100 a night, for up to 90 nights.
• Hospitalisation payment – If a client is in hospital for more than six nights in a row, we’ll pay £100 a night from night seven (for up to 90 nights).
• Fracture cover – Clients can claim up to £4,000 per fracture, with up to two claims a year. Fatigue, stress and hairline fractures aren’t included. Get details on fracture cover (PDF).
• Self-employed fixed business costs – With cover for ongoing fixed business costs such as rent, equipment hire or vehicle leases, with just 12 months’ evidence of costs. Read more details in our short guide (PDF).
• Back-to-work payment – Clients with deferred periods of 13, 26 or 52 weeks receive payments in their first and second months back at work to support their transition.
• Protection for NHS medical professionals – We can align cover with NHS sick pay arrangements. We start paying when sick pay drops to half, topping clients up to their insured amount, then pay their full amount once sick pay ends. Select a 52-week deferred period to use this option. Find full details on our income protection for NHS professionals webpage.

We focus on getting the fundamentals right, with straightforward features that give your clients long-term
confidence in their cover.

• Maximum cover amount – Up to 65% of your clients' first £60,000 of pre-tax earnings, then 50% above
  that, with a £250,000 yearly cap.
• Minimum benefit amount – The amount we pay will never be less than £1,750 a month or your clients' cover amount (whichever is lower). This offers them greater protection if their income drops after taking out cover.
• Protected benefit promise – We’ll pay the full benefit amount if income has fallen by less than 10% when your clients claim, providing a simpler, fairer claims outcome.
• Own occupation definition – Cover is based on your clients' actual job, giving them protection that reflects the work they do every day.
• Guaranteed plan payments – Clients know exactly what their cover will cost, giving them long-term confidence and stability.
• Lifestyle reviews – Positive lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking or improving health, could mean lower plan payments for your clients. We can review your client's cover and may update their plan to reflect their new lifestyle.
• Waiver of Premium – Included as standard, so we take care of plan payments while your client receives claim payments. For more information, head to our Waiver of Premium page.
• Free Cover – Up to £25,000 a year may be available while we underwrite your client's application. Read our Free Cover leaflet for more information.

Our claims process helps deliver practical support so your clients can focus on what matters.

• Adaptive claims approach – In some cases, we may be able to start your clients’ monthly payments
  before we receive all the financial evidence, helping them receive support sooner.
• Accelerated claims for terminal illness – If a client is diagnosed with a terminal illness, they won’t need to wait for their deferred period to end – we’ll start monthly payments straight away.
• Death benefit – If a client dies during the term of their plan, we'll pay their beneficiaries a £10,000 lump sum.

How to claim

Helping Hand is included with all our advised protection plans at no extra cost, so your clients are supported
at every stage of life. It offers support to the plan owner whether they make a claim or not.

It also provides online access to early medical services to help them stay healthy and address small health concerns before they become a bigger problem:

• HealthHero – Gives plan owners 24/7 access to virtual GP consultations by qualified, NHS-practicing doctors.
• Thrive – Provides plan owners with personalised mental health advice and recommendations to help prevent, identify and manage mental health conditions.
• TrackActiveMe – Created by physiotherapists, this service allows plan owners to assess musculoskeletal issues such as joint pain and provides them with physiotherapy advice and personalised exercise programmes.
• Recovery support - Our partner RedArc offers plan owners, their partner and children help from a dedicated nurse, providing tailored practical advice and emotional support when it’s needed. They can also arrange therapy, counselling and second medical opinions.

Important information about Helping Hand

Helping Hand is a package of support services, and each service is provided by third parties that aren’t regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority.

These services aren’t part of our terms and conditions and don’t form part of your client's insurance contract with us, so they can be amended or withdrawn at any time. This means that your client or your client's family’s access to these services could be amended or withdrawn by us in the future.

Find out more about the services available through Helping Hand.

Learn more