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The Basics

What Is Income Protection Insurance?

Income protection insurance pays a regular, tax-free monthly income if you're unable to work due to illness or injury. It's effectively private sick pay, continuing until you return to work, reach retirement age, or the policy's benefit period ends.

Statutory Sick Pay, the legal minimum most employers must provide, currently pays a little over £100 a week for a maximum of 28 weeks. Income protection is designed to cover the shortfall between that and your actual living costs, particularly important if you're self-employed and have no employer sick pay to fall back on at all.

Cost depends heavily on your age and occupation, but how the policy defines "unable to work" matters just as much, and it's the single biggest factor most people overlook when comparing.

Reviewing what income protection insurance covers
The Decision That Matters Most

Own Occupation vs Suited Occupation vs Any Occupation

This one setting, the policy's "definition of incapacity", decides whether you actually get paid out. It's arguably more important than the price.

Strongest Cover

Own Occupation

Pays out if you can't do your specific job, even if you could technically do a different one. A surgeon who develops a hand tremor could claim, even though they could still do admin work. The gold standard, but the most expensive.

Middle Ground

Suited Occupation

Pays out if you can't do your job or a similar one matching your skills, training and experience. That same surgeon likely wouldn't claim under this definition, since medical admin work would count as suited.

Weakest Cover

Any Occupation

Only pays out if you genuinely cannot do any work at all. The cheapest option, but the hardest to actually claim on, worth understanding this trade-off before choosing on price alone.

Worth knowing

Own Occupation is available for most professional, office-based and skilled roles. Some heavy manual occupations are restricted to Suited or Any Occupation by certain insurers, in which case a broker can identify which insurers still offer the stronger definition for your specific job.

Real Numbers

How Much Does Income Protection Cost?

Age is the single biggest factor, followed by occupation. Here's a realistic picture, not a vague single figure.

AgeOffice Worker (Non-Smoker)Manual/Higher-Risk Occupation
25£10-£20/month£18-£30/month
30£15-£25/month£22-£38/month
40£20-£50/month£35-£75/month
50£40-£80/month£60-£140+/month

Indicative figures for a long-term policy with an 8-week deferred period, Own Occupation definition, cover to age 65. Smokers typically pay significantly more, sometimes close to double, than non-smokers of the same age.

Worth knowing

A longer deferred period (the wait before payments start) can meaningfully reduce your premium. If you have savings or an employer sick pay scheme that covers the first few months, a longer deferred period is often the most effective way to bring the cost down without weakening the cover itself.

Worth Knowing

How Is Income Protection Taxed?

The answer depends entirely on who pays the premium, personally or through a business, and it's a genuine trade-off, not a straightforward "which is cheaper" question.

Personal Cover

  • Premiums paid from your own post-tax income
  • Premiums are not tax-deductible
  • Any payout you receive is tax-free

Company-Paid Cover

  • The business gets a tax deduction on the premium
  • Any payout becomes taxable income when received
  • Often arranged for directors, but worth weighing the trade-off carefully
Why most business owners still choose personal cover

The premium tax deduction on company-paid cover is often outweighed by the payout becoming taxable exactly when you're relying on it most, during a period of illness. Many business owners choose to pay for income protection personally specifically to keep the eventual payout tax-free, even without the premium deduction.

Before You Compare

What To Think About

Beyond the definition of incapacity, these are the settings that shape your policy.

%

Level Of Cover

Typically 50-70% of your gross monthly income, insurers won't cover 100%, to keep an incentive to return to work.

Deferred Period

The wait between stopping work and payments starting, longer waits mean lower premiums.

📅

Benefit Term

How long payments continue, options range from 2 or 5 years to all the way through to retirement.

🔒

Premium Type

Guaranteed premiums stay fixed for the policy term, reviewable premiums can rise over time.

🎯

Definition Of Incapacity

Own, Suited or Any Occupation, covered in full above, the setting that decides whether you can actually claim.

What It Doesn't Cover

Death, redundancy and dismissal are never covered by income protection, that's what life insurance and redundancy cover are for.

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FAQs

Income Protection FAQs

What is income protection insurance and how does it work?

Income protection insurance pays you a regular, tax-free monthly income if you become unable to work due to illness, injury or disability. It's designed to help cover essential living costs, mortgage or rent payments and household bills, so you can maintain financial stability during recovery, rather than relying solely on Statutory Sick Pay or savings.

What's the difference between Own Occupation and Any Occupation cover?

Own Occupation pays out if you can't do your specific job, even if you could technically do a different one, the strongest and most expensive definition. Any Occupation only pays out if you genuinely cannot do any work at all, the cheapest but hardest to claim on. Suited Occupation sits in between, paying if you can't do your job or a similar role matching your skills and experience.

How much does income protection insurance cost in the UK?

Cost depends heavily on age and occupation. A healthy office worker in their 20s might pay £10-£20 a month, rising to £20-£50 by their 40s and £40-£80 or more by their 50s. Manual or higher-risk occupations typically pay noticeably more at every age. Smokers usually pay close to double what non-smokers pay for equivalent cover.

Is income protection insurance tax-deductible?

If you pay for income protection personally from your own post-tax income, the premiums aren't tax-deductible, but any payout you receive is tax-free. If a business pays the premium instead, the company gets a tax deduction, but the payout becomes taxable income when received. Many business owners choose personal cover specifically to keep the eventual payout tax-free.

Can I claim income protection if I'm made redundant?

No, standard income protection policies only pay out for illness or injury that prevents you from working, not redundancy, death or dismissal. If redundancy is a specific concern, that requires a separate type of cover entirely, income protection is not designed to address it.

How does income protection differ from critical illness cover?

Income protection pays a regular monthly income for as long as you're unable to work due to any illness or injury. Critical illness cover instead pays a one-off lump sum, but only if you're diagnosed with a specific listed serious illness, such as cancer or a heart attack. Many people choose to hold both for genuinely comprehensive protection.

What is a deferred period and how does it affect my premium?

The deferred period is the wait between when you stop working and when your income protection payments begin, typically ranging from 4 weeks to 12 months. A longer deferred period genuinely reduces your premium, but means you need to cover your own costs for longer before payments start, worth balancing against any employer sick pay or savings you already have.

Related Guides

Explore More Guides

Income protection is often just one part of a wider protection plan.

Life Insurance

See our full life insurance guide.

Business Protection

Protecting your company, see our business protection guide.

Health Insurance

Compare our full health insurance guide.

Sources & Disclaimer

Written by: Darren Lewis, health insurance specialist and founder of Compare My Health Insurance. Last reviewed: August 2026. Next scheduled review: February 2027.

Sources: Independent UK market pricing research, published insurer policy documentation, and broker experience from Compare My Health Insurance's specialist partners.

Compare My Health Insurance works with FCA-regulated broker partners and may earn a fee when you take out a policy through our service. This does not affect our editorial content above. Any information on this page is for general information only and should not be considered financial or tax advice, regulated advice or a personal recommendation. Suitability depends on your individual circumstances, needs and budget, always confirm tax treatment with a qualified accountant or HMRC directly.

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What is Income Protection Insurance?

Income Protection Insurance (commonly referred to as IP) is an insurance policy that provides financial security by replacing a portion of your monthly income in the event you are unable to work due to illness or injury. This policy acts as a form of private sick pay, offering you a tax-free monthly income until you either return to work, reach retirement age, or the policy expires.

Why Choose Income Protection Insurance?

Income Protection Insurance is designed to support you and your family during challenging times, ensuring you can cover essential expenses and maintain your lifestyle even when the unexpected occurs. By choosing IP, you safeguard your financial future and provide peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones.

Benefits of Income Protection

Lifestyle

Keep the lifestyle you're used to

Security

No struggling to make ends meet

Protects Savings

Keep your savings intact

What does Income Protection Cover?

Illness

Whether you are dealing with anxiety, depression, a stroke, or a heart attack, your policy can kick in as soon as you are signed off.

Accident/Injury

From car accidents to pulling something in the gym. Your plan can start paying you as soon as your GP believes you are unable to work.

Doesn't include

Your policy will not pay out for Death, Redundancy, or Dismissal

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Why do I need Income Protection Insurance?

If you are employed, your employer may provide some form of sick pay benefits, but it’s important to understand that these benefits often come with limitations or an expiration date. Additionally, consider the possibility of changing jobs in the future—what happens if your new employer doesn’t offer the same coverage?

For self-employed individuals who do not receive sick pay from an employer, income protection can provide essential financial support and peace of mind.

In the UK, the standard sick pay cover is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), which pays just over £100 a week for a maximum of six months. Could you manage on that?

What to think about

Level of Cover

This is typically around 50%-70% of your gross monthly income.

Term of cover

How long you want to be protected for. This could be a fixed number of years or until retirement.

Benefit term

This is how long you want the policy to pay you for - the most popular option is until retirement, but you can select other options like 2 or 5 years.

Deferred period

This is the amount of time after you stop working before the insurance benefit kicks in. If you don't want the policy to start paying straight away you can choose to defer it.

Definition of incapacity

Definition of Incapacity outlines what constitutes being unable to work and thus eligible for benefits. This definition dictates the conditions under which you can claim income protection payments.

Premiums

Some policies have fixed premiums for the full term, but some have reviewable premiums which increase over time. It is important you are aware of this so that you an ensure your policy remains affordable as you get older.

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What affects income protection cost?

Age

The older you are the more your policy will cost, so it's better to get insured sooner rather than later.

Occupation

Some jobs are riskier than others and therefore this has an impact in your policy cost.

Health

The insurer will ask you some medical questions before you join to assess your risk of claiming. They may adjust the price as a result.

Level of cover

The more cover you take the more expensive your policy will be.

Deferred period

This is a wait time between being signed off and making a claim. The longer you can wait before claiming offers the most discount to your policy.

Claim Period

This is the length of time you would like your claims to last. Normally set at 2 years, 5 years and until retirement.

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