Sometimes clients can question the need for income protection, so we’ve put together these powerful responses to help you overcome the most common objections.
“I can’t afford it”
Actually, you can probably protect most of your monthly income for a fraction of your monthly income.
For example, a 35-year-old non-smoker earning £35,000 a year, taking out cover until age 65, with a two-year claim period and 26 week waiting period could pay…
Less than £20 per month (that's less than 1% of their gross monthly income) for £1,750 of monthly benefit (equivalent to 60% of their gross monthly income).
“I’ve got savings to see me through”
It’s probably taken you years of hard work to build up your savings but…
They can disappear in a matter of months if you need to use them to pay the monthly bills if you’re too ill to work. Plus, there’s no guarantee you’ll recover before your savings run out.
However, with income protection, you’ll receive a monthly benefit for as long as you’re too ill to work and you’ll be able to keep your savings for the good things in life.
“I’m relatively young, I’ll recover quickly”
Illness can strike anyone at any age, and recovery often takes longer than you think.
The average age of claimant on our Income First and previous Income Protection Plus products in 2022 was just 36.
The average length of claim for policies with a full-term claim period was 96 weeks and 83 weeks for those policies with limited claim periods.
“I’ve already got life insurance”
Dying might be your biggest fear but it’s not your biggest risk.
Life insurance is a great idea. It makes sure your family is financially secure if you die. However, without income protection you’re still exposed to an illness or injury preventing you from earning a living and that’s much more likely to happen.
“I’ll rely on state benefits”
State benefits are not designed for you to live on, they’re designed for you to exist on.
If you’re employed, all you're entitled to is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) of £109.40 a week for up to 28 weeks. If you’re still too ill to work following this, you’ll then need to apply for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
If you’re self-employed the picture is even worse. You’re not entitled to SSP so you’ll need to rely on ESA from day one.
“Those policies never pay out”
You may think insurance companies will try to wriggle out of paying, but that couldn’t be further than the truth.
For example, The Exeter, a specialist income protection provider, has paid out an average of 92% of claims every year for the last 10 years.
“I’ll probably get an illness that isn’t covered”
With income protection there’s no chance of that.
Unlike critical illness cover which limits cover to a specific number of illnesses, income protection pays out if you’re too ill to do your job (not any job) for any reason. In fact, in 2022 The Exeter paid claims for everything from bad backs to heart attacks:
- Over 55% of claims paid were due to musculoskeletal conditions and illnesses related to COVID-19
- 7% of claims paid were due to mental health conditions
- 9% of claims paid were due to serious illnesses such as heart attacks, strokes, neurological conditions and cancer.