Income protection guide
Compare the monthly cost against the real risk: losing your salary to illness or injury and relying on Statutory Sick Pay, savings, or employer cover that may run out.
Step 2 of 3
Takes 60 seconds
Everything here is optional — it just sharpens your quotes.
No credit check. No obligation. Your details go to one FCA-regulated adviser only.
Income protection pays a regular monthly benefit if you cannot work due to illness or injury. It is designed for long-term absence, not a few days off with flu. Most UK insurers let you cover up to 70% of your gross salary, and the benefit is paid tax free.
Unlike a one-off payout, the monthly benefit continues until you recover, retire, or the policy term ends. That makes it the most direct replacement for a salary if a health condition keeps you out of work for months or years.
Typically 50–70% of gross salary, paid monthly, tax free.
Covers back problems, stress, depression and long-term conditions.
Payments can continue until you recover or retire.
The main question is not whether you can afford the premium, but whether you could afford to lose your income. Below is how income protection compares to the three most common alternatives.
Some employers pay full salary for 3–6 months, then half pay for another 3. Others pay only Statutory Sick Pay. Check your contract: if cover stops after a few months, income protection can pick up exactly where employer pay ends.
Key point
Match your deferred period to your employer sick-pay length to keep premiums low.
An emergency fund is useful for short gaps, but a £2,000 monthly spend would burn through £24,000 a year. Saving that buffer takes years; income protection costs a small fraction of the risk it removes.
Key point
Use savings to cover the deferred period; use insurance for the long tail.
In 2026/27 Statutory Sick Pay is £118.75 per week, up to 28 weeks. For most households, that is not enough to cover rent or mortgage payments, let alone food, energy and childcare.
Key point
SSP is a safety net, not a salary replacement. Income protection closes the gap.
Income protection is most valuable when losing your income would cause serious financial stress. It is usually worth considering if:
Cover is less essential if you already have a strong safety net. You may decide against it if:
It is usually worth it if you rely on your salary to cover rent, mortgage, childcare or household bills and your employer sick pay would run out after a few months. The monthly premium is typically far smaller than the cost of losing six months or more of income.
Statutory Sick Pay is £118.75 a week for up to 28 weeks. Employer sick pay varies. Income protection typically replaces 50% to 70% of your gross salary, tax free, and can continue for years if you cannot return to work.
Savings are useful for short gaps, but a long illness can quickly drain an emergency fund. At £250 a month, it would take about four years to save one year's salary. Income protection turns that risk into a predictable premium and keeps savings intact for other emergencies.
You may not need it if you have large savings, a generous long-term employer sick-pay package, secure pension or investment income, or a partner whose income could fully cover the household.
A healthy office worker in their thirties can expect cover from around £12 a month for a longer deferred period. Prices rise with age, smoking, riskier occupations, shorter deferred periods and higher salary cover.
Critical illness pays a single lump sum on diagnosis of a defined condition. Income protection pays a monthly benefit for any illness or injury that stops you working, including back problems, stress and depression, and continues for as long as you cannot work.
A regulated adviser can compare income protection across Aviva, Royal London, The Exeter, LV= and other UK insurers, and tell you whether it is worth it for your exact situation.
Get a free income protection quoteTakes 60 seconds. No obligation.