💡What is Income Protection?

Income Protection provides financial security for you and your family if you are unable to work due to illness, injury, disability, or accident. If you are unable to work, you’ll receive an agreed monthly benefit after a short deferred (waiting) period — chosen by you when setting up the policy.

• The deferred period options are 4, 8, 13, 26, or 52 weeks.
• Benefits continue until you return to work or reach your selected retirement age (up to age 65), whichever comes first.

🧩 What Does My Plan Cover?

Your Income Protection plan safeguards your income against:

• Any illness
• Any injury
• Any disability
• Any accident

💡 Note: Income Protection does not cover redundancy, it only provides income replacement if you’re medically certified as unable to work due to ill health.

🧩 Why Do I Need Income Protection?

When illness or injury prevents you from working, your financial commitments don’t stop.
Income Protection ensures you can:

• Stay on top of essential bills
• Maintain your lifestyle and financial security

The State Illness Benefit is just €12,688 per annum (€244 per week) for a single person, not enough to maintain most lifestyles. Income Protection bridges this gap by providing a reliable replacement income.

💰 Tax Relief on Premiums

• You can claim up to 40% personal tax relief on your premiums.
• Company Directors can pay premiums through their business and offset the cost against corporation tax.

🪙 Tax on Income Benefit

Since your benefit acts as a replacement income, it is subject to the normal tax regime applicable to you.

💎 Does It Cover Redundancy?

No, Income Protection does not cover redundancy.
It provides income replacement only if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.

✅ Benefit Duration

You’ll continue to receive your income benefit until you are fit to return to work or until your policy term ends.

🛄 Multiple Claims

You can claim multiple times throughout the policy term, whenever you are unable to work and meet the claim criteria.

💹 Salary Changes

Your plan includes features to keep your cover up to date:

– Automatic Benefit Increase:

Increase your cover by 20% every three years (no medical evidence needed).

– Indexation Option:

• Benefit increases by 3% annually
• Premium increases by 3.5% annually
• Keeps your benefit in line with salary growth and inflation

The maximum benefit is 75% of your salary, less the State Illness Benefit (for employees).
Self-employed individuals can claim the full 75%, as they do not receive State Illness Benefit.

💸 Keeping Up with Inflation While Claiming

You can select Escalating Benefits at the outset of your policy.
This ensures your payments increase by 3% each year while claiming, helping your income keep pace with inflation.

💳 Premium Payments During a Claim

While receiving Income Protection payments, you do not need to pay premiums.
Premiums resume only once your claim ends.

🏢 Changing Jobs

Your cover continues even if you change jobs — regardless of the new role.
If you are made redundant, you can keep the plan active but cannot claim benefits while unemployed.

🏢 Working Abroad

• Full cover applies if you live within the EU.
• If you’re living outside the EU, you can receive income for:
  • 13 weeks in any 52-week period, or
  • 39 weeks total, after which you must return to the EU to continue receiving payments.

☑️ Additional Support During a Claim

Our goal is to support you beyond financial benefits:

1. Rehabilitation Benefits

• Assistance to help you return to work or start a new career
• Collaboration with the Irish Centre for Occupational Rehabilitation

2. Relapse Benefit

• If you relapse within six months of returning to work, benefit payments resume immediately without a new waiting period.

3. Partial Benefit

• If you return to work part-time or earn less than before, you may receive a partial benefit.

4. Claims Visitor Support

• Qualified professionals can visit you, help with paperwork, and guide you through the claims process.

5. Return to Work Support

• Occupational Health Specialists assist with workplace adjustments to help you reintegrate safely.

6. Career Change Assistance

• Partner companies can help you find a new career path if you can’t return to your previous job.

💲Other Benefits

Hospital Cash

• A daily replacement income is paid if you’re hospitalised for more than seven days during your deferred period.

Guaranteed Increase Option

• Every three years, you’ll be offered an automatic 20% increase in cover — no medical questions asked.
• Available up to five times (from year 3 to year 15 of the policy).
• If you skip the increase offer more than once, future offers will stop.

✅ In Summary:
Income Protection ensures that your income continues even when you can’t work, protecting your financial wellbeing and peace of mind. It’s not just an insurance plan — it’s a safety net for your future.