Income Insurance FAQs

Answer: Yes! You can choose from the following cover options:

• Accident, Sickness & Unemployment cover
• Unemployment Only cover
• Accident & Sickness cover

Our Unemployment cover automatically includes both Carer Cover and Back to Work Support at no additional cost.

Answer: Yes! You can have a Mortgage Payment Protection policy and an Income Insurance policy at the same time as these policies insure different risks.

MPPI specifically protects your mortgage payments, in the event that you were unable to work due to an accident, sickness or unemployment.

An Income Insurance policy protects your income in the event that you become unable to work due to an accident, sickness or unemployment and there is no stipulation over what you should use this money for in the event of a claim.

However if you held both policies and made a claim on your income insurance policy and used this benefit to cover your mortgage payments, then your MPPI policy would not pay out when you came to make a claim.

You should also check your individual Policy Document to ensure that no reduction is made in your benefit, due to having more than one policy.

Answer: Yes! Income Insurance is not tied to a mortgage, loan or any other credit agreement and is simply designed to protect your income should you be unable to work due to an accident, sickness or involuntary unemployment. In the event of a claim the benefit is paid directly to you and there is no stipulation over what you must use this money for. Therefore you can use it to cover any of your essential outgoings, such as your rent, car repayments, credit card or loan repayments, your grocery shopping, your gym membership or your Sky TV!

Answer: Yes! We offer full Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover, or Accident & Sickness only, or Unemployment only cover for people who are self employed.

Please note: In order to be eligible to claim for unemployment you must have declared to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that you have ceased trading and be registered as unemployed. Ceased trading means you have involuntarily ceased trading as a result of your business having insufficient assets to meet its debts and liabilities and:

• Final closing accounts for your business have been prepared and submitted to HMRC
• Your business has been put in the hands of an insolvency practitioner or
• Your business is a partnership which has been or is being dissolved and final closing accounts have been prepared or are being prepared and submitted to HMRC

Answer: Yes! We offer full Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover, or Accident & Sickness only, or Unemployment only cover for people who are contract workers.

Please note: If you have chosen unemployment cover and you work on a fixed term contract and have worked for the same employer for at least 24 months, you will be entitled to claim for unemployment.

Answer: As long as your condition does not fall within the definition of the policy's pre-existing condition exclusion then you will be covered. Please see our Glossary for a definition of a pre-existing condition. Before being eligible to claim, you must be 12 months symptom free of a pre-existing condition, prior to the policy start date. If you do have a pre-existing condition and you are symptom free and have not consulted a doctor or received treatment for the condition for at least 12 months after the start of your policy, the pre-existing medical condition will then be covered.

Please note: There are certain conditions that are excluded and you are unable to make a claim for (Please see the question “Are there any excluded conditions?” below)

Answer: We will not pay accident or sickness claims due to;

• Back conditions, unless you supply radiological evidence of medical abnormality from a doctor or specialist
• Mental or nervous disorders such as stress and related conditions, unless a condition is diagnosed by a specialist and needs a continued course of treatment.
• Pregnancy and childbirth unless resulting from a medical complication as diagnosed by a specialist.
• Cosmetic surgery or other treatment which is not medically necessary, and any resulting from drug or alcohol abuse, or your own deliberate actions.

Answer: We exclude back conditions and mental or nervous disorders such as stress and related conditions, unless a condition is diagnosed by a specialist and needs a continued course of treatment.

Answer: You can cover a monthly benefit amount of up to £2,000, subject to it being no more than a maximum of 65% of your gross monthly income (whichever is the lower).

If for example your gross monthly salary is £1,500, the maximum monthly benefit you would be able to cover is £975. (65% of £1500 = £975).

If for example your gross monthly salary is £3,500, the maximum monthly benefit you would be able to cover is £2,000. (65% of £3,500 = £2,275 with £2,000 being the maximum)

Answer: Yes! You can choose to delay your first 2 months premium payments at the policy start date.

Answer: Contact us! Should you need to change the amount of your monthly benefit or your type of cover, you can call, write to, or e-mail the Paymentshield team, Certain restrictions apply, for example we cannot increase the monthly benefit amount if you are currently claiming under the policy, or are aware of an impending claim.

Answer: There is no additional charge to make an amendment to your policy, you will only pay the difference in premium that your requested change has incurred.

Answer: Any sick pay that you receive from your employer does not affect your entitlement to make a claim on your policy. Your income insurance policy will pay out alongside your sick pay or you can choose to wait for a longer period for Accident & Sickness cover, so that your payments start when your sick pay finishes. This helps to tailor your premium to your own individual circumstances.

For example: If you receive 3 months sick pay from your employer, you may wish to choose a 90 Day Excess period for Accident & Sickness cover. This means the monthly benefit does not become payable until your sick pay has stopped.

Answer: When assessing your Accident or Sickness claim, we will consider the first day of your claim to be the day a doctor certifies that you are unfit for work. For Unemployment cover, the first day of your claim is the day you are registered as unemployed with the Department for Work and Pensions Job Centre Plus (or equivalent)

Answer: You are not able to claim for any unemployment you were advised of or which happens within the Initial Exclusion Period. The Initial Exclusion Period will be 60 days if you have a secured or unsecured loan that has been in force for 60 days or less at the policy start date. For all other policies, it will be 120 days. Your certificate of cover will confirm the exclusion period which applies to your policy.

Answer: Different qualification periods allow you to choose cover to suit your own individual needs and can be an effective way to tailor your premium so that it’s affordable for you. You can also select different qualification periods for Accident & Sickness and Unemployment cover, when taken together on the same policy.

The qualification period is how long you wait before benefits become payable.

For example: If you receive 3 months sick pay from your employer, you may wish to choose a 90 Day Excess period for Accident & Sickness cover but choose a 30 Day Back to Day One period for Unemployment cover, so that you’re covered from day one.

Qualification Options

• 30 Day Back to Day One
  Your first payment is made on the 31st day of your claim and payments are backdated to the first day of your claim. Your first payment is therefore for day 1 to day 30. Monthly payments will continue for the period that your claim remains valid.
• 30 Day Excess
  No payment is made for the first 30 days of a claim. Your first payment is made on the 61st day of your claim and backdated to day 31. Your first payment is therefore for day 31 to day 60 and monthly payments will continue for the period that your claim remains valid.
• 60 Day Excess
  No payment is made for the first 60 days of a claim. Your first payment is made on the 91st day of your claim and backdated to day 61. Your first payment is therefore for day 61 to day 90 and monthly payments will continue for the period that your claim remains valid.
• 90 Day Excess
  No payment is made for the first 90 days of a claim. Your first payment is made on the 121st day of your claim and backdated to day 91. Your first payment is therefore for day 91 to day 120 and monthly payments will continue for the period that your claim remains valid.
• 180 Day Excess
  No payment is made for the first 180 days of a claim. Your first payment is made on the 211th day of your claim and backdated to day 181. Your first payment is therefore for day 181 to day 210 and monthly payments will continue for the period that your claim remains valid.

Answer: There are different benefit periods available for Accident & Sickness cover and Unemployment cover. You choose the benefit period you require before you start the policy.

• A 12 or a 24 month benefit period is available for Accident & Sickness cover
• A 12 month benefit period is available for Unemployment cover

Answer: The benefit is paid direct to your bank account, allowing you to maintain control over your finances.

Answer: Yes! As long as you keep paying your monthly premium, the policy can continue. You must return to work for at least 3 consecutive months before you can register a new claim. If the second period of claim commences less than 3 months after the first claim ended, your claim will be considered as a continuation of the previous claim.

Answer: If you have selected Unemployment cover, and you need to stop work to care for an immediate family member you can claim for up to 12 months if you are registered as a carer and are in receipt of Carer's Allowance. This means you can continue to support your family if you unexpectedly become a carer.