Income Protection Insurance

Insure your income and get peace of mind that you’re covered if you can’t work due to illness or injury

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Total reviews

2896

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Average rating

4.62

Income Protection is an insurance policy that covers part of your income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury. If you need to make a claim, it pays a monthly benefit, worth up to 70% of your pre-tax salary or income.

We’ve made it quicker and easier to apply for our Income Protection Insurance with our simple, automated online application, meaning you can get insured today in just 10 minutes.

Income Protection works by providing a monthly income if you can’t work due to illness or injury. The monthly cost of this is based on your salary, how much you’d like to cover, and a few other things such as your chosen ‘waiting period’. We’ve answered a few of the most common questions related to how Income Protection Insurance works, below:

What is a waiting period?

A waiting period is how long you’d like to wait before being paid, which usually coincides with the sick pay you may receive from your employer. For example, if your company sick pay lasts for three months, our Income Protection Insurance would kick in at this point, to ensure you can receive a regular monthly income if you are unable to work through illness or injury. If you’re self-employed, you can choose a waiting period that suits your circumstances, starting from one week. 

How much of my income can I insure?

With our Income Protection Insurance, you’re not only looking after your finances, you’re protecting your family and the way you live. You can insure up to 70% of your gross income (or average of the last three years’ net-profit if you’re self-employed) up to a maximum of £33,600 per year.

How long will I be paid if I need to make a claim?

You can choose Income Protection that means you can claim for either one year or two years. This means that if you suffer from an illness or injury that means you’re unable to work, you’ll be paid for a maximum of one or two years before you stop getting paid, depending on your plan. You can make multiple claims throughout the term of your plan.

What about my lifestyle or health conditions?

Unlike most other insurers, we don’t increase your premium based on your lifestyle or health conditions – the price you see is what you will pay. This starts from just £5 a month.

How long can I be covered for?

You can be covered for as long as you like, up to your chosen retirement age. You can also cancel your plan at any time, so you’re not tied in.

Does it take a long time to apply?

We’ve made it quicker and easier to apply for our Income Protection Insurance with our simple, automated online application, meaning you can get insured today in just 10 minutes.

Should you find yourself unable to work due to illness or injury, our Income Protection insurance gives you and your family flexible and affordable cover against your loss of income.

  • You decide when to receive your first monthly payment to tie in with your sick pay
  • With a 5-star Defaqto rating, you can trust our Income Protection to work for you
  • We won’t increase your premiums based on your hobbies or health conditions

Our Income Protection insurance gives you peace of mind that your family’s lifestyle is protected. It provides the income needed to meet the monthly bills without having to dip into your savings or run up debts.

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An income when you can’t work

Our cover pays up to 70% of your gross income aiming to replace your take home pay.

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Cover from just £5 per month

Tailor our affordable, flexible Income Protection insurance around your circumstances.

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We’ve paid 96.2% of claims

96.2% of new claims made by Income Protection members were accepted.

Our Income Protection allows you to get cover even if you have pre-existing conditions, as long as you’ve had no symptoms or treatment within the three years prior to taking out your plan. If you have had symptoms or treatment for a condition in the past three years, you’ll need two years with no symptoms or treatment after taking out the plan to be covered for that condition. 

So, in just 10 minutes, you can get covered faster than ever before if you’re eligible. Your eligibility depends on your answers to a short series of straightforward health-related questions.  

For our Enhanced Benefits, we have partnered with Nuffield Health to give you unlimited access to the best health and wellbeing support services.  This includes private online GP appointments available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and at no additional cost.  Plus, helpful financial support including bereavement payments and a new child payment. 

Nuffield Health Benefits

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Virtual GP

With 24/7 GP and ACP (Advanced Clinical Practitioner) access through unlimited phone or video appointments, you can always put your health first

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Discount on Gym Membership

Focus on your fitness at a reduced cost with 20% off a Nuffield Health gym membership

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Emotional Wellbeing Platform

Accredited by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), explore and address any issues that could affect your mental health

Family Support Benefits

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Bereavement Payment

In the unfortunate event that you die during the term of your plan, our Bereavement Payment provides your loved ones with a helping hand at what is sure to be a difficult time, by offering a payment of £6,000. 

Terms and conditions apply.

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New Child Payment

We’ll pay £250 into a Shepherds Friendly Junior ISA upon the birth or adoption of your child – to help you start planning for their future.

Terms and conditions apply.

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It’s our promise that should you ever need to make a claim, a specialist claims handler will be by your side every step of the way.

Our claims specialists have an average of more than 10 years’ experience, so you can rest assured they’ll make the process as smooth and hassle-free for you as possible.

All correspondences with us, and any documents required to handle your claim, will be processed within five working days. We’ll ensure you’re kept up to date with the progress of your claim and offer expert guidance and information when you need it.

Make a claim online

We’re a financial mutual that’s built on fairness. Everything we do is for our members, not shareholders, and all profits made are paid to you or re-invested for your benefit.

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Our members love that we do things the right way

Nine out of 10 members would recommend us for the way we protect their futures.

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Helping our members benefit for almost 200 years

The world’s changed a lot since 1826 but our idea of fairness remains the same.

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When you’re member-owned, it matters more

We take the financial future of every member personally, because you’re one of us.

Open an Income Protection plan and get rewarded too. We’ll send you a Love2shop voucher code worth £80 when you make your third payment. See our terms and conditions.


Open an Income Protection plan and get rewarded too. We’ll send you a Love2shop voucher code worth £75 when you make your third payment. See our terms and conditions.

It’s wise to secure yourself and your family against the unknown. Download the documents below to get up to speed with exactly how the Shepherds Friendly Income Protection insurance works.

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  • If you stop paying premiums under this plan, your cover will cease.
  • If your income increases and you do not review your benefit level, you may not have sufficient benefit to meet your needs when you make a claim.
  • If your income decreases and you do not review your benefit level, you may not be able to claim the full amount of benefit you applied for when the plan started, or you may only be entitled to House Persons Benefit if you are unemployed at the date of incapacity.
  • If you cancel your plan, you will not receive any money back.
  • Benefits received from this plan may affect your entitlement to any other benefit.
  • If you do not give us accurate and honest answers about your health and lifestyle, we may not pay the benefit in the event of a claim.

All references to taxation are to UK taxation and are based on Shepherds Friendly Society’s understanding of current legislation and H M Revenue and Customs practice which may change in the future. For our With Profits plans investment growth is by means of bonuses, the amount of which cannot be guaranteed throughout the term of the contract. Please ensure that you read the full terms and conditions of this plan which are available from your financial adviser or by contacting us directly.

Please note: No advice has been provided by Shepherds Friendly. If you are in any doubt as to whether a plan is suitable for you, we recommend getting in touch with a financial adviser, who will be happy to take you through what options are available. Should you consult a financial adviser there could be a cost involved and you should confirm this cost beforehand.