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What is income protection insurance?
Income protection pays a monthly wage if you need to take time off work due to a sudden accident or illness. Most insurers will pay up to 70% of your pre-tax income. They'll also set a maximum benefit, usually around $10,000 monthly.
The payouts from income protection can help you meet regular expenses, such as your mortgage or rent and groceries. It can also maintain your family's lifestyle while you focus on your recovery.
How does income protection insurance work?
With income protection, you get an ongoing cash benefit after a successful claim. It lasts until one of the following occurs:
- You can return to work
- Your benefit period ends
- You reach an age when you can no longer renew your policy
The benefit period is the maximum amount of time you can receive payments. In most cases, this is for 1, 2 or 5 years. Some insurers offer a benefit period until the age of 65. These policies will cost more.
You can only claim income protection after you've passed the waiting period stated in your policy. It starts from the day you file your claim and it can be 14, 28, 60 or 90 days.
Tip: The longer your waiting period, the cheaper your policy will be. However, choose with care as you'll need to have enough money to support yourself for the duration of your waiting period.
Pros and cons of income protection
Weighing up the pros and cons of income protection is a helpful way of working out if it's right for you. Take a look below.
Pros
- Peace of mind. Money is one of the major causes of stress in life. Income protection can't guarantee all your money worries will go away, but it can take care of one of our biggest concerns: what happens if I can't work? It lets you focus on getting better, not how you'll pay your next bill.
- Short-term help that stops long-term problems. Income protection is for those scary times when you're temporarily unable to work. It's short-term financial help that ensures your money worries don't become a long-term problem. If you can rely on income protection, you don't need to worry about alternative ways of paying your bills, like selling your car, picking up a second job when you can return to work, or relying on high-interest loans.
- Easy to claim. You don't need to prove permanent disability to work; just that you're temporarily unable to perform your duties.
- Good for small business owners. If you run your own business, income protection insurance is very helpful security if an illness or injury strikes and stops you from working.
Cons
- Can be trickier if you have a pre-existing medical condition. Sometimes it can cost you more if you have a pre-existing medical condition and in some cases you won't be covered if you need to take time off due to that.
- More expensive for different occupations. You'll likely have to pay a little more if you work in a high-risk job where injuries are more likely to occur.
- Waiting periods. Income protection policies generally have a waiting period - usually around 30 - 90 days - before it begins to pay you, so you may have to fall back on sick pay until the waiting period is over.
Here's what some experts had to say...
While it's counterintuitive, you'll want to consider insurance when you're in tip-top shape. This is absolutely a worthwhile investment of your time and helps provide a safety net... lock it in early to get better terms if you can. If you wait and get your cover at a later date, you might find the specific condition you've since had is excluded from your policy.
Pascale Heylar-Moray
Financial literacy advocate
No one is ever really prepared for life's harsh surprises, but the right income protection insurance can help soften the blow during a tough time for your family: financially, emotionally and physically while you're on a claim.
Phil Thompson
Financial Adviser at Skye Wealth
There's a lot more to finding the right cover than simply looking for the cheapest deal. Ultimately, you get what you pay for with income protection. In my view, policies held in super are rarely worth it in the long run. Going directly to an insurer or a broker is the pathway to a more comprehensive policy.
James Martin
Finder's life insurance editor
3 ways to buy income protection insurance
Learn more about income protection insurance
Our income protection insurance guides can help you compare and understand what cover option is right for you.
Some more helpful stuff
Income protection insurance: A beginner's guide
Learn the key points about how income protection works.
How does my job affect my income protection?
Tradies are well aware of the dangers of their work. Find out how insurers see things.
Is income protection insurance tax-deductible?
Here's why income protection is often (but not always) tax deductible.
Is income protection worth it?
A balanced look at how income protection can protect you.
The latest income protection deals and discounts
We put together a list of deals and sign-up offers below to help you save:
Store | Discount | |
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10% off for ahm health members ahm health members save 10% on their income protection premiums. Last verified |
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Save up to 10% Save up to 10% on premiums every year for the life of the policy on AAMI Income Protection. Offer ends 2 December 2024. T&Cs apply. Last verified |
Deal ends |
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Save up to 10% Save up to 10% on premiums every year for the life of the policy on Suncorp Income Protection. Offer ends 2 December 2024. T&Cs apply. Last verified |
Deal ends |
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Medibank health members save 10% If you’re a Medibank health member, you can enjoy a 10% policy discount annually. Last verified |
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Get your first month of cover for free Get your first month of cover free when you buy Zurich EziCover Income Protection Last verified |
Read our income protection reviews
Want to find out more about a specific insurer? We've reviewed over 20 of them. Here's a bunch of the most popular ones:
If the brand you're looking for isn't here, check out our directory.
Why you can trust Finder's income protection insurance experts
Read more on this topic
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Zurich Ezicover Income Protection Review
Read the Finder review of Zurich income protection and receive a quote based on your details. Compare Zurich income protection to other income protection policies available.
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Self-employed income protection insurance
Read our guide to the various types of insurance available to the self-employed.
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Can you have multiple income protection policies?
If you have more than one income protection policy they will both pay out – but don't expect to "double dip".
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Income protection and pregnancy
Income protection provides you with income replacement for sickness and illness but not for pregnancy. However, it does offer features to help you out during pregnancy.
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Income protection insurance for entrepreneurs
Running a small business? Find out how to get income protection to protect your own salary in case you get injured or fall ill.
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Expat income protection insurance
Income Protection can cover your income in case anything happens to you while travelling overseas, some conditions apply.
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Life insurance vs income protection insurance
Life insurance and income protection serve two different purposes but can both offer valuable cover alone and when combined.
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Income protection and tax (ATO rules)
Income protection insurance are generally tax-deductible, so read on to find out when premiums are tax-deductible and how much you can claim.
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OnePath Income Protection Review
Compare income protection policies available from OnePath and receive a secure quote from an insurance consultant. Find out how OnePath compares to other insurers.
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The best income protection. Boring, but worth it.
Looking for the best income protection insurance but not exactly sure where to start? Compare the Finder Awards 2023 insurance winners.