Income Protection
Our income protection quotes comparison calculator allows you to easily compare the Irish Income Protection insurance market for the best value quotes in seconds. All income protection policies quoted include a host of added features and benefits and all quotes benefit from tax relief of up to 40% to further reduce the cost of your policy.
- Claim payments only start after a waiting period. For best value, opt for a 13-week deferred period and ensure that you have sufficient savings to cover the waiting (deferred) period.
- If self-employed or an owner-director, you will not get state benefits if you fall ill and can’t work.
- Remember the premium payments are eligible for full income tax relief, so consider covering your pension contributions, as well as your salary.
Income Protection – Policy Features
Features of Income Protection
- Pays up to 75% of your usual income, allowing you to continue to take care of your loved ones;
- Has a guaranteed level premium option which means the cost will never go up, even if you make a claim;
- Premiums qualify for full Tax Relief of up to 40% on Personal and 12.5% on Executive, company paid policies;
- Pays a daily replacement income, if you are in a hospital for more than seven days during your deferred period;
- If can maintain cover even if you move job, anywhere within the EU; granting even more peace of mind;
- The cover can be increased every 3 years, by up to 20% of your original cover level, without further medical information.
- Other benefits include rehabilitation assistance, relapse benefit, home visits with independent qualified nurses or professionals, back-to-work support, and career change guidance.
Income Protection – Quote Options
Quote Options
Deferred Period
This is the waiting period prior to which claim payment commences. It can be between 8 and 52 weeks, with most people choosing 26 weeks, so as to rely on savings in the interim.
Policy Ceasing Age
This is normally your expected retirement age up to a maximum of age 70. If a claim occurs and you have not recovered the policy benefit pay-out will continue to this age. Most people choose age 65.
Guaranteed or Reviewable Premiums
Your premium, unless you choose Indexation, is guaranteed to stay the same throughout your policy, as long as your chosen benefits remain the same. However to get an even lower premium you can choose reviewable premiums which are on offer from only 2 of the 5 income protection providers namely Irish Life & Aviva. Reviewable means that the provider reserves the right to review the premium charged.
Premium and Benefit Indexation
This option increases your cover by 3% each year in return for a 3.5% increase in your premiums each year. If you are claiming your Income Protection benefit for more than one year, the benefit will increase by 3% each year that your claim continues, to help keep pace with inflation.
Income Protection – Occupational Risk
Your Ocupation
Your occupation is very important as not all occupations are covered; particularly occupations that have a degree of occupational risk, e.g. working with hazardous materials, at certain heights, or working in confined spaces.
Below is a basic guide, that will give you a good idea of what class your occupation falls into. If your occupation does not feature on our website, please contact us so we can confirm if you are eligible to apply for Income Protection.
Class 1
White-collar occupations: no appreciable accident or health risk. These occupations will usually be office-based. Examples include Accountants, GPs, IT Consultants, Solicitors, Administrators, etc.
Class 2
Mainly white-collar and predominantly administrative. Driving may be involved. Examples include Childcare workers, Dentists, Sales Reps, etc.
Class 3
Skilled occupations, which may involve light manual duties but any heavy lifting is rare. Examples include Interior Decorators, Foremen, Electrical Engineers, Nurses, etc.
Class 4
Skilled tradespersons, working on construction sites using light power tools. Examples include Carpenters and Plumbers.
Income Protection Quotes – Frequently Asked Questions
What is income protection insurance?
Income Protection Insurance is an insurance policy designed to help replace your income due to any illness, or injury preventing you from being able to work, for a prolonged period. The maximum cover level permitted is 75% of your regular annual income, less the state disability benefit, where you’re entitled to this benefit as an employee or as a self-employed individual in Ireland.
Who is eligible for Income Protection
You must be in full-time paid work as a self-employed person, or as an employee or company director to qualify for Income Protection and to receive benefits in the event of a claim.
How much income can I protect?
The maximum that you can cover yourself for is 75% of your income less any social welfare entitlements (currently €10,561 per annum). Note if you are self-employed or a company director you may not be eligible State Illness Benefits.
There are some limits which vary slightly across life companies; but typically cover 75% of the first €350,000 of your earnings per annum (excluding benefit-in-kind), less state disability benefit if applicable, subject to an overall maximum of €262,500.
What income counts?
Income must be earned income, so you cannot include rental income or dividends for example. It is important to get this information right during your application for Income protection, as you might be paying for more protection than you are entitled to at the claim stage.
How does the premium tax relief work?
The premiums you pay on your income protection policy attracts tax relief at your marginal rate. Let’s say you earn €60,000 per annum and your marginal tax rate is 40%. Your quote comes out at €100 per month (gross) but the policy actually only costs you €60 per month (net).
Should I choose guaranteed or reviewable premiums?
Our quote system allows two rate options: (1) Guaranteed rates (2) Reviewable rates. The Guaranteed rates option will ensure that your premium will not change during the term of the plan (unless inflation protection is chosen). Reviewable rate policies will start at cheaper but will be reviewed on the fifth anniversary and every five years thereafter, meaning increases may or may not occur.
What is ment by the deferred period?
The deferred periods are 4, 8, 13, 26 and 52 weeks. The deferred period is the time between when you are injured or fall ill and when the policy will commence payment. The longer the deferred period, the lower the premium. Think about how long your savings, or if applicable your employer provider sick pay would cover for expenses when deciding on the deferred period to choose.
How does occupational risk come into it?
When getting an income protection quote, your occupation is very important as some occupations will not be covered due to the nature of their work. Below is a table that will give you a good idea of what class your occupation falls into but it is not the definitive guide as there are some small differences between the various life companies.
Class 1
White-collar occupations: no appreciable accident or health risk. These occupations will usually be office-based. Examples include: Accountants, GP’s, IT Consultant, Solicitors, Administrators, etc.
Class 2
Mainly white-collar and predominantly administrative. Driving may be involved. Examples include: Quantity Surveyor, Dentist, Sales Rep, etc.
Class 3
Skilled occupations, which may involve light manual duties but any heavy lifting is rare. Examples include Interior Decorators, Foremen, Electrical Engineers, and domestic Electricians, Nurses etc.
Class 4
Skilled tradespersons, working on construction sites using light power tools. Examples include Carpenters and Plumbers.
How many times can you make a claim?
You can submit claims on your Income Protection policy as many times as you require benefits, right up to the end of the policy term.
Can I also protect my pension contributions?
Pension contribution cover is only available on executive income protection plans for company directors subject to a limit of €40,000 per annum.
What happens if my salary increases?
Some companies, such as Friends First and Royal London, have an automatic benefit on their policies which allows you to increase the cover on your policy by a certain amount (20% of the original cover every three years) without having to provide evidence of health. This is optional. The premium will be revised accordingly at the time. This option may be exercised up to five times. If the increase is declined more than once when offered, it will not be offered again.
You can also select Inflation Protection when running your quote. This means that your benefit will increase by 3% each year and your premiums by 3.5% in conjunction. This can help ensure that your benefit automatically stays in line with any salary increases and with inflation and that if a claim occurs your benefit payout will also increase by 3% per annum.
Why choose OneQuote.ie to compare income protection insurance quotes?
Comparing income protection policies is easy with onequote.ie, you just fill in some simple details such as your age, your annual salary, and your policy term and our online comparison service we’ll compare policies from all of Ireland’s main providers to produce your best value quote in just seconds. All Income Protection Quotes we provide include free advice, easy online application and the best price guaranteed.