Income protection is a type of insurance that pays you a monthly benefit if you are unable to work due to illness, injury, or disability. You may receive up to 75% of your regular monthly earnings while unable to work, as long as you continue to pay a monthly premium.

Nobody wants to think about being out of work for a long period of time but it is worth considering how you would pay for your monthly outgoings if you were unable to earn your regular salary.

Income protection providers in Ireland

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Financial implications of illness

Aside from being ill and experiencing physical pain and suffering, longer term illness, injury, and disability can have serious financial repercussions for you and those who rely on your income. 

Income protection will protect your finances and provide you and your family with comfort and peace of mind should you be unable to earn the income that you rely on.

It is also worth noting that the income protection insurance premiums that you pay monthly are subject to tax relief at the marginal rate of income tax that you pay.

Eligible For Income Protection Insurance?

Some jobs qualify, others don’t. Find out if your job can be insured and get a free quote.

Sick pay and entitlements in Ireland

Employers vary in how much sick pay they will pay employees but statutory sick pay is currently only paid for 5 days a year ( that’s an increase from 3 days since January 2024). 

Employers are also only obliged to pay you 70% of your pay, up to a maximum of €110 per day. 

State illness benefit or disability allowance are paid at a rate of €232 per week if you are unable to work due to illness or disability longer term.

Who provides income protection in Ireland?

You can purchase income protection alongside life insurance or as a standalone insurance policy. There are five providers of income protection in Ireland.

What affects the price of income protection?

There are a number of factors that affect the premium you will pay for income protection:

As income protection is a percentage of your salary, the amount that you earn will affect the premium you will pay for income protection. 

Although the maximum percentage of your salary that you can insure is 75%, you may also choose a lower amount of cover and your premiums will be lower.

The minimum deferred period available when purchasing income protection is 4 weeks. 

However, if your employer offers you more generous sick pay or you have savings, you may choose a longer deferred period and pay less for income protection.

The longer the term of the policy, generally, the more you will pay for income protection, as your policy will continue to  offer protection as you are older. 

The maximum age which insurers will cover varies between insurers. Not all insurers will offer protection up to retirement age, although Aviva, Royal London, and Zurich will offer cover up to age 66.

Your age when purchasing income protection will also affect the premium that you pay for income protection. Generally, the older you are at the outset of the policy, the more you will pay per month for income protection.

Most insurers have a maximum age of 59 to purchase a new income protection policy (Irish Life has a maximum age of 54).

If you have had previous health issues, have any kind of ongoing health issue, or have a family history if any health issue, this will be taken into account when you are purchasing income protection. 

You may pay more for income protection, or face exclusions in your income protection cover, or in some cases be declined cover. Insurers vary in their treatment of various health conditions so it is always worth shopping around between insurers when purchasing income protection insurance.

If you smoke or vape, you will pay a higher premium when purchasing income protection insurance. This applies to all income protection insurers, although if you do not smoke or vape for twelve months, you may be considered a non-smoker.

The level of risk associated with your job is a factor in determining the price you will pay each month for income protection insurance. 

If your usual occupation is considered higher risk or one that involves an element of physical work, you will be considered at higher risk of claiming on your income protection policy and will pay more for income protection.

Indexation means that the income protection benefit that you receive each month will increase slightly over time to allow for the impact of inflation.

Choosing indexation means that you will pay a higher premium for income protection insurance.

What affects the price of income protection

Compare income protection providers in Ireland

Although price is the most significant factor in choosing which income protection provider to choose when purchasing income protection, and it is essential that your monthly premium is affordable for you, there are a couple of considerations aside from price.

The deferred period is the time period between when you are first unable to work due to illness, injury, or disability and the first benefit payment from your income protection plan. 

The length of the deferred period you choose will affect the price you pay for income protection but is also determined by your circumstances. 

If you are an employee and you have generous sick pay entitlements from your employer or you have significant savings to rely on, you may choose a longer deferred period. If you are self employed and you will be unpaid as soon as you cease work then the lowest available deferred period available is 4 weeks.

4 weeks is the usual minimum deferred period when you purchase income protection, but New Ireland has a minimum deferred period of 8 weeks, and Irish Life has a minimum of 13 weeks.

When you gather quotes for income protection, you may find that some quotes are subject to a reviewable premium and some are quoted with a guaranteed premium. 

Guaranteed premiums are fixed for the term of the policy, unless you change your level of cover, so that you know at the outset what you will pay for income protection. They may seem higher initially but you are paying for the security of knowing what you will be paying over time.

A reviewable premium will be subject to change during the lifetime of your income protection policy. These are best avoided, as they will typically increase as you get older and may become prohibitively expensive as time goes on.

Income protection insurers will support your back to work, usually when you have been in receipt of income protection benefit for over 12 months.

New Ireland and Royal London will continue to pay you a decreased benefit for 2 and 3 months respectively on your return to work.

All income protection insurers offer a proportionate payment should you be unable to return to your previous occupation at the same level as before or should you be only able to return to work part time. 

All income protection insurers offer income protection on an ‘own occupation’ basis. This means that you are protected by your policy if you are unfit to work at your usual occupation, you do not necessarily have to be unfit for all occupations to avail of benefits under the policy.

All insurers will offer rehabilitation benefit to facilitate the insured to return to work. This may be in the form of a contribution to the cost of rehabilitation or by offering specific supports and therapies that will enable a return to work.

Access to supports such as retraining, counselling, physiotherapy may be provided by your income protection insurer in order that you can return to the workforce.

Royal London offer their ‘Helping Hand’,a one to one personalised support service.

Aviva offers Family Care and Best Doctors 2nd opinion to all their customers.

Irish Life offers Life Care, a range of specialist and therapeutic supports for their customers.

Are you eligible for income protection?

Income Protection is an insurance that replaces your income when you become unable to work.

How much is income protection in Ireland?

Here are some examples of how much you might expect to pay for income protection insurance. 

In all of these examples, I have only included quotes for guaranteed premiums, for reviewable premiums you can expect to pay a little less each month.

how much is income protection

Example 1

37 year old, non smoker, earns €75,000, covered until age 60, risk manager, deferred period 26 weeks.

Quotes in brackets are net of tax relief.

Aviva €57.55 (€34.53)
Royal London €57.55 (434.53)
New Ireland €70.98 (€42.59)
Zurich €72.01 (€43.21)
Irish Life €75.32 (€45.19)

Example 2

24 year old, non smoker, earns €30,000, covered until age 66, sales executive, deferred period 13 weeks.

Quotes in brackets are net of tax relief.

Aviva €17.44 (€13.95)
Royal London €17.44 (€13.95)
Zurich €21.03 (€16.82)

Example 3

31 year old, non smoker, earns €45,000, covered until age 66, sales executive, deferred period 13 weeks.

Aviva €44.95 (€26.97)
Royal London €44.56 (€26.73)
Zurich €52.42 (€31.45)

Example 4

40 year old, non smoker, earns €42,000, covered until age 66, teacher, deferred period 13 weeks.

Aviva €118.52 (€71.11)
Royal London €116.65 (€69.99)
Zurich €137.24 (€82.34)

Example 5

30 year old, smoker, earns €45,000, covered until age 60, dietitian, deferred period 26 weeks.

Royal London €29.93 (€17.96)
Aviva €30.40 (€18.24)
New Ireland €35.77 (€21.46)
Irish Life €38.23 (€22.94)
Zurich €41.42 (€24.85)

Find the best income protection cover for you

Being unable to work due to illness or disability can be financially devastating for you and your family and state supports may not be sufficient to cover all of your financial commitments each month.

Income protection provides invaluable peace of mind that you will be financially secure and able to meet your monthly outgoings, even if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.

Get in touch with us today for a free quote for income protection insurance.

We can find you the policy that is the best fit for you at the most affordable premium, we can also advise you and answer any questions you may have.

Find the best income protection cover

Eligible For Income Protection Insurance?

Some jobs qualify, others don’t. Find out if your job can be insured and get a free quote.