Martin Lewis Income Protection Insurance Guide 2026

What does Martin Lewis think about income protection?

Martin Lewis broadly supports the idea of income protection insurance as a financial safety net, especially where your employer’s sick pay or savings would not cover a long period off work. While MoneySavingExpert does not offer deep, technical guidance on every type of income protection policy, his key messages are to consider this cover seriously, use a specialist broker to compare quotes, be completely honest on your application, and understand that policies will only ever replace part, not all, of your salary. If you want tailored, regulated advice on which policy is right for you, you will usually need to speak to an FCA authorised adviser or broker rather than rely on general guidance alone.

Is income protection worth it in the UK?

For most working adults, income protection can be one of the most valuable types of insurance because it pays a monthly benefit if illness or injury stops you working, helping you keep up with your rent or mortgage, bills and everyday spending while you recover. Most employees and self-employed workers don’t have sufficient savings to support them if they’re unable to work due to accident or sickness. Employers generally only pay minimum requirements for sick pay, and the government’s Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 per week.

Does Martin Lewis recommend income protection?

Martin Lewis says that it’s worth looking at income protection insurance as well as other similar policies, such as critical illness insurance, to replace your income if you were unable to work because of illness or a disability. You should carefully consider your options with these types of policies and speak to a financial adviser to tell you whether income protection or critical illness would be best for your circumstances.

How much of my salary will income protection cover?

Income protection insurance will typically cover up to 70% of your gross income, which can include things like regular overtime and bonuses, if these apply to you. Self-employed people can also cover their income, which will usually be based on their salary and any dividends paid to them. You would often need to provide evidence of your income from your payslips or bank statements if you made a claim on your policy.

Should I choose income protection or critical illness cover?

Income protection is generally better for replacing your monthly income if you cannot work for health reasons, while critical illness cover is designed to pay a one-off lump sum if you are diagnosed with a specific serious condition, so the right choice depends on whether you mainly want regular income or a single payout.

This guide looks at some of the limited information that Martin Lewis says about income protection insurance and provides a deep dive into how these plans can protect your family. MoneySavingExpert.com does not talk about income protection insurance, which is why we think it’s important to offer more information and some guidance for consumers.

What is income protection insurance?

Income protection is an insurance policy that pays you a monthly income if you are unable to work because of illness or injury. Instead of leaving you to rely just on statutory sick pay or savings, it replaces a share of your normal earnings so you can keep paying for essentials like your mortgage or rent, council tax, utilities, food and other household costs.

Most policies are designed to cover a percentage of your gross income, often up to about 70%. The benefit usually starts after a waiting period, sometimes called a deferred period, which can be as short as one week or as long as a year. You choose this when you set up the plan, and it has a big impact on cost. The shorter the waiting period, the more expensive the policy tends to be.

Long-term income protection can carry on paying out right up to your planned retirement age if you still cannot work. That is what makes it such a powerful safety net for people in the UK who have regular financial commitments and little in the way of backup savings.

Consumer group Which? has gone as far as to say that income protection is the one policy every working adult should consider. That reflects how central your income is to everything else in your financial life, including keeping other insurance policies in force and maintaining your credit record while you are unwell.

• Cover level: usually up to 70% of your gross pay.
• Trigger for a claim: medical reason that stops you working, either in your own job or in any suitable work, depending on the wording.
• Benefit type: tax-free monthly income paid until you go back to work, the policy ends, or you hit the maximum claim length.
• Policy length: can be short-term (for example, up to 1, 2 or 5 years per claim) or long-term (to a set age such as 60, 65 or state pension age).

Martin Lewis and MoneySavingExpert: who is giving the guidance?

Martin Lewis is the founder of MoneySavingExpert, which has grown since 2003 into one of the most trusted consumer finance websites in the UK. The site covers day-to-day money topics such as gas and electricity bills, credit cards, savings, mortgages, broadband and insurance, and it is known for its in-depth guides and campaigning work.

Over the years he has become a familiar figure on UK television and radio, presenting programmes that focus on helping households cut costs and avoid bad deals. He is also involved in several charities and consumer campaigns, including high profile work on fair energy pricing and student finance.

It is worth being clear that Martin Lewis is not an income protection specialist and MoneySavingExpert is primarily a general consumer advice site rather than a regulated personal advice service. That said, when he does touch on protection insurance, his commentary is based on careful research and input from specialists in the field. His role is to give broad guidance and highlight where people might be missing important safety nets, not to design a bespoke policy for you.

Why do people trust Martin Lewis?

• Over two decades of providing free consumer money guidance in the UK.
• Content that is researched, checked and usually written in plain English.
• Campaigning record on big issues such as energy, PPI and unfair bank charges.
• No direct incentive to push one insurer over another, as his site does not operate like a traditional sales broker.

For income protection specifically, his main message is not that everyone must rush out and buy cover, but that you should look at what would really happen to your finances if you were off sick for several months or longer. If you would only have statutory sick pay or a short period of employer sick pay to live on, he suggests taking income protection seriously and getting advice from a specialist.

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What does Martin Lewis say about income protection insurance?

Even though Martin Lewis only offers a limited amount of information about income protection insurance, there are some important points that he makes, such as speaking to a broker and comparing other options like critical illness insurance. These are practical points that can make a big difference to whether your policy works properly when you need it and how much it costs.

Speak to specialist brokers

One of Martin Lewis’s most consistent messages across different types of insurance is that shopping around matters and that using a specialist broker can often save you both time and money. This is especially true with income protection, where policy wording, definitions and underwriting rules vary a lot between insurers.

A good independent broker or adviser will:

• Ask detailed questions about your job, income, health and existing sick pay.
• Explain the difference between long-term and short-term policies in everyday language.
• Help you pick a realistic waiting period, for example, to start after your employer sick pay stops.
• Compare the UK income protection market for you, instead of only offering one provider.
• Talk you through insurer options if you have pre-existing medical conditions or a risky occupation.

Because brokers talk to underwriters every day, they can sometimes negotiate more favourable terms, such as smaller exclusions or more flexible definitions, than you might get going directly to an insurer online. As the original content notes, having direct access to underwriters can give brokers bargaining power, which is valuable if your case is not completely straightforward.

Be honest when you apply for income protection

Martin Lewis is very clear across all types of insurance that hiding information to get a cheaper premium is a false economy. With income protection insurance, you are usually asked about your health history, family medical conditions, lifestyle, occupation and sometimes hobbies. It can be tempting to leave out something you think might push up the price, but that can put future claims at risk.

If you fail to disclose a pre existing medical condition or give misleading information, the insurer may reduce or even refuse a claim later on. Being fully open from the start allows the insurer to either accept the risk, adjust the premium, place an exclusion on a specific condition, or in some cases decline the application altogether. While exclusions and higher premiums can be frustrating, they are far better than discovering your policy will not pay when you need it most.

Working with a broker can make these questions easier to handle. Advisers are used to going through application forms step by step, clarifying what needs to be disclosed and how to describe your medical history accurately based on what your GP records are likely to show.

Income protection insurance won’t cover your full salary

Martin Lewis reinforces the point that income protection is not designed to replace 100% of your pay. Nearly all mainstream UK insurers set maximum cover levels at a share of your gross income, often around 60 to 70%. The benefit itself is usually paid tax-free, which means the take-home amount can be closer to your usual net pay than the percentage might suggest.

The idea is to give you enough money to cover your core monthly outgoings while still keeping some incentive to go back to work when you are well enough. When you speak to an adviser, they will usually walk through your household budget with you to decide how much cover you really need and what you can afford in terms of premiums. You might choose to cover only your essential bills rather than every single bit of your normal spending, which can keep premiums manageable.

How does your job affect premiums and cover?

Martin Lewis also talks about how your job can impact your premiums and cover. With these types of policies, your occupation plays a big part in how income protection is priced. If you have a mainly desk-based job with little physical risk, insurers are likely to place you in a lower risk job category with lower premiums. If your work is more manual or hazardous, such as construction, healthcare or certain trades, you will often pay more and may face tighter policy terms.

Occupations and income protection insurance

• People in low-risk office roles typically get wider definitions of incapacity, such as cover that pays out if they cannot do their own specific job.
• Manual workers may have policies that use a stricter “suited occupation” or “any occupation” definition, or higher premiums for the same benefit.
• Some roles have tailored plans, for example, self-employed income protection, company director policies, and specialist cover for doctors, pilots and other professionals.

Because of these differences, Martin Lewis’s suggestion to compare quotes and get specialist advice is particularly important if your job is physically demanding, you are self-employed or you work at height or with heavy machinery.

Income protection versus critical illness cover

When people in the UK start to think about protecting their income, they often look at both income protection and critical illness cover. Although they are sometimes bundled together in online adverts, they work in very different ways.

How income protection works

Income protection is there to replace part of your monthly earnings if illness or injury stops you working. You make a claim after your chosen waiting period and the insurer pays a regular benefit until you recover, your policy end date is reached or you hit the maximum claim period set out in your plan. You can usually claim more than once over the life of the policy, for different reasons, as long as you keep paying your premiums and stay within the overall terms.

How critical illness cover works

Critical illness cover, by contrast, pays a single tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of the specific serious conditions listed in your policy and you meet the insurer’s definition. Typical conditions include certain types of cancer, heart attack and stroke, but the exact list and wording vary between insurers. You normally only claim once, after which the policy ends.

Which is more suitable for day-to-day bills?

If your main aim is to keep paying your mortgage or rent and day-to-day living costs if you have to stop work, long-term income protection is usually the more suitable core policy. It can pay out for a wide range of medical reasons, not just a short list of critical illnesses, and it is designed from the ground up to replace your income over time rather than to provide a one-off cash injection.

Critical illness cover can still be useful, especially if you want to clear a mortgage, fund private medical treatment or make home adjustments following a serious diagnosis. Many people who can afford it choose to have both, with income protection providing the ongoing income and critical illness cover offering an extra lump sum cushion.

What does Martin Lewis say about income protection vs critical illness insurance?

This is one of the key areas that Martin Lewis talks about with income protection insurance, and it’s an interesting debate for many customers. Income protection insurance can offer better short-term value for money compared to critical illness insurance because it provides more coverage, but it doesn’t pay out a lump sum.

Martin Lewis tends to frame this choice around your reasons for buying cover. If your biggest fear is how you would pay the bills if you were unable to work for a long stretch of time, he leans towards income protection as the priority. That is because it is more likely to pay out in a wider range of situations, even where you do not have a “named” critical illness but are still too unwell to do your job. Critical illness cover then becomes a useful extra rather than the main solution for income replacement.

Check what sick pay you already have from your employer

Before you buy any income protection policy, it is sensible to follow one of Martin Lewis’s core bits of advice: audit what protection you already get. This starts with your contract of employment and staff handbook, which should set out how long your employer will keep paying you if you are off sick and at what level.

• Statutory sick pay is the legal minimum that many employers must pay staff who qualify, but it is often much lower than your normal wage and only payable for a limited period.
• Company sick pay schemes can be far more generous, sometimes offering full or half pay for a set number of weeks or months based on your length of service.
• Public sector and NHS staff frequently have structured sick pay arrangements, though these can vary by contract and employer.
• Self-employed people usually have no employer sick pay at all, which is one reason income protection is particularly relevant for them.

Once you know how long your employer would keep paying you and at what level, you can shape your income protection around that. Many people choose a deferred period that ends just as their company sick pay stops, so the income protection benefit then kicks in and keeps their income going. This approach allows you to avoid paying for cover during a period when you already have earnings coming in.

How does income protection insurance work for me?

Cost is always a big concern for people searching for low cost insurance or trying to cut bills using tips from Martin Lewis and other money experts. The good news is that income protection can be quite flexible, so there are ways to keep premiums affordable while still getting meaningful cover.

What affects the cost of income protection insurance?

• Benefit amount: Insuring a lower monthly benefit reduces the cost. Start by covering rent or mortgage, council tax, utilities and basic living costs.
• Deferred period: Choosing a longer waiting period, for example 13 or 26 weeks instead of 4 weeks, usually makes premiums cheaper.
• Policy term: Cover to state pension age costs more than cover that ends earlier, but gives longer protection.
• Claim length: Short term policies that pay for up to 1, 2 or 5 years per claim are normally cheaper than full long term cover to retirement age.
• Occupation class: Less risky jobs attract lower premiums; if you move into a safer role in future, you might be able to review the cost.
• Smoker status and health: Non smokers and people in good health normally pay less.

A specialist broker can talk through these levers with you and model different options, so you can see how changing, say, the deferred period or benefit level alters the monthly premium. That makes it easier to find a balance between cost and peace of mind that fits your real world budget.

Why should I get income protection insurance from a broker?

When you are dealing with something as important as protecting your income, Martin Lewis often reminds people to check that any adviser or firm is properly authorised. In the UK, income protection advice is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so you should only use firms that appear on the official Financial Services Register.

Working with an FCA authorised broker gives you several protections:

• The firm must follow rules on fair treatment, clear communication and suitability of advice.
• You can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if something goes wrong.
• You may have access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the firm fails.
• You have more confidence that recommendations are based on your needs rather than on undisclosed incentives.

A good broker will not charge you a direct fee for arranging standard income protection, as they are usually paid a commission by the insurer. They should be upfront about how they are paid, what service they provide and how they will support you if you ever need to make a claim.

Step by step: How to get income protection insurance

If you like the idea of income protection after hearing Martin Lewis’s general guidance, but feel overwhelmed by the details, breaking the process into simple steps can help.

• Check your existing protection: Look at your employment contract, staff handbook and any existing insurance policies to see what cover you already have.
• Work out your essential monthly costs: Add up housing, utilities, food, council tax, transport and other non negotiable bills.
• Decide your safety net: Think about how long your savings and any sick pay would last if you had no income.
• Speak to a specialist broker: Have an initial chat about your job, health and budget so they can suggest suitable types of cover.
• Compare quotes and policy terms: Look at price, but also waiting period, claim length, definitions of incapacity and exclusions.
• Complete a full and honest application: Take your time, ask questions if anything is unclear and double check what you disclose.
• Review regularly: Revisit your cover if your job, income, mortgage or family situation changes.

Summary: how Martin Lewis can help you think about income protection insurance

Income protection is not the catchiest or most talked about type of insurance, but for many working people in the UK it can be one of the most important. Martin Lewis’s role in this area is to flag that your ability to earn is often your biggest asset, to encourage you to check whether you could cope financially if that income stopped, and to nudge you towards proper, specialist advice rather than guessing.

If you know you would struggle on statutory sick pay or have people who depend on your income, it is worth exploring income protection in more detail. Using a broker to compare the market, being open on your application and understanding the limits of cover can help you build a realistic, affordable safety net that does what you need it to do if ill health ever keeps you away from work.

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