Income protection insurance for vets
With many vets owning their own surgeries, needing extended time off due to illness or injury can have a massive impact on their financial situation.
There are approximately 27,200 vets working in the UK, as of 2021*. This includes both those who are employed or self-employed.
An income protection policy can be extremely beneficial for veterinarians. Income protection is designed to provide a tax-free monthly payment every month that covers 50%-70% of your pre-tax monthly income.
This can be a great way to protect both a veterinary business and your own personal finances. Insurance can provide a safety net, allowing you to recover at your own pace while still affording your monthly bills.
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Will income protection insurance cover vets?
Income protection can provide an excellent level of cover for vets.
Anyone who is currently employed will be entitled to some form of income support if ill. This will be statutory sick pay (SSP) if employed or possibly an employment and support allowance (ESA) if self-employed and eligible.
Although these schemes can provide support for a time, these payments will not be received indefinitely. SSP for example will only pay out for 28 weeks. After this point you may still be unable to return to work if seriously ill or injured.
Income protection will provide financial security in this instance, with pay outs starting once your sick pay eligibility ends.
More about INCOME PROTECTION INSURANCE.
Does income protection insurance pay out for vets?
YES – an income protection policy should pay out for vets under a variety of circumstances.
There are many reasons a vet may need to claim on their income protection insurance. Some common reasons for income protection claims are:
- Cancer
- Mental health (stress/depression/anxiety)
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Serious injuries
All of these can have a notable impact on your ability to work as normal. Income protection will be able to provide you with support via monthly payments allowing you the time needed to rest and recover.
Compare income protection insurance for vets
If looking to get a reasonably priced policy, the best approach is always comparison. Comparing policies across providers will allow you to find the best price currently available.
Providers understand everyone has different needs and may require different levels of cover, meaning there will be a variety of products to choose from.
If you need help with where to start when comparing insurers, speak to one of our income protection experts. We have access to a wide range of insurers and can source the most competitive pricing on your behalf.
Can I get income protection insurance for vets?
Yes, there are often great policies available for vets. Even if you have access to sick pay, income protection can provide an extra level of financial security.
Premiums can often be much more affordable than you may think and the benefits of having this policy in place can be significant if being unwell enough to need to claim.
This is especially true if you run your own veterinary surgery and therefore will be facing both personal and business-related bills. Income protection stops you from having to rely on loans or savings to keep your business afloat.
How much is income protection insurance for vets?
Insurers understand medical professions can involve very demanding work. This can at times lead to stress on mental and physical health, causing a need for extended sick leave.
Because of this, there can be specialised insurance products available depending on the lender. Whether or not you can access a specialised policy will depend on each individual lender. Comparing policies and providers can help you to find the perfect policy for your needs.
If you need further advice about income protection speak to one of our insurance experts or CLICK HERE for our page on income protection insurance.
Cheaper income protection insurance for vets
There are various ways you can influence the cost of your income protection premiums. You can consider factors such as:
Age – taking out a policy as early in life as possible can reduce the amount it will cost
Comparing providers – comparing prices across providers can help you find a significantly cheaper policy
Get advice – speak to an insurance expert for advice on how to get the cheapest prices possible
Smoking – if you smoke you will often face higher prices for insurance policies, quitting or cutting back can help reduce costs
Health and lifestyle changes – making changes to your lifestyle such as losing weight or increasing the amount you exercise can lower costs
Pre-existing medical conditions – it is important to remember pre-existing conditions can affect the price of a policy and you may be excluded from claiming for anything related
All of these will affect the price of your policy, so bare this in mind when estimating how much you might end up paying per month.
Best income protection insurance for vets
There are a few different income protection policies available on the market currently. This means there is a great variety of choice for all budgets. These policies are:
- Short-term income protection insurance which is made to pay out for up to 12 or 24 months from the point of claim. A lower cost option than a long-term policy.
- Long-term income protection insurance is a policy specifically designed to pay out right up until the end of the policy term. Far more extensive cover.
- Guaranteed sick pay will usually be cheaper than a full income protection policy as it excludes pre-existing conditions as reasons to claim. Pays out for up to 6 months.
- Personal accident insurance the cheapest form of income protection. Pays out for hospitalisation over 24 hours, injuries and accidental death
Does being a vet affect income protection insurance?
Vets shouldn’t face additional difficulty in securing income protection cover in most cases.
The cost of an income protection policy can be far more reasonable than you may think. With many insurance products currently available, there will something to suit any budget.
There are ways to reduce the amount you pay for premiums with vets income protection. The easiest way of doing this is putting in place an extended deferment period.
A deferred period for income protection refers to the amount of time between going off sick and receiving your first insurance pay out. If you have access to sick pay or savings, you may be able to defer your payments for longer – leading to a cheaper policy overall.
You may also be able to access what is known as an ‘age rated’ policy, which will be cheaper the younger you are when taking out the cover.
Refused income protection insurance for vets
Insurers may refuse to cover someone for a variety of reasons, which can apply to people no matter their occupation. Vets should in most cases have minimal issues but there are several reasons an insurer may be concerned about providing cover including:
- Dangerous hobbies
- Pre-existing conditions
- High risk of injury or infection
You may have been declined before for one of these reasons, or you may be unsure why you were declined.
If you have been in this situation and need advice, our experts are here to help. We can assess the reasons you may have been declined and match you up with an insurer that can still offer you excellent cover.
Why do I need income protection insurance for vets?
Income protection can be a very useful policy for vets to have in place. Whilst you may have access to sick pay or other forms of support (savings, investments etc), these funds will only last for a set amount of time.
Once sick pay eligibility expires and savings run out, you could be left in serious financial difficulty if still unable to work. If severely ill or injured, the time needed for recovery can be extensive.
It can be a great comfort to have an additional safeguard like income protection in place, especially if facing a very long recovery period. You can access additional funds to support yourself and your business or family, when traditional income and other forms of support are unavailable.
Best income protection insurance companies for vets
Which company will provide a vet with the best insurance will depend on the vet’s budget and how extensive they want their cover to be.
There are 100s of insurers currently selling policies across the UK, meaning there is a wide variety of products available. This means that you will often be able to find some policy options with very reasonable pricing.
The best way to find the right policy for your needs is to compare what is available across providers. If you need help with finding the perfect policy, speak to one of our experts.
Guaranteed income protection insurance for vets
There can be medical or lifestyle factors that can sometimes cause issues with accessing insurance cover. This is when what is known as a guaranteed policy can be an ideal choice.
A guaranteed policy will allow you to access cover without worrying that your health and lifestyle will affect the likelihood of being approved for cover. This policy type will never require any medical underwriting, making it faster and cheaper for you to access cover.
You will be unable to claim for sick leave due to pre-existing conditions with this policy type. You however will still be able to claim for unrelated illnesses and injuries, meaning the policy can still offer a great level of cover.
How do I claim on income protection insurance for vets?
An income protection claim can be far easier than expected, in fact the process if very simple. There are 4 steps which are:
- Contact your insurance provider
- Complete a claim form (usually online)
- Submit medical evidence (if needed)
- Submit financial evidence (if needed)
When the insurance claim has been approved, the payments should start being received immediately after. These will go to the bank account associated with your policy. You will receive them until you reach your claim limit or can return to work.
Common questions about vet’s income protection
Below we have some common questions vets have asked us when looking for income protection insurance:
| What is income protection? | Income protection is designed to pay out a monthly tax-free payment to cover 50%-70% of your pre tax income. You can claim this if off sick for an extended time period. |
| How does income protection work for vets? | It will work in the same way as for any other profession. Simply put a claim in, wait for approval and start receiving payments. These will continue until the end of the claim period or when you are able to return to work again. |
| Is income protection insurance worth it for vets? | Income protection is a very worthwhile policy for vets. If unable to work for a long time, income protection provides vital support for paying bills until you can work again. |
| Can I get income protection for self-employed vets? | Many vets run clinics on a self-employed basis. Self-employed people will be able to access income protection and may need it more than most as if they cannot work, they may not receive any income at all. |
Useful resources for vets
Below we have linked some useful resources for vets: