Vitality Income Protection Insurance Review 2024
In our latest Vitality insurance review, our team of independent insurance experts explain how Vitality income protection insurance works for UK consumers in 2024. This is our full and comprehensive guide to what Vitality income protection does, and all the best benefits that are available for Vitality customers.
Based on our most recent research, our panel of insurance experts has rated Vitality as the UK’s best income protection insurance company. This was based on Vitality’s excellent customer reviews, outstanding rewards scheme, and all the top-quality features that are included in their income protection policies.
Vitality is one of the UK’s most innovative insurance companies and they are best known for rewarding their customers for healthy lifestyle choices. After building up reward points on the Vitality app, you can then redeem those points for discounts and free items from top High Street brands like:
Discounts & Rewards Partners
Income protection insurance can provide much needed financial support if you can’t work due to your health. Vitality is one of many income protection insurance companies in the UK, and their policies will work better for some customers than others. If you are unsure if Vitality is right for you, you might find it useful to get free advice from an insurance specialist.
60 Second Summary – Vitality Income Protection Insurance Review 2024
Our independent panel of insurance experts recently rated Vitality as the UK’s best income protection insurance company. This rating was based on Vitality’s pricing, policy features, extra benefits, and positive customer feedback.
Record numbers of UK consumers bought income protection insurance last year, with the Association of British Insurers reporting that more than 247,000 new policies were sold. Vitality is an extremely popular choice for UK insurance customers, with over 1.7 million members across their life and health insurance policies.
- Vitality income protection insurance will pay out a regular monthly income if you can’t work due to an illness or an injury. You can choose between policies that will pay out for 12 months, 24 months, 60 months, or even until retirement.
- Based on our research, the average cost of Vitality income protection insurance is around £22.92 per month for a £1,000 per month claims pay out. The actual cost of cover will vary based on your age, smoker status, medical history, and job role.
- Popular policy benefits include 20% boosted claims for Platinum members (‘Income Booster’) and the option to easily change your cover amount following a big life event (e.g. marriage or new mortgage).
- Vitality customers can save significantly by taking advantage of Vitality rewards and discounts. However, you need to engage fully with the rewards programme to get the best value for money.
- It can be helpful to get some advice from an insurance expert, if you are unsure if Vitality will offer the best policy and price for the cover that you need.
What does Vitality UK do?
Vitality is a UK insurance company, which sells a range of products including life insurance, critical illness insurance, and income protection insurance.
It would be very easy to confuse Vitality with a gym or lifestyle brand, as their advertising puts so much focus into exercise and healthy living. They also partner with well-known UK athletes including Sebastian Coe, Tracey Neville, and Ellie Simmonds. Their celebrity partners often appear in Vitality TV adverts, like the one below featuring Jessica Ennis-Hill.
Vitality focuses so heavily on having an active lifestyle due to their ‘shared value’ model, which is a fresh and innovative approach for UK insurance companies. In simple terms, this means that Vitality provides rewards to their customers based on healthy behaviours, such as increasing your daily steps or improving your diet.
The aim of this is to both reward customers and to decrease your risk of dying or becoming ill. This benefits both you and Vitality as your risk of claiming on your policy will be lower.
Does Vitality do income protection insurance?
Vitality does sell income protection insurance, and in fact they updated their products last year to provide better benefits for income protection customers. The main change that was introduced was the new ‘Income Booster’, which allows Vitality Platinum members to claim an additional 20% on top of their usual claim payments.*
Vitality income protection insurance has also been rated as 5 Stars by Defaqto, which indicates that their policies are comprehensive and include a decent range of benefits for their customers.
The video below explains more about how income protection insurance works for Vitality members.
Personal Protection with Vitality Brochure – CLICK HERE
Vitality Income Protection Terms and Conditions – CLICK HERE
*Can only claim the extra 20% for up to 6 months maximum
Is Vitality good for income protection insurance?
Our panel of income protection experts recently rated Vitality as the UK’s best income protection insurance company, based on their comprehensive policies and wide range of customer benefits.
Vitality is also very well-liked by their customers, with online ratings of 4.2 out of 5.0 Stars on independent review site Trustpilot. 68% of Vitality’s customers have rated them as 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars, and many reviews mention the Vitality team being helpful, knowledgeable, and professional.
Vitality has over 1.7 million customers in the UK, with many people choosing Vitality income protection insurance due to popular benefits like:
- Last year, Vitality introduced their ‘Income Booster’ which provides Vitality Platinum members with an extra 20% on top of their usual claim payments during their first 6 months of claims
- You can claim a free Vitality Plus healthcare check within the first 12 months of your policy
- The ‘Vitality Apple Watch Offer’ is a popular reward which allows you to get the latest Apple Watch for only £39*
- Guaranteed Insurability means that you can adjust your policy easily following major life events (e.g. marriage, new job, new mortgage)
- The Vitality Earnings Guarantee allows you to ‘lock in’ your benefit amount, so that it never changes even if your income decreases in the future (up to £1,500 per month)
- Doctors and Surgeons can access the Higher Earnings Guarantee, which guarantees your claim pay outs for up to £3,000 per month
- Waiver of Premium means that you won’t need to pay for your policy if you can’t work due to illness or injury
- Vitality announced their ‘Multi Product Discount’ scheme in 2023 – so you can save by buying multiple Vitality policies (e.g. life insurance and income protection)
- The helpful Recovery Benefit offers access to counselling, physiotherapy, and cancer support to help you to return to working as normal
- Vitality members on parental leave (maternity/paternity leave) are still classed as working when they claim
- Public Sector Deferred Period Benefit will automatically match the deferred period on your policy to your pay out structure when you choose a 12-month deferred (waiting) period
Note: Vitality income protection insurance won’t pay out for redundancy or for being dismissed from your job role. You also cannot begin to receive any pay outs from your policy until after you have stopped getting sick pay (e.g. Statutory Sick Pay).
*Terms and Conditions apply
Is it worth joining Vitality?
Many Vitality customers find that they save money each year, due to all the discounts and rewards that they can claim through the Vitality rewards scheme. Even our own Managing Directors have Vitality policies, having saved £1000’s over the last 10 years due to their active lifestyles.
However, it is important to note that Vitality’s ‘shared value’ model won’t be the best fit for everyone. You need to properly engage with Vitality’s rewards programme to get your full value for money, and this won’t be ideal for every customer.
It can be hard at times to earn Vitality points, and your monthly payments can increase if you don’t fully engage. Ultimately, it will be up to you whether Vitality feels like the right fit, but it can be useful to get some advice from an insurance expert if you are unsure.
How does Vitality income protection insurance work?
Vitality income protection insurance will pay out a regular income to you if you can’t work due to an illness or an injury. These payments are usually tax-free (see Income Protection and Tax Guide) and are intended to help support you with essentials bills during your recovery.
There are flexible policy options available, so that you can build the level of cover that works for you. If you’re not sure what the right amount of cover is, you should consider your usual monthly bills and expenses and how you would pay for these if you couldn’t work.
You can claim on your Vitality policy if your doctor signs you off work for 4 weeks or longer. Depending on the exact policy that you have, you can claim for either 12 months, 24 months, 60 months, or until the end of your policy term. Your monthly claim payments will stop when you either reach the end of your claim period or you return to work.
What benefits do I get with Vitality?
Vitality has become well known for offering brilliant customer rewards and benefits like their ‘Vitality Apple Watch Offer’. This offer allows you to buy an Apple watch (or other smart watch) for only £39*. This works as a finance agreement (with Etika), but Vitality members who engage fully will not need to pay any monthly costs themselves.
If this reward doesn’t appeal to you, Vitality also provides a range of other offers including free Caffe Nero coffees and free cinema tickets from Vue and Odeon cinemas.
Note: Vitality rewards partners can change over time, so it’s best not to base buying your policy on one specific Vitality reward. You should always prioritise having the right level of cover, even if this means choosing a different insurance company.
*Terms and Conditions apply
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What are the Vitality income protection key features?
| Type of cover | Vitality Income Protection Insurance |
| Which policies are available? | Income protection insurance (single life) Income protection insurance (joint life) |
| What are the payment options? | Guaranteed (fixed) payments that never change Increasing payments if you choose to add increasing (indexed) cover to your policy |
| What are the cover options? | Short term income protection (can claim for either 12, 24 or 60 months at most) Long term income protection (can claim for 5 years, or the end of policy term) |
| Can I buy increasing cover? | YES – Vitality customers can choose to have increasing cover, to protect policies against higher costs in the future due to inflation |
| Includes Waiver of Premium? | You can add Waiver of Premium benefit for a small extra cost. |
| What are the policy term options? | Your policy must last for a minimum of 5 years. Your maximum policy term will be based on your age when you apply for your cover. |
| How much will my policy pay out when I claim? | The amount of cover that will be available for you will depend on your exact job role and usual income. Vitality can guarantee your claim payments based on your income when you apply (up to £1,500). This is helpful for those who are self-employed where monthly income can vary. |
| What are the deferred (waiting) period options? | You will need to wait for a set time period between your sick leave starting and your Vitality policy pay outs beginning. The main waiting (deferred) period options for Vitality members are: 7 days 4 weeks 12 months 24 months 60 months |
| Are there any policy exclusions? | Vitality will only pay out if you are no longer receiving sick pay (workplace scheme or Statutory Sick Pay/Employment Support Allowance) You can’t buy Vitality income protection if you are on a zero hour contract. There may be specific exclusions applied to your policy based on your own situation (e.g. can’t claim for a pre-existing condition) |
| Are there any additional benefits included with my policy? | YES – You will have access to a Vitality Recovery Benefit to support you in returning to work. This includes access to physiotherapy, counselling, CBT and more. You also have a Guaranteed Insurability Option, allowing you to increase your cover if needed after a significant event e.g. getting married or having a child. You also have the option to add on Children’s Serious Illness Benefit (critical illness cover) for an extra cost. |
To apply for Vitality income protection insurance, you will need to have been registered with a UK GP for at least 2 years.
What are the pros and cons of Vitality income protection insurance?
Our independent insurance specialists have created the table below to highlight the main pros and cons of Vitality income protection insurance.
| Pro | Con |
| Can potentially save £100’s per year by taking advantage of Vitality rewards and discounts | Need to fully engage with the Vitality programme to benefit from all the customer rewards and discounts |
| Comprehensive and flexible policies available to suit different customers (Defaqto 5 Star rated) | The cost of your policy can increase if you don’t engage with the Vitality Healthy Rewards Programme |
| Can take advantage of multi product discounts to save money if you need other policies (e.g. life insurance, critical illness cover) | Other insurance companies might be cheaper or more suitable for you based on your own situation |
How much does Vitality income protection insurance cost?
The cost of Vitality income protection insurance will vary between each customer. This is because Vitality will decide on the cost of your policy based on things like your age, job role, smoker status, and medical history.
Our independent insurance experts have compared quotes for Vitality income protection insurance for customers of different ages. Based on these figures, the average cost of Vitality income protection insurance is around £22.92 per month.
Our experts previously found that the average cost of income protection insurance in the UK is around £15 – £20 per month, so Vitality’s average price is only slightly higher than this. Vitality does also provide a lot of rewards compared to other companies, which is something that is worth thinking about when looking at prices.
The actual price that you pay could be different to the average cost, based on your own situation. Vitality has minimum costs for their policies too, so you will pay at least £5 per month (or £60 per year).
Short term income protection: Pays out £1,000 per month for 12 months (employed)
| Age of applicant | Cost per month (£s) |
| Age 25 | £5.93 |
| Age 30 | £6.88 |
| Age 35 | £8.45 |
| Age 40 | £10.86 |
| Age 45 | £14.60 |
| Age 50 | £19.43 |
| Age 55 | £28.58 |
Short term income protection: Pays out £1,000 per month for 24 months (employed)
| Age of applicant | Cost per month (£s) |
| Age 25 | £6.31 |
| Age 30 | £7.38 |
| Age 35 | £9.39 |
| Age 40 | £12.82 |
| Age 45 | £17.95 |
| Age 50 | £28.95 |
| Age 55 | £34.71 |
Short term income protection: Pays out £1,000 per month for 12 months (self-employed)
| Age of applicant | Cost per month (£s) |
| Age 25 | £11.46 |
| Age 30 | £13.52 |
| Age 35 | £18.21 |
| Age 40 | £25.27 |
| Age 45 | £32.09 |
| Age 50 | £44.55 |
| Age 55 | £66.29 |
Short term income protection: Pays out £1,000 per month for 24 months (self-employed)
| Age of applicant | Cost per month (£s) |
| Age 25 | £11.57 |
| Age 30 | £13.65 |
| Age 35 | £18.39 |
| Age 40 | £25.60 |
| Age 45 | £32.40 |
| Age 50 | £49.90 |
| Age 55 | £66.89 |
Note: All the quotes above are based on example customers with no pre-existing medical conditions. If you have a medical condition or high-risk job role, this can affect the price of your cover.
How do I contact Vitality?
It can be helpful to know which number to call if you are having issues with your Vitality policy or your Vitality rewards. There are different numbers for Vitality Health and Vitality Life customers so we have listed the main contact details for Vitality Life below.
Vitality life insurance contact number (advice)
Telephone – 0800 009 6559
Opening hours – Monday – Friday / 8am – 7pm
Vitality life insurance contact number for existing customers
Telephone – 0345 601 0072
Opening hours – Monday – Friday / 8am – 7pm
Vitality life insurance member zone support
Telephone – 0345 602 3523
Opening hours – Monday – Friday / 8am – 7pm / Saturday 9am – 1pm
How do I claim on Vitality income protection?
To claim on your Vitality income protection insurance, you should contact Vitality as soon as you know that you will be signed off work by your doctor. You can start your Vitality claim by contacting Vitality directly to let them know that you can no longer work as normal.
The way that Vitality claims work will depend on the ‘incapacity definition’ that Vitality offered you in your original policy documents. This is how Vitality assesses your ability to work as normal based on your illness or injury. The definition that you have can vary depending on things like your specific job role.
Vitality will assess whether your claim is valid based on 3 set definitions which are:
- ‘Standard’ definition: This means that your illness or injury prevents you from returning to your usual job role and there are no reasonable changes that can be made to make this possible
- ‘Special definition’: This would be where for your first 12 months of claims, you receive the full payment amount based on the standard definition above. After 12 months, you will be reassessed to see if you should still receive the full amount or if this will reduce to 50%.
- ‘Activities of daily living’: This means that Vitality will assess your claim based on your ability to perform a specific set of everyday tasks to see how well you can look after yourself
The amount of money that you receive when you claim may be affected by any additional income that you are receiving at the time.
Does income protection actually pay out with Vitality?
Income protection insurance will pay out in most cases, and Vitality has a high rate of claims pay outs.
According to Vitality, they paid out for 96.6% of new claims that they received in 2022, with 75% of these claims coming from income protection insurance customers. Most claims were for musculoskeletal issues (34%), followed by cancer (29%) and then mental health (14%).
Rated "Excellent" 5 out of 5
"This company went above & beyond to get me cover even though I have MS, I am very happy I managed to get cover, Amazing staff, Dean went above & beyond, I highly rate this company."
by Elizabeth Turner-Long - 9th August 2023
How do I cancel Vitality income protection insurance?
You will need to get in touch with Vitality directly to cancel your income protection cover. Many people wrongly think that they are tied in once they buy this sort of policy, but you can cancel whenever you want to.
You can contact Vitality’s usual customer services to let them know that you wish to cancel your cover. The only other thing that you will need to do is to cancel your Direct Debit with your Bank or Building Society, so that you don’t get charged again accidentally.
Can I complain about Vitality income protection insurance?
If you experience issues with your Vitality insurance plan or with Vitality themselves, you are always entitled to complain. You should contact Vitality with details of why you are complaining and any suggestions on how your complaint can be resolved.
Vitality aims to resolve all complaints within 8 weeks, and ideally as soon as possible. If it is taking longer than this to deal with your complaint or you aren’t happy with the outcome, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for support.
Note: Vitality publishes all their complaints date online, so that anyone who is interested can see the number of complaints that are received.
Vitality complaints contact details
Telephone – 0345 601 0072
Opening hours – 9.00am – 5.00pm Monday to Friday
Email – lifecomplaints@vitality.co.uk
Other general complaints
Email – customer_support@vitality.co.uk (complaints about renewing or cancelling your plan)
Email – CustomerRelations@vitality.co.uk (complaints about claims, invoices, Vitality partners or rewards)
Making a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an impartial and free service for financial services customers in the UK. This service can be used to settle any disputes between life insurance companies and their customers in the United Kingdom. If they feel that you have suffered any financial loss as a result of your life insurance policy, then they may rule for compensation to be awarded.
Telephone – 0800 023 4567 (or 0300 123 9123)
Telephone (outside the UK) – 0207 964 0500
Frequently asked questions about Vitality
How much does it cost to join Vitality?
You aren’t charged a fee to join Vitality and the cost of your membership will be the amount that you pay each month for your insurance.
To join Vitality and benefit from their rewards scheme, you must buy one or more of their insurance policies. This doesn’t need to be income protection insurance, as they sell other policies like life insurance and critical illness cover too.
Does Vitality cost money?
Many people mistakenly believe that Vitality are a health and lifestyle brand which you can pay for to receive benefits. You will have to pay for Vitality rewards, but this will be in the form of your monthly insurance premiums.
What are the disadvantages of income protection insurance?
The main disadvantage of income protection insurance is that it won’t pay out in every situation. You may not be able to claim for sick leave related to a pre-existing condition (a medical condition you had before buying your policy).
Your policy also won’t pay out instantly in most cases, as you will have a deferred (waiting period) attached to your policy. This can be as little as 7 days for some policies, but you might have to wait a few months between starting your claim and your policy starting to pay out.
How do I buy Vitality income protection insurance?
There are a couple of ways to buy Vitality income protection insurance, so you can choose the way that is most convenient. If you are confident that Vitality is the right company for you, you can apply to them directly online or over the phone.
If you need some extra advice and support, many consumers find it useful to apply through an experienced insurance broker. An income protection insurance expert can compare prices and policies across the market, to make sure that Vitality is the best fit for the policy that you need.
For free and friendly advice about income protection insurance, you can call our experts on 0800 009 6559 or CLICK HERE to fill in our online form.
