What you'll need to make an Income Protection claim
Required documents
You need to have been signed off work for longer than your deferred period before you make a claim. Your deferred period will be specified in your Plan documents. Before making a claim, try to gather the following information if it’s available:
- The name of the claimant
- Details of the claim
- Name and address of the claimant’s GP or Consultant
- Medical reports from a doctor
- The plan number if you know it (this can be found on the plan documents or emails)
It's also worth checking your plan document before you give us a call for the following information:
- How much you're covered for
- What you're covered for
- If you have any exclusions
Further information may be required depending on the condition you are claiming on for and the details of your cover
- A copy of the claimant’s job description
- Evidence of income before stopping work in the form of:
• For an employed person – Three most recent payslips and the most recent P60.
• For a Self-employed person – Three most recent agreed HMRC tax computations, self-assessments and copy of the accounts that relates to these.
• For a Director of a limited company – Three most recent printed payslips, copies of the company’s accounts that have been submitted for HMRC for the last three years and confirmation of the number of employees in the company. - Evidence of any continuing income since becoming absent from work, including sick pay and confirmation of how long this is payable for
- Statement of Fitness for Work Certificates and continuous updated medical evidence confirming incapacity
When we can't pay out
Misrepresentation
It’s important that any information you give us when applying for cover is correct and nothing is missing. We may not be able to pay out on a claim if there is something you haven't told us about your health or lifestyle.Definition not met
This is when the claim is for an illness or injury that either isn't named in the cover or does not meet the plan criteria.Notification period
Each benefit has a specific timeframe for submitting claims, called the notification period. For Income Protection, this period depends on how long the deferred period is on your plan. Please see the chart here for the required notice periods.Claim notification period
When do I need to submit a claim by?
Income Protection Cover
Your plan schedule shows the deferred period that applies to your plan. If we do not receive notice of your incapacity within the specified period, we may treat the deferred period as if it started on the date we actually receive notice.
If we receive notice more than 90 days after the end of the deferred period, we may decline your claim
- Deferred period of 7 days - We must get written notice immediately (7-day deferred period is only available for self-employed).
- Deferred period of 1 month - We must get written notice within 2 weeks of the date of incapacity.
- Deferred period of 2 months - We must get written notice within 2 weeks of the date of incapacity.
- Deferred period of 3 months - We must get written notice within 1 month of the date of incapacity.
- Deferred period of 6 months - We must get written notice within 2 months of the date of incapacity.
- Deferred period of 12 months - We must get written notice within 2 months of the date of incapacity.
- Deferred period of 24 months - We must get written notice within 2 months of the date of incapacity.
- Deferred period of 60 months - We must get written notice within 2 months of the date of incapacity.
Claims charter
We know that life insurance claims often happen at difficult moments in life. That’s why we’ll always do all we can to handle every claim as smoothly and as quickly as possible. We’ve also signed up to The Protection Distributors Group’ (PDG) Claim Charter, so rest assured we’re dedicated to delivering the highest standards to you throughout your claim experience, and also provide recovery benefits as one of our Income Protection features.Recovery Benefit
We can help you on your way to recovery and get you back to work quicker with access to private healthcare and support, from the moment you make a relevant claim, with no cap on the level of support.
Through our Recovery Benefit you'll get access to:
Physiotherapy
Our network of physios across the UK, virtually or in-person.
Counselling
Including cognitive behavioural therapy, without the need for a GP referral. Award-winning self-help services available plus access to face-to-face or remote consultations.
Cancer support
A 12-week digital health optimisation programme supported by a dedicated team with specialised cancer expertise.
These benefits target the top three conditions which accounted for 70% of all Income Protection claims in 2021 .
Further support
We know it can be a stressful and challenging time when you become ill, so we’ve compiled some helpful resources to support you during this time. These can be found below:Support
Useful help and resources for whatever you're going through
Health conditions
Find information, support and useful resources about a range of health conditions
Financial support
Financial advice and extra resources to help you if you are facing financial difficulty
Glossary of terms
Complicated insurance terms explained, to help make the process easier