Group Income Protection is one of the lesser-known insurances, so we often get questions about what it covers and if it’s really necessary.
It is one of the most popular policies from an employee’s point of view, but it also helps businesses acquire the best workers.
Group Income Protection is all about keeping your staff financially stable and ensuring that you can keep your business afloat, should they become unable to attend work.
What is Group Income Protection?
Group Income Protection provides employees with an agreed portion of their salary if they suffer from an illness or injury that leaves them unable to work. This will usually be up to 80% of the gross amount they earn, allowing them to maintain key expenditure, such as mortgage or rent, bills and food shopping.
Schemes will have a deferred period during which you can’t claim, but most companies have a sick pay procedure for that period, ensuring that you aren’t left stressing about finances.
Over 31% of adults take leave due to illness or accident at some point in their lives. So, income protection is a sensible choice to ensure your employees stay financially secure, as well as to help your business attract and retain the best staff.
What Does it Cover?
It covers most illness and injury that prevents you from working, including cancer and leukaemia. What a good broker or insurer will do is cover you in your own occupation. So, if you cannot perform your specific job role, you will be covered by the insurance policy and able to make a claim.
As with all insurances, Group Income Protection has its exclusions. A common exclusion is paying out only once the employee seeks treatment, but Hooray Health & Protection can discuss this during your policy set up.
Why should I take out Group Income Protection?
Most of your employees will, at some point, need to take time off work. It is important to support your employees to save money lost retraining new employees or on prolonged absences. Illnesses and injuries are almost impossible to bounce back from in good time if you’re constantly stressed and worried.
Offering employees Income Protection is one of the best ways to attract good talent and retain current staff. People want to work in an environment where they feel they are protected if something unfortunate happens, rather than being disposable.
Employees will work more productively, and they will be less willing to leave for another job because of the benefits you are providing them with.
Group Income Protection also provides early intervention benefits which can help support employees back to work with a return to work plan, funding treatment, counselling and other services.
Employers who also provide Business Health Insurance need to ensure their employees are claiming on the right policy, as Group Income Protection can pay for private health treatment to help support the employee back to work, so it is always best to appoint an employee benefits broker to consult with all insurers on your behalf.
So, is Group Income Protection really important?
Peace of mind is key and if you are worried about how you are going to make it through next week, recovery can feel impossible. With Group Income Protection, you and your employees have peace of mind that, should anything happen to them, they will not be abandoned financially.
To review a policy – current or new – give one of our friendly advisers a call on 01273 222805 or email us at hello@hoorayinsurance.co.uk. We won’t charge a fee for a call, because we earn a commission from the insurance companies that we find business for!