Protect your income in the classroom and beyond.
Your salary pays for your rent or mortgage, bills, and everyday life.
As a teacher, you may already have sick pay through your employer. But what happens if illness or injury keeps you away from the classroom for longer?
Income Protection for teachers can be designed to work alongside your existing sick pay, helping to protect part of your income if you’re unable to work. Our advice will help you understand the support you already have and explore whether additional protection may be appropriate.
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Designed Around the Support You Already Have
Having sick pay doesn’t necessarily mean Income Protection isn’t relevant.
Understanding the support you already have is an important part of considering how a policy could be structured.
Income Protection policies have a deferred period, which is the period you need to be unable to work before payments can begin. Your existing sick pay can therefore be considered when considering when you may need additional protection to start.
For example, a teacher receiving full sick pay for a period may have different needs from someone whose income would reduce much sooner. Your savings and other financial resources can also affect how long you could comfortably manage without your normal salary.
The aim isn’t to duplicate the support you already have. It’s to understand where a potential gap could arise if your sick pay reduces or ends.
Some Income Protection policies can include features specifically designed around teacher sick pay, which may allow benefits to begin as your employer’s support reduces.
Frequently Asked Questions
The cost varies from person to person.
Your premium will depend on factors such as your age, occupation, health, smoking status, the amount of cover you choose and when you want payments to begin.
During your review, we’ll explain what affects the cost and help you understand the options available to you.
Income Protection may also be available to supply teachers, although your employment status, income and existing sick pay arrangements can affect the options available.
We’ll look at how you work and how your income is structured before discussing what cover may be appropriate.
Many Income Protection policies can cover claims relating to mental health conditions if they prevent you from working, although this depends on the individual policy, its terms and the information you provide.
During your review, we’ll explain how different policies approach this and help you understand what may be appropriate for you.
Income Protection generally covers a proportion of your earnings rather than your full salary.
The amount of cover available will depend on your income and the insurer’s criteria.
We’ll explain what may be available and help you understand how this could fit alongside your existing sick pay and wider financial arrangements. Once a tailored quote is prepared, the level of cover insurers are willing to provide will be confirmed.
Some Income Protection policies assess a claim based on whether illness or injury prevents you from carrying out your own occupation.
For a teacher, the definition of incapacity used by the policy can therefore be an important consideration when comparing your options.
We can explain the definitions that apply to the policies we consider, so you understand how they would affect you.
The deferred period is the amount of time, agreed when the policy is taken out, for which you need to be unable to work before Income Protection payments can begin.
The appropriate deferred period can depend on factors such as how long your teacher sick pay lasts, your savings, and your broader financial position.
Income Protection can be structured with your existing sick pay in mind.
For example, the point at which payments could begin can be considered alongside the sick pay available through your employment. This can help avoid looking at Income Protection in isolation from the support you already have.
Income Protection is an insurance policy designed to provide you with a regular income if you’re unable to work because of illness or injury, subject to the policy’s terms and conditions.
Rather than paying a single lump sum, it replaces part of your regular income as a monthly benefit, helping you keep up with important living costs while you’re unable to work.
For teachers, some insurers offer features specifically designed around teacher sick pay arrangements. These can allow Income Protection payments to work alongside the reduction in your sick pay, rather than simply waiting until your employer’s sick pay ends completely.
We’ll consider whether features like these are available and appropriate when looking at your options.
About Your Review
It can be helpful to have an idea of your approximate income and the sick pay available through your employment, along with details of any existing Income Protection policies you may have.
However, you don’t need to prepare anything complicated. We can guide you through what information would be useful.
Most initial conversations last around 30 to 45 minutes, although this can vary depending on your circumstances and the questions you’d like to cover.
No. The initial review is entirely complimentary and there is no obligation to proceed.
The purpose of the initial conversation is to help you understand your options. Any recommendation would only be made after considering your individual circumstances.
Truestep Financial Planning provides restricted advice. This means our advice is given from a selected range of products and providers.
Any recommendation we make will be based on your personal circumstances and explained clearly, so you understand why a recommendation is being made.
