FAQs

For the short-term (accident, sickness and unemployment) policy

• You need to be over 18 and under 65 years of age;
• In full time employment or self employed and have been for at least 12 consecutive months immediately prior to the start date;
• Working and living in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

You may also be eligible for cover if you worked and lived in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man at the start date and you are subsequently posted to work outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for:

• the British Armed Forces or as a civil servant in a British Embassy or Consulate; or
• your employer is a United Kingdom registered company and you are assigned to work within the European Union.

There are some limitations to cover for self employed workers, fixed term contract workers, outlined in the policy terms and conditions.

For the long-term (sickness) income protection policy

• The policy must start before you reach the age of 60 and your cover end before you reach the age of 68, as your policy must last for five years.
  

 

The 'wait' period before you can claim will depend on the type of cover you select. The longer the wait period, the lower your monthly premiums will be.

The short-term Accident, sickness and unemployment has the following wait period options -

• Back to Day One (30 day wait period)
• 30 day wait period
• 60 day wait period
• 90 day wait period
• 180 day wait period

You can start claiming your Income Protection Insurance after the wait period you have selected is over, for sickness or accident as certified by your doctor. For an unemployment claim, you cannot claim within the first 120 days of the start date of your policy, but after that period you can also claim after the wait period you have selected has expired.

With Long-term (sickness) benefit, the following wait period options apply -

• Back to day one
• 1 week
• 4 weeks
• 8 weeks
• 13 weeks
• 26 weeks
• 52 weeks

With the combined policy the deferred periods are back to day 1 for the short-term policy and 52 weeks for the long-term policy (to ensure there is no overlap in cover these are pre-set).

Yes, for the short-term policy, the monthly benefit chosen must not exceed £1,500 or 60% of your gross monthly income, whichever is less.

For the long-term policy your benefit must not exceed 65% of your personal taxable income up to £60,000 per annum and anything up to 40% of amounts in excess of £60,000 per annum prior to incapacity.  Your benefit may be reduced if you make other income which would bring you over the maximum monthly limit, such as income from employment or pensions, other insurance benefits providing incapacity cover or state benefits.

Contact the Protect your bubble team on 0844 871 1341 and they will help you

For the short-term policy you can choose to receive benefit payments for up to 6 or 12 months depending on your circumstances

For the long-term policy you can claim until a point you are no longer incapacitated, until the policy term ends or until you die.

 

Short-term cover

 

Standard Cover
You will be entitled to an amount equal to 1/30th of the monthly benefit for each continuous day you are unable to work as a result of an accident, sickness or involuntary unemployment (if unemployment cover is selected) following the initial wait period of 30, 60, 90 or 180 days, (during which no benefit will be payable) that you choose. Payments will be made monthly in arrears.

Back to day one cover
After the initial wait period (30 days) you will be paid your full monthly benefit. Thereafter, you will be paid 1/30th of the monthly benefit for each continuous day you remain unable to work due to accident, sickness or involuntary unemployment (if unemployment cover is selected). Payments will be made monthly in arrears.

Long-term cover

 

Payments are made fortnightly, based on the weekly insured amount.  You will be paid one sixth of the weekly insured amount for each day's absence from work due to illness.

 

Yes, refer to the policy terms and conditions for full list of policy exclusions. As with all insurance policies, exclusions and limitations apply and it is important that you read the terms and conditions of this policy to determine if these apply to you and for full details of the cover. This will also help you understand the level of protection that this product provides.

 

 

A reviewable premium period means that premiums may start off relatively low, but will be reviewed in the future and may go up every few years or so. In some cases, the premium may be reviewable every year, or every five years, to take into account your  and our changing circumstances. There is no limit to the amount that your premium may change by, but any change will be fair and reasonable.

You will benefit from accident, sickness and unemployment cover from day one with your short term policy. You also have a long term policy providing accident and sicness cover only running in parallel with a 52 week deferred period (during which time you can not claim on the long term policy, but can claim on the short-term policy) .

Once the short-term policy expires your long term policy continues, so you will not be left un-insured for accident and sickness as long as you continue to pay your monthly premiums.

Income protection is designed to pay out a regular monthly amount to replace a significant part of your income if you are unable to work due to most illnesses or accidental injury whereas critical illness insurance pays out a lump sum if you suffer from one of a number of insured illnesses or conditions..