Benefits of Income Protection | Getting You Back to Work

When researching income protection, customers often ask me this question:

Will the insurance company help me to get back to work if I have income protection insurance?

Ahh yes, a very good question indeed and an important one too for anyone that is looking to purchase the best income protection in Ireland.

And because I get this question so much, today I decided to write an article explaining to you the potential pros and cons of each income continuance provider when it comes to getting you back to work.

Some people fixate on the chances of their policy paying out, I think this is a waste of energy.

If you can’t work due to a medically recognised illness, your policy will payout.

On average a whopping 94% of all income protection claims were paid last year.

Yes, NINETY-FOUR.

Smart people are more interested in how their insurers can help them get back to work.

Work is a huge part of your life.

When it’s taken away, it can lead to all sorts of problems, from boredom to depression.

None of us would mind a few weeks off but long term, you’ll just want to get back to work as soon as possible

So let’s look at how the various insurers can help you get back to work.

But first, let’s be clear that although it’s in the insurer’s interest to get you back to work, they will never force you to go back if you’re not physically or mentally ready.

Let’s start with the biggest provider of income protection insurance in Ireland

Aviva Income Protection Benefits

Aviva believes your income protection policy should go beyond providing you with financial protection.

That’s why they include additional services in their policies to help you with your recovery.

Hopefully, you’ll never need these services but if you do, they are available.

They will cover also any expenses that may arise such as travel and accommodation so you can take advantage of the benefits without worrying about costs.

Maybe that’s why 9 out of 10 Aviva claimants would recommend them to friends and family (*independently researched by Ireach)

Dedicated contact person

Your contact will

provide support and assistance to you during your recovery
help you access advice and treatment
engage  with your GP and medical advisers to agree on the best treatment for you

You’ll have the peace of mind that when you contact that person, they will have a complete understanding of your case.

Claims assistance

Independent professionals will guide you through the claims procedure and discuss your rehabilitation options with you

Care pathway rehabilitation service

The Care Pathway Service offers access to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with professionally qualified and experienced therapists with a focus on returning to work. The cost of this programme is paid for by Aviva.

Career change programme

Aviva developed this programme in conjunction with Talent Fusion which are specialists in human resources and career transition.

The objective is to help you seek a new career or alternative employment if you can’t get back to your normal occupation.

Here’s how they helped Mark get a new job in marine biology:

Proportionate benefit:

If you return to work at a lower salary, Aviva will pay you the difference between your old and new salary depending on the amount of cover you bought initially.

Partial benefit:

If you return to work on a part-time basis, they will pay you the balance of your full benefit so you can maintain your standard of living.

Other services and resources Aviva offer:

Access to counselling programs
Funding for private treatment and surgery as considered appropriate
Support for further education and training courses
Specialist medical assessments
Physiotherapy

Examples of clients that Aviva has helped get back to work:

A 36-year-old factory worker was out of work following a road traffic accident that left him in a wheelchair. Using the Aviva programme, he has now retrained as an accountant and has secured employment

A 38-year-old forklift driver had been out of work following an accident at work where he hurt his back. With support from Talent Fusion, he has retrained as a chef working in a college.

Access to Best Doctors

With Aviva income protection plans, you have access to Best Doctors.

You can use the service to get advice/opinion on any chronic or troubling ailments affecting your quality of life or for the condition/sickness which has given rise to your income protection claim.

Claims History

Aviva paid out €45 million to 2,000 income protection customers during 2020, which was in line with the previous year.

These payments were made to customers who had income protection policies with Aviva but who have been unable to work as a result of injury or illness over the period. Of the new customers who claimed on their income protection policy last year, the majority were female at 59% while 41% were male, a trend that has been evident for some time now.

The average age of customers claiming was 48 years and the youngest claimant last year was only 23 years old.

Royal London Income Protection Benefits

Helping Hand

Helping Hand is an additional service offered with all Royal London policies and provided through its partners RedArc.

It gives one‑to‑one personal support from your own Nurse Adviser from RedArc who can help you and your family cope with being unable to work.

Whilst your medical team focus on your treatment, RedArc helps by providing ‘softer’ skills – a friendly listening ear, practical information, and much needed emotional support both for you and your family.

For example, managing stress around a return to work is one area Helping Hand can help.

RedArc nurses are trained to provide practical stress management advice. They can also support family members suffering the effects of stress and anxiety.

Helping Hand may also arrange specialist therapy to help speed up recovery, if appropriate

e.g.

the provision of bereavement counsellors,
speech and language therapists,
face‑to‑face second medical opinion,
complementary therapies,
massage,
or physiotherapy for serious health conditions.

Back to work benefit

It can be tough adjusting to full-time work after you have been off following a long‑term claim.

Following a claim of more than one year, you can get

75% of your monthly income protection benefit for your first month back,
50% in month 2
and 25% in month 3

Proportionate payment

This is a partial benefit payment that may be payable if you return to work on reduced earnings.

For example, if following a claim you need to return to work on a part-time basis or in a different role at a reduced salary you may be eligible for a proportionate income protection payment to help make up for some of those lost earnings.

This payment, if eligible, will continue either until your health improves sufficiently that you can return to full‑time work or you reach the expiry age on your policy.

New Ireland Income Protection Benefits

Back to Work Benefit

If you receive income protection payments for 1 year or more and return to work, New Ireland will pay you

50% of your monthly income protection payments in month 1
and 25% of your monthly income protection payment in month 2.

Professional support

New Ireland provides access to professional support to help you return to work.

Proportionate payment

Similar to the other insurers, New Ireland also facilitate those who return to work on a part-time basis through their proportionate benefit.

Rehabilitation

New Ireland works closely with you to help you continue to carry out normal everyday activities, and ultimately return to work.

Other supports that may be available include counselling, physiotherapy and re-training all of which are designed to help you back on your feet and work again.

Examples of clients that New Ireland has helped get back to work:

Irish Life Income Protection Benefits

LifeCare

The LifeCare range of services come as standard on income protection plans and offers you the following, at zero extra cost:

NurseCare: gives you access to two confidential helpline services provided by Intana Assist.
MedCare: access to a Medical Second Opinion service from MediGuide. You can have an independent review of your diagnosis and treatment plan from one of a range of leading medical centres around the world.
ClaimsCare: access to an expert claims service and a post-claims counselling service with the Clanwilliam Institute to help you through difficult times when you’ve had a claim.

Returning to work

If, you return to work part-time or to a lower-paid job, Irish Life will still pay part of the benefit if they are satisfied that you are still not able to do your normal job.

Zurich Life Income Protection Benefits:

Rehabilitation

access to a team of rehabilitation nurses who will go to meet you in your home and help put a plan in place to get you back to work.

fund the costs of treatment with a local physiotherapist

help from a psychologist/counsellor arranged in conjunction with your own GP, or pay for you to attend a specialist doctor if it will help you avoid a long waiting list and get better faster.

Proportionate payment

Like the other providers – if you return to work on a reduced salary you may be eligible for a smaller payout.

The most flexible increase option in the market

You can increase your cover by the lower of €20,000 or 50% of your existing cover without having to answer health questions if something big happens

Parenthood through birth or adoption
Marriage or  civil partnership
Buy a home or get a bigger mortgage
10% or more pay rise

As a special one-off, you can also increase your cover by a maximum of €20,000 a year provided your salary has increased by 20% since your first started your plan.

Over to you…

Congratulations if you read the whole article…or even if you scrolled this far 😉

You now know more about income protection than 99% of the people in Ireland.

So what next?

If you’d like me to make a FREE income protection recommendation and send you some quotes, please complete this short questionnaire and I’ll be right back.

Thanks for reading

Nick