Group Income Protection

Long-term illness can represent a substantial financial strain for both employers and employees. You can choose to either make payments directly to an individual or use the policy to fund payment for a limited period and then provide your company with a lump sum to fund a leaving service benefit.

Statistics show that sickness and absenteeism can place an enormous strain on company financial resources. Group Income Protection helps the employer to manage long term sickness more effectively. At the same time employees feel that they have the support of their employer during a very stressful time.

Employer Benefits

• Employer/employee relations are strengthened in that both feel supported by each other.
• The company can provide financial assistance to employees at a reasonable cost.
• The company can manage the cost of sickness and absenteeism more effectively.
• The premiums for the policy enjoy tax relief on contributions.
• Company pension scheme contributions and employer NI contributions can also be included.
• The company can benefit from policy provider rehabilitation schemes.

Employee Benefits

• Continued sick pay when it is really needed.
• Support and reassurance from the company.
• Rehabilitation scheme provided by the insurer.
• No benefit in kind tax penalties.

Group Income Protection can be set up with a deferred period of 13, 26, 28, 41, 52 and 104 weeks. The longer the deferred period the lower the premium will be. Typically the cost of providing Group Income Protection is usually between 0.5% -1.5% of payroll but largely depends on the type of business. White collar workers are cheaper to insure. The policy is very flexible in how it is set up. Indexation, Pension contributions, NI contributions salary limitations can be included. Most policies offer minimal administration set up and it is common that only the higher earners need medical underwriting.