Many Dentists are self-employed and work through their own dental practice; as such, they tend to have little to no sick pay provisions in place. Should they suffer a long-term injury or illness it can easily turn into a financial nightmare.
Dentists Income Protection provides you with a monthly income you can rely on should you be too ill or injured to work.
EXPERT OPINION 🤓
According to consumer group Which?, Income Protection is the one policy every working adult should consider.
Income protection pays out a monthly benefit should you be unable to work and consequently earn an income due to:
As a Dentist, you want to make sure your Income Protection covers you in your own occupation. This will ensure the policy will pay out for any illness or injury that prevents you from working in your specific role as a Dentist.
A hand injury, for example, could derail a dental career. If this happens, you want the policy to pay out on your inability to do your job as a dentist rather than on any other terms.
When buying any insurance, it’s important to understand that there can be limitations and restrictions.
If you’ve had a health condition in the past 5 years, it will need to be declared when applying for cover and could possibly be excluded.
Depending on the severity of the medical condition it will either be:
As expert advisers who specialise in Income Protection we have direct access to the underwriters at all the leading UK insurers.
This gives us the greatest chance of getting you the best terms should you have existing medical conditions to declare. If you need help please don’t hesitate to call us on 02084327333 or email hhelp@drewberry.co.uk.
Aside from pre-existing conditions, most policies exclude self-inflicted injuries and any illnesses / injuries.
This includes those caused by the misuse of drugs or alcohol or those which occur in the pursuit of illegal activities.
However, other than these most policies don’t have any standard exclusions. What you are covered for will simply be dependent on your medical history at the time you take the policy out.
It’s important understand the risks when considering whether you need Dentists Income Protection.
14.7% of individuals over 55 has experienced at least one instance of absence as a result of injury or illness that has lasted for at least 6 months according to a Drewberry Protection survey. That translates to as many as 1 in 6 people.
Many people would struggle to cope on Statutory Sick Pay alone. It provides only £95.85 per week up to a maximum of 28 weeks for employed workers.
If you lost your income how would you meet your essential monthly outgoings without financial protection?
Whether you are a private dentist or employed by the NHS, it’s important to have suitable cover in place should you be unable to work.
Stress is the leading psychological condition that occurs in dental professionals. Dentists also face exposure to infectious diseases and are at risk of developing musculoskeletal complications due to repetitive motions and strained posture during procedures.
Two-fifths of people Drewberry surveyed had no more than £1,000 in cash savings to rely on if their income ceased. With limited savings losing a household income due to illness or injury could be problematic for any family.
While NHS sick pay for dentists will cover you for up to a year, the sick pay provided by private practices often pays out for a shorter length of time. Self-employed dentists working through their own dental practice, meanwhile, receive no sick pay at all.
When selecting a policy there are three core options that will have the most impact on the cost of your cover:
You’ll also have to be aware of:
There are three types of premium options to consider when choosing your Income Protection Insurance:
Not every form of sick pay insurance for dental professionals will provide own occupation cover. It is particularly important given the level of skill required as a Dentist.
The definition of incapacity is what your insurer uses to define whether you are incapable of working and entitled to claim benefits. With the own occupation definition you will be able to claim as long as your accident or sickness stops you from working as a dental professional.
Other definitions of incapacity, such as ‘Suited Occupation’ or ‘Any Occupation’, may limit your ability to claim if you are well enough to work in a different occupation.
As soon as it becomes apparent that you’re likely to be out of work for longer than your chosen deferred period, you should tell your insurer.
Your insurer will be better able to process your claim the sooner you advise them you’re too ill to do your job. They will likely require two things from you to register a claim:
The claims forms can usually be either completed online or downloaded, filled in and returned by post to the insurer.
Medical evidence could come in numerous forms. It could be as simple as a sick note from your GP stating the medical issue and signing you off work for a specific period.
Once you’ve been out of work for longer than your deferred period, you’ll begin to receive a monthly income from the policy until either:
Neil is a client of Drewberry and took out an Accident and Sickness Insurance policy with British Friendly. He was a member for 4 years before he needed to claim.
He became unwell and had pains in his stomach. After consulting his GP and having some further tests Neil was diagnosed with stage 2 Bowel Cancer and needed to make a claim.
If you’re employed by the NHS, there are some Dentists Sickness Insurance policies that align with the NHS’s unique sick pay scheme. While these policies are designed for Doctors and Surgeons, some insurers offer similar terms provided you work for the NHS.
These specialist policies pay out a proportionate benefit as soon as you stop receiving full sick pay to supplement your income. So if you get 6 months of full sick pay and 6 months of half pay, the benefit will kick in after 6 months to ‘top up’ your half pay.
If you are employed by the NHS, the maximum amount of sick pay you could expect to receive will change depending on your length of the service.
After 5 years of service, the maximum amount you’re entitled to will be 12 months of sick pay after 5 full years of service. However, you would only receive full sick pay for the first 6 months and for the latter 6 months provided with half sick pay.
If your disability is serious enough that you need to take a year or longer to recover, your NHS dental sick pay will run out. At this point you may need to rely on savings or other means to get you through.
Length of Service | Sick Pay Entitlement |
|---|---|
0 – 3 months | No sick pay entitlement |
3 – 12 months | 1 month full pay + 2 months half pay |
2 years | 2 months full pay + 2 months half pay |
3 years | 4 months full pay + 4 months half pay |
4 years | 5 months full pay + 5 months half pay |
5 years | 6 months full pay + 6 months half pay |
If you own your own dental practice and work through that as a corporate entity, you may want to consider Company Director Income Protection.
This can take into account any salary and dividends from the business that you pay yourself through your own limited company. Crucially, the policy is owned and paid for by the business, so premiums can be paid for by the company.
If you can’t work due to accident or sickness, Income Protection paid for by your dental practice will kick in to pay a monthly benefit back into the business. You then distribute these funds from your practice via your usual remuneration process.
The main difference between Executive Income Protection and Income Protection taken out personally is that it is owned and paid for by the business so should a claim arise any benefit would be taxed as income. Personal Income Protection sees the benefit paid tax-free because you’re paying the premiums from post-tax income.
Given the benefit from a corporate Income Protection policy is taxable, you can insure a higher proportion of your pre-tax income – up to 80% – compared to a personal policy.
Dental professionals will pay different amounts for Sick Pay Insurance depending on their job role and a variety of other factors.
Given the different occupation risks we have put together the average cost of Income Protection for both a Dentist and a Hygienist of three different ages in the table below.
To come up with these premiums, we’ve quoted based on the following factors:
If you would like to get personalised quotes you can use our income protection comparison tool to compare quotes from the top UK insurers →
Occupation | Age 25 | Age 35 | Age 45 |
|---|---|---|---|
Dentist | £36.78 | £49.58 | £92.73 |
Hygienist | £41.21 | £49.58 | £84.59 |
Many Dentists run their own private practice and are structured as a limited company. If you are a company director you can opt to take out ‘Executive Income Protection’ which can be paid for by your business.
It is important to note that should a claim arise the benefit payment will be taxed which means your level of cover will need to be grossed up to take account of the tax that will be due.
NHS workers typically get more generous sick pay than other workers; this is set at a maximum of 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay depending on your length of service.
Given this, you can set your Income Protection deferral period to match this and therefore reduce premiums considerably. This is known as an NHS sick pay mirroring deferral period.
If you get the full NHS sick pay, then in the first instance the cover won’t kick in for the first 6 months. This is because you won’t need it as the NHS will pay you full pay for that initial 6 month period. The cover only starts to kick in after those 6 months, meaning you can choose a 6 month deferral period and save significantly on your premiums.
Thereafter, when you start receiving half pay, the policy pays out half your benefit to ‘top up’ your half sick pay. Then, after a year, the benefit begins paying out the full amount.
As the insurer only has to pay out half of the benefit for 6 months out of the first year thanks to your NHS sick pay, there’s room for a considerable premium discount compared to a policy where the insurer has to pay the full benefit out sooner.
The most common claims dentists make on Income Protection policies are for musculoskeletal issues (e.g. bad backs) and mental health problems.
Both are particularly prevalent among dentists compared to other professions, with musculoskeletal issues being a particular concern due to cramped posture and repetitive movements during procedures.
There are a vast range of insurers who provide Income Protection in the UK. Even with specialist plans for dentists it is important to compare Income Protection quotes from all the leading providers to get the best deal.
In addition to the expert individual product reviews below we have an expert guide comparing the terms of all the best income protection providers that’s worth reading to ensure you are aware of the key things to look out for.
Many insurers now offer a range of added value benefits alongside their policies promoting health and wellbeing.
These additional free services may include:
Many such services are available not only to you as the policyholder but also your immediate family, such as your spouse / civil partner or dependent children.
As a Dentist, there are a number of Income Protection options available to you. This includes a policy with a deferred period to match your NHS sick pay. To ensure you get it right, we recommend you get in touch.
We started Drewberry™ because we were tired of being treated like a number.
We all deserve a first class service when it comes to issues as important as protecting our health and our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to talk to us.
With sick pay entitlement and taxation to think about setting up Income Protection can be a bit of a minefield.
If you need any help please do not hesitate to pop us a call on 02084327333 or email help@drewberry.co.uk.
