Shepherds Friendly Income Protection

Income Protection Insurance

Founded

1826

Company Type

Friendly Society

Company Overview

Starting life as a sickness and benefits society, the Friendly Society has grown from a traditional insurance provider to a modern, broadly based financial organisation with an expanding members base of nearly 85,000 members throughout the UK.

Shepherds Friendly is one of the oldest mutual insurers in the world having been founded on Christmas day in 1826, almost 200 years ago.

Over the years they have expanded and now offer a much wider variety of products, including a range of savings products and protection plans for children, adults, and seniors.

Documentation

Income Protection Overview

Shepherds Friendly are on of the oldest mutual societies around today. Its Income Protection policies are designed to be accessible, flexible, and affordable.

• Shepherds Friendly are confident about publishing their claim statistics – they had an Income Protection payout rate of 97% in 2016.
• Shepherds Friendly Income Protection policies use an Own Occupation definition of incapacity.
• Deferred periods as short as 1 day are available.
• Shepherds Friendly offer a flexible Income Protection plan and allow you to make changes you need to your policy to ensure that you are always sufficiently covered.
• A waiver of premium is included automatically.
• Take a career break – you can suspend cover and premium payments for a minimum of three months and a maximum of 24 months if you want to take a career break.
• You can continue claiming for Income Protection with Shepherds Friendly right up until you are 70.
• Shepherds Friendly has a maximum yearly benefit of £49,000. If you are a higher earner, you may want to consider and alternative insurer.

Shepherds Friendly’s Income Protection Policy Conditions

We have taken care to ensure that the information on this Drewberry owned website is accurate. However we can give no guarantee as to the accuracy of the content of the site. We accept no liability for any losses whether direct or indirect arising from errors on our part.

Drewberry’s Shepherds Friendly Income Protection Review…

Shepherds Friendly’s Income Protection policy offers great flexibility and affordability for professionals in hazardous or lower earning occupations.

Key Comparison Points

• Shepherds Friendly offers a maximum of 70% of earnings, making it one of the most generous Income Protection policies available. However, their maximum cover is £49,000 per year.
• Shepherds Friendly have age banded premiums that increase as the policyholder ages. This means that the cost of your policy will go up the longer you have it.
• Additional cover that Shepherds friendly offer to help you stay on top of your finances include Working Persons Benefit and House Persons Benefit which offer reduced benefits for a reduced payment term.
• Shepherds Friendly’s Income Protection policy offers flexibility. You can request changes to your benefit level, deferred period and cease age provided you are not currently claiming or in receipt of benefit.

Financial Strength

Shepherds Friendly are an amalgamation of several fraternal groups, including the Ancient Order of Shepherds and the Royal Shepherds Sanctuary Benefits Society. Over the years they have expanded and adapted to ensure that they can maintain their typically high standard of service.

Today they offer investment opportunities as well as protection products to people from all walks of life.

Shepherds Friendly Income Protection: Questions and Answers

We aim to know the policies we advise on inside out and back to front. Below are a couple of commonly asked questions about the policy coverage of the Shepherd Friendly’s Income Protection Insurance offering.

Q. Can I change my policy at any time if my circumstances change? Will I have to pay more for my policy if I make changes?

A. Shepherds Friendly are usually quite lenient when it comes to making changes in your policy. if your circumstances have changed or if you would simply like to adjust your policy’s cover, you will be allowed to do so providing you are not in the process of claiming benefits.

You may also be required to provide evidence of your income to ensure that any changes in your salary do not change your cover to exceed the maximum benefit level of £49,000 per year.

Q. Why is Shepherds Friendly’s maximum benefit so low? Does this mean that I can only claim £49,000 a year even if I’m earning more?

A. This is a concern that we come across quite frequently. Shepherds Friendly’s maximum Income Protection benefit is at the lower end of the scale across Income Protection providers.

This is because Shepherds Friendly policies are aimed at self-employed individuals and lower earners in riskier occupations, such as manual labourers.

However, to compensate, unlike many other Income Protection providers Shepherds Friendly does not base premiums on the risk level of your occupation.

To balance the added risk of insuring individuals with dangerous occupations, they have put a cap on the maximum that people can claim in benefits.

Need Expert Income Protection Advice?

As you can see, there are a lot of points to consider when comparing insurers. With so many factors in play, it can be time-consuming to pull up key information across every single insurer in the market, so why not ask an adviser for help?

Why Speak to Us…

We started Drewberry because we were tired of being treated like a number and not getting the service we all deserve when it comes to things as important as protecting our health and our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to talk to us.

• There is no fee for our service
• We are independent and impartial
  Drewberry isn’t tied to any insurance company, so we can provide completely impartial advice to make sure you get the most appropriate policy based solely on your needs.
• We’ve got bargaining power on our side
  This allows us to negotiate better premiums for you than you going direct yourself.
• You’ll speak to a dedicated expert from start to finish
  You will speak to a named expert with a direct telephone and email. No more automated machines and no more being sent from pillar to post – you’ll have someone to speak to who knows you.
• Benefit from our 5-star service
  We pride ourselves on providing a 5-star service, as can be seen from our 2518 and growing independent client reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5.
• Gain the protection of regulated advice
  You are protected. Where we provide a regulated advice service we are responsible for the policy we set-up for you. Doing it yourself or going direct to an insurer won’t provide this protection, so you won’t benefit from these securities.
• Claims support when you need it the most
  You have support should you need to make a claim. The most important thing when it comes to insurance is that claims are paid and quickly. We are here to support you during the claims process and make sure it’s as smooth and stress free as possible.

If it is all getting a little confusing and you want to talk you through your options to make sure you find the most suitable cover please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Pop us a call on 02084327333 or email help@drewberry.co.uk.

Tom Conner
Director