


In This Guide
- What is it?
- Do I Need it?
- Insurance for Doctors
- How Does it Work?
- Own Occupation Cover
- Policy Options
- Compare Providers
- Need Advice?

Written by:
Alicia Hempsted
Content Manager at Drewberry
What is Doctors Income Protection?
If you one day become ill or injured severely enough that you need to take time off of work, an Income Protection Insurance policy will pay out monthly benefits to supplement a proportion of your income while you are recovering.
Income Protection for Doctors and Surgeons works slightly differently compared to most standard Income Protection policies.

NHS Sick Pay Guarantee
If you are employed by the NHS, you’ll typically receive 12 months of sick pay after 5 years of service. This will come in the form of full pay for the first 6 months and half pay for the second 6 months.
Income Protection for doctors can be set-up specifically to incorporate this period of reduced sick pay, ensuring that your earnings are sufficiently covered while you are recovering from an illness or injury and helping you keep up with your financial obligations.
If you’re employed in the private sector, you may not get such a long period of sick pay. Meanwhile, if you’re a self-employed locum doctor working through your own company you may not get any sick pay at all and the time after which the policy would pay out will need to be set-up accordingly.

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Do I Need Income Protection Insurance?
If you had to cease working for months or even years, what impact do you imagine that would have on your personal and family finances?
It is worth considering some form of sickness insurance for doctors. A Doctors Income Protection plan is usually the most appropriate given that cover is based upon earnings and offers the most comprehensive cover when set-up on an own occupation basis.
Drewberry’s 2017 Wealth & Protection Survey revealed that 2 in 5 people in the UK have no more than £1,000 in cash savings to fall back on. Without sufficient savings or other cover in place, a significant and needless financial exposure can arise.

It is compulsory for employers to pay statutory sick pay of £92.05 per week to all contracted employees for the first 28 weeks of incapacity (although NHS workers typically get more).
If you are still unable to work after this time, you will need to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). This offers an absolute maximum benefit of £110.75 per week, but for under 25s these benefits start as low as £57.90 per week.

Without an Income Protection policy to ensure regular income while you are unable to work, doctors and surgeons may find it difficult to continue affording their lifestyle. In worst case scenarios, individuals unable to work may struggle to meet their financial obligations.
Michael Barrow
Independent Protection Expert at Drewberry

Our Clients' Income Protection Stories...
What makes Doctors’ Income Protection Special?
If you are a newly qualified or junior doctor with the NHS, your sick pay entitlement will increase with every year of service – usually up to 6 months full pay and 6 month half-pay after 5 years of service.
Some insurers offer special features on their Doctors income insurance plan, such as sick pay mirroring deferred periods and cover during sabbatical leave.
When you’re only receiving half sick pay, most people would see it as vital that their income is topped up in order to meet your basic expenses, but a standard Accident & Sickness Insurance policy won’t always be able to do that.

Specific Income Protection for doctors, on the other hand, usually keep the NHS sick pay structure in mind when planning your policy’s deferred period.
LV’s Doctors & Surgeons Income Protection Cover, for example, will pay out reduced Income Protection benefits when you stop receiving your full sick pay from the NHS to top up your half sick pay to your full earnings.
This happens regardless of how long you have set your deferred period, which means that you can set your deferred period as long as 12 months and significantly reduce your premiums without sacrificing insurance coverage. When your NHS sick pay stops entirely and your deferred period ends, LV will begin paying out your full Income Protection benefits.
Sabbatical Cover
Some insures that offer specialised Income Protection for doctors also accommodate sabbaticals by allowing policyholders to take breaks of up to 2 years from their policy. This time can be used to study or work abroad, where policyholders will still be covered as long as they have a UK bank account.
If you move to anywhere in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, you can keep your benefit on a long-term basis, while if you move anywhere else in the world your benefit will be limited to a maximum of 26 weeks.

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Robert
Income Protection
How Does Income Protection for Doctors Work?
James, a doctor from Manchester, has taken out a long-term Income Protection plan with LV covering 50% of his gross earnings, equating to monthly benefits of £3,000. When taking out his policy, James agreed to a deferred period of 12 months because that is how long he will be able to claim sick pay.
Needing to claim…
Some time after taking out his policy, James suffers a type of cancer and he takes leave from his work to recover. During the first 6 months of being out of work, James receives the full amount of sick pay he is entitled to from his employer. After this, in line with the NHS’s sick pay scheme, his sick pay benefits are reduced.

Despite his policy’s deferred being 12 months and James being only 6 months out of work, his Income Protection provider is notified that James is claiming reduced sick pay and begins paying out his Income Protection benefit to top up his income.
Paying a claim…
6 months later, James’s sick pay officially stops and he reaches the end of his Income Protection policy’s deferred period. A month later, James receives his first full Income Protection benefit of £3,000. James is able to continue claiming Income Protection benefits until he finishes his treatments and is given the all-clear from his doctors to return to work.
Because James took out a long-term policy, it is possible for him to continue claiming Income Protection benefits right up until his retirement age.
Getting Own Occupation Cover
There are several different definitions of incapacity that insurers use to decide whether or not you are unable to work.
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Own Occupation |
Suited Occupation |
Any Occupation |
Claim if you are unable to work in your own occupation. |
Claim if you are unable to work in any occupation you are qualified for. |
Claim only if you are completely incapable of working. |
Gaining own occupation cover is very important for doctors and surgeons. For example, if you were a surgeon who damaged a hand it would be very difficult to continue working and this would therefore be covered with an own occupation incapacity definition.
However, with a lesser incapacity definition (such as a ‘suited occupation’ definition) the insurer may require you to continue working in an occupation for which you have suitable skills or experience.
Occupation Definition Calculator
Make sure your Income Protection covers you in your 'Own Occupation'!
Too often individuals take out income protection without being fully aware of the incapacity definition on which their plan would pay out.
Will the plan pay out if I am unable to do my current job role? Or will it only pay out if I am unable to do any occupation?

If you do not already have income protection this tool should provide you with guidance as to what to look out for and to ensure you do not fall foul of a lesser occupation definition.
Robert Harvey
Independent Protection Expert at Drewberry Insurance
Key Doctors Income Protection Policy Options
How Much of My Income Can I Cover?
How Long Should I Set My Deferred Period?
Do I Need a Short- or Long-Term Policy?
When Should I Set My Policy Cease Age?
Plans usually have a minimum term length of 5 years and most insurers providing Income Protection for doctors offer plans that run all the way up until age 65 or even age 70. Because Income Protection insurance is designed to protect your throughout your professional life, it makes sense to set your policy’s cease age to be equal to the age you expect to retire.
Naturally, extending the cease age of the policy can increase the monthly premiums significantly as the chances of suffering illness increases vastly between the ages of 55 and 65 years old, which form the highest risk years.
Should I Link My Policy to Inflation?
Compare UK’s Best Doctors Income Protection Providers
Not many UK Income Protection providers offer protection specifically for NHS employees, although many providers have enough policy options to help you tailor your policy as best as possible to your circumstances.
Specialist Income Protection for Doctors |
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Aviva
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LV
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Vitality
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Other Income Protection Providers |
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Aegon
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Legal & General
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Royal London
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The experts at Drewberry can talk you through everything you need to know about Doctors Income Protection so you can be sure the plan you’re taking out is right for you. This includes advice on split deferred periods, which is important to get right.
Samantha Haffenden-Angear
Independent Protection Expert at Drewberry
Get Expert Doctors Income Protection Advice

If you’re looking for Surgeons or Doctors Income Protection Insurance we’re here to help. As an independent intermediary who deal with medical professionals on a daily basis we are in a great positions to review the whole market to ensure you get the most competitive premium.
Robert Harvey
Independent Protection Expert at Drewberry
Please don’t hesitate to pop your details into the form below for an instant online Income Protection quote or give us a call on 📞 01273646484.
