How do I decide what deferred period to take?

A deferred period is the length of time you choose to wait before receiving the benefit payments. With our Living Costs Protection policy, you can choose to wait 4, 8, 13 or 26 consecutive weeks before we starting paying the benefit to you.

To decide how long this deferred period should be, consider how long your employer would pay you if you’re off sick or how long you could manage if you need to rely on other ways to pay the bills, such as your savings.

If you receive sick pay from your employer, you may want your income protection benefit to start being paid only when your sick pay stops or reduces. So, if you get three months company sick pay, you may choose your deferred period as 13 weeks.

Generally, the longer the deferred period you choose, the cheaper your monthly premium is likely to be.