Cover details
What is income protection?
Income protection replaces some of your income if you're unable to work because of illness or injury. It’s there to help you stay on top of things financially, so you can focus on getting better. Our income protection policy is called Living Costs Protection.
Can I have more than one income protection policy?
This may vary between insurers, but with us, you can't have more than one income protection policy. You can only have one Living Costs Protection policy per person unless you’re increasing your cover under the Life Change Benefit option.
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.
How do I decide when I want my policy to end?
Income protection is designed to cover you while you’re working. So, you may wish to take the cover until your planned retirement date.
If you’ve taken out cover to make sure you can always pay a long-term financial commitment, like your mortgage, you may want the cover to end when this financial commitment ends. For example, the end date of your mortgage.
How do I decide how much benefit I need each month?
Consider how much money you’d need to pay your bills and expenses each month if you couldn’t work.
Income protection isn't designed to cover 100% of your lost earnings. It’s meant to help you continue paying your essential bills and outgoings, like rent or mortgage payments, utility bills or food, while you focus on getting better.
You can apply for our Living Costs Protection policy by contacting us on 0800 433 4513 for a quote or further information.
It's worth mentioning that if you take out a policy directly with us, we won’t be able to give you advice and we’ll only be able to cover up to 90% of your net monthly income, up to a maximum of £1,500 per month.
If you're unsure about your insurance needs, it might be worth speaking with a financial adviser. If you don't have a financial adviser, you can find one at unbiased.co.uk. Please be aware that you may need to pay for this advice.
Eligibility
Am I eligible if I have multiple occupations?
Yes, you may be eligible for income protection if you have multiple occupations. With our Living Costs Protection policy, the total amount of hours you work across all jobs combined must be more than 16 hours per week. You need to be unable to do both/all occupations in order to claim.
Am I eligible if I’m on a zero hour contract?
Yes, you may still be eligible for our Living Costs Protection policy. However, the average amount of hours worked must be more than 16 hours per week.
Am I eligible if I’m self-employed?
Yes, you may still be eligible for our Living Costs Protection policy. However, you must work 16 or more hours per week.
Changing circumstances
What happens if I stop working or I’m made redundant?
If you’re unemployed or working fewer than 16 hours a week immediately before your illness or accident, you won’t be able to make a claim on your income protection policy.
What if I go on adoption/maternity/parental leave?
If you're ill or injured during the first 12 months of your leave, we'll treat your Living Costs Protection claim as though you're still working.
Payouts and claims
How do I claim?
With our Living Costs Protection, you can claim more than once, but each successful claim is only paid for a maximum of 12 months. This could be either a single continuous period or a collection of shorter periods adding up to 12 months. If you go back to work for six consecutive months after your incapacity, you can claim again for the same or a different illness or injury.
Can I claim if I move to another country?
There may be limits on your income protection policy if you move to a different country.
With our Living Costs Protection policy, we'll pay out your benefit if you move to one of the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Channel Islands, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA.
If you move anywhere else and need to claim, we'll only pay out your benefit for a maximum of three months.
If you later move back to one of the countries on our list and you're still unable to work, we’ll start paying your benefit again.
Can I claim if I’m made redundant?
No, income protection doesn't cover loss of income because of redundancy. It only covers you if you’re unable to work because of illness or accidental injury.
Do I need to pay tax or national insurance on any benefit you pay me?
No, you’ll receive the full amount of benefit shown on your Living Costs Protection policy schedule if you make a successful claim. No deductions will be made for tax or national insurance.
Do I get a payout at the end of the policy if I don’t make a claim?
No, our Living Costs Protection policy has no cash-in value at any time. The policy will only pay out if you’re unable to work because of illness or injury.
Access needs
How can I contact you if I’m deaf or a British Sign Language (BSL) user?
If you have an Aviva income protection policy, you can get in touch with us using a qualified BSL interpreter for free as part of our partnership with online video interpreting service SignLive. Find out more about how to use the SignLive service.
You can contact us using this service if you need to talk about setting up a new policy, making a claim or have a customer service query.
If this service does not meet your needs, there are further ways to contact us, including using one of our online forms or LiveChat. You may also be able to resolve your query by logging into your MyAviva account. For all the ways to get in touch with us, see our contact us page.