Income Protection Insurance (IP) is designed to pay out whatever the reason for your being unable to work (subject to one or two exclusions). In this respect it differs from Critical Illness Cover (CIC) which only pays out if you contract one of a list of specified illnesses (even if the list is pretty long). IP also just pays out for the period that you are unable to work, as opposed to CIC insurance, which generally pays a straight lump sum.

It obviously depends on your own circumstances whether Income Protection Insurance is necessary. If you decide you do then you'll face some big obstacles. There are all sorts of different Income Protection Insurance policies with small variations that could mean the difference between being able to claim in full and getting nothing.

With our Income Protection Insurance policy finder which only takes a few minutes to use, after which you receive a comparison table ordered by lowest monthly premium. The results table also displays the exclusion and benefit periods for each scheme. You are then able to go onto the 'Details' page and view the full details of the policy, including its general conditions and exclusions. It is then possible to fill out an application and apply for the policy online.