Income protection reasons and facts

At LV=, we believe that protecting regular income is at the heart of sound financial planning.

It's becoming extremely hard to qualify for state benefit. Employment & Support Allowance for a single person over 25 in the 'support group' pays a maximum of £105.05 a week [1]. Most of us couldn't survive on this so private provision is becoming essential.
Nearly everyone has long term financial commitments and income protection provides long-term protection to cover these.
Sickness or disability is the single most important reason why adults of working age claim out-of-work benefits over a long period [2].
Only 17 per cent of parents have income protection cover [3]. The financial consequences of not having this cover are severe.

[1] direct.gov.uk, April 2012 [2] poverty.org.uk [3] which.co.uk, April 2011

We paid 91% of income protection claims we received in 2011
The average yearly benefit paid was £16,568
On average, our income protection claims last for 7 years.
Nearly half of the claims we paid in 2011 were for problems like depression and back injuries.