Permanent Health Insurance

CBat

I've recently bought a house and changed jobs. 
I have taken out income protection insurance, which would pay out for 2 years if I were ill/disabled. 

My new employer also provide PHI which would pay out until my 65th birthday or until I return to work. 

Both policies are for 50% of my salary. 

Question is... do I need to have 2 policies and are there any implications having both running together? Could I claim on both policies if I found myself off work? 

I hope that makes sense. 

Thanks in advance. 

lisyloo

I don’t think you could claim off both because of maximum limits (I’m looking at drewberryinsurance.co.uk)
I would do some research but if that looks right then you should cancel your own policy  and save the money,

the implication of using the employers are that it will stop when you leave their employment.
some companies have been known to sack people whilst they are claiming (it their insurance not yours).
you may also find it hard to get your own later of you were unfortunate enough to get a serious condition 

of course the savings may well outweigh that for most healthy people.

the reason why there are limits is to stop “malingerers”.

Sandtree

ASU/PPI and PHI are unfortunately both sold under the banner of "income protection" which causes some confusion.

Does the policy you have purchased include unemployment cover? Most used to until covid and then most withdrew the cover.

The issue with what you have bought is a) its an annual policy so next year they could triple the price or simply refuse to renew you and b) the average claim on PHI is in the region of 6 years, if you were seriously ill and only had the policy that you have what are you going to do in 4 years after your policy stops paying out?

The employers policy is the better one but you are then tied to your employer. What happens if you are made redundant after 5 years and then whilst having a break get diagnosed with cancer or such?

Many people do rely on their employers policies alone but it can cause problems when careers take a different turn or after redundancy and they find themselves uninsured or uninsurable

Weighty1

It's worth considering that your employers PHI policy will also be taxed on a PAYE basis so it'll cover 50% of your gross income but then have deductions for income tax and national insurance.

CBat

Thanks for all your responses. It's given me a lot to think about, I'll look into the different options/benefits and make the appropriate changes. 
My personal plan excludes unemployment cover, so that's something I'll also consider, along with increasing the term. 

kingstreet

The Accident & Sickness cover pays out for two years. When do benefits start on the employer scheme?

CBat

kingstreet said:

The Accident & Sickness cover pays out for two years. When do benefits start on the employer scheme?

Hi, it's from 26 weeks 

Sandtree

CBat said:

kingstreet said:

The Accident & Sickness cover pays out for two years. When do benefits start on the employer scheme?

Hi, it's from 26 weeks 

The other consideration is what your employers sick pay policy is

CBat

Sandtree said:

CBat said:

kingstreet said:

The Accident & Sickness cover pays out for two years. When do benefits start on the employer scheme?

Hi, it's from 26 weeks 

The other consideration is what your employers sick pay policy is

There's quite a gap between the end of sick pay and start of PHI, whereas my private cover would kick in after 8 weeks. The company also state they may look at dismissal for those with long term illness.

lisyloo

Employer phi sounds great in principle, but doesn’t work so well when they dismiss people.
its not your policy

i have had employers phi for years but I worked for the kind of organisations that didn’t dismiss sick people.