🔎 Occupation Checker

How do insurers see your job?

Before price is even quoted, your occupation decides which definitions you're offered — and sometimes whether mainstream insurers will quote at all. Check yours in ten seconds, then see what you would actually be paid if you could not work.

🏛️FCA Authorised · FRN 1047044

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🆓Free Whole-of-Market Search

Instant Check

Select your occupation

General market norms — individual insurers differ, and we place the difficult cases.

Step 1 of 3

Your occupation

Not listed? We cover every UK occupation — tell us what you do and we’ll place it.

Important: This page is general information, not personal financial advice. The occupation treatment shown is typical market practice, not a quote or an underwriting decision, and individual insurers differ. Sick pay figures are the published shape of each scheme — your own contract governs what you would actually be paid, and any gap shown is gross and illustrative only.

Why This Matters

Three things your occupation controls

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Your definition

Own occupation pays if you can't do your job. Work-tasks definitions only pay if you can't perform basic daily activities — a far harder test.

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Your waiting period

Some occupations can choose day-one cover; others carry minimum waits. Matching the wait to your sick-pay reality is where premiums are won.

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Your quotability

Significant height, offshore work and certain specialist roles are declined by mainstream engines — but usually placeable by a specialist broker.

How insurers classify your job

Every UK insurer keeps an occupation guide. It maps thousands of job titles to a risk class. Class 1 is office-based work. Class 4 is heavy manual work. Some jobs sit outside the classes altogether and need individual underwriting.

Your class shapes three things. It sets your premium. It decides which definition of incapacity you are offered. And it controls which waiting periods you can choose.

Here is the useful part: insurers disagree. The same trade can be Class 2 with one insurer and Class 3 with another. That gap is often worth more than any discount. It is the main reason a whole-of-market broker can beat a price-comparison site for manual and specialist roles.

What actually moves the needle

What you do all day, not your job title. A site manager who stays in the office is priced differently from one on the tools. Be specific about your real duties.
Height, depth and offshore work. Working above roughly 40 feet, underground or offshore triggers special rules with most insurers. It rarely means no cover — see our high-risk occupations page.
Your manual percentage. Insurers often ask how much of your week is hands-on. A shift from 80% manual to 40% manual can change your class.
Employment status. The self-employed have no sick pay to bridge a long wait. That is what Personal Sick Pay plans are built for.

The checker above shows the typical market view. Your own quote depends on your duties, health and history. If your job is borderline, tell us the detail — placing borderline occupations is most of what we do.

FAQs

About the checker

Where does this information come from?

It reflects general UK underwriting norms drawn from insurer occupation guides of the kind used by professional advisers. Individual insurers differ — the checker shows the typical picture, not a quote decision.

My job says 'work tasks' — what does that mean?

It means the disability lump-sum element of critical illness cover is commonly offered on a weaker definition that only pays if you permanently cannot perform several basic everyday activities. Our TPD explainer covers it in full — and it's why income protection usually matters more for manual roles.

My occupation isn't listed — can I still get cover?

Almost certainly. The checker covers common roles; we assess any UK occupation, including the unusual ones. Tell us what you actually do day-to-day and we'll place it.

Does a '3 months typical' wait mean I can't get paid sooner?

Not necessarily. Standard income protection often carries that minimum for some occupations, but Personal Sick Pay plans are designed for shorter waits — in some cases from day one.

How long would I actually be paid if I went off sick?

It depends entirely on your employer's scheme. NHS staff on Agenda for Change build up to six months' full pay then six months' half pay with five years' service. Teachers on the Burgundy Book reach 100 working days full and 100 half by their fourth year. Most private employers offer far less, and the self-employed get nothing at all — Statutory Sick Pay does not apply to them. Step 2 of the checker above shows the shape for your own scheme.

What is Statutory Sick Pay worth in 2026/27?

£123.25 a week, for up to 28 weeks, and only if you are an employee earning above the lower earnings limit. That is roughly £534 a month before anything else — which is why the gap between full pay and SSP is usually the number that matters, not the occupation class.

Reviewed by the LifeInsuranceForMe advice team · Last updated September 2026 · FCA authorised, FRN 1047044