The cheapest premium lever nobody explains
The waiting period decides when your income protection starts paying — and it's the single biggest lever on the price. Set it to match your sick pay and you stop paying for weeks you don't need.
Get It Set Up Right →What the waiting period actually is
Every income protection policy has a deferred period — the continuous time you must be unable to work before the benefit starts. Standard plans typically offer 1, 2, 3, 6 or 12 months (with the shortest options limited for some occupations); Personal Sick Pay plans built for the self-employed run shorter still — 1 day, 1 week, 4 weeks and upwards. No benefit is paid during the wait, and the premium falls as the wait lengthens.
The matching principle
The right wait is simply the moment your existing support runs out. Get it wrong in either direction and you pay for it: too short and you're buying cover for weeks your employer already pays; too long and there's a gap with nothing coming in.
| Your situation | Sensible starting point | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader / gig worker — no sick pay | 1 day – 4 weeks (Personal Sick Pay) | The income stops immediately, so the cover should start quickly |
| Employee — statutory sick pay only | 4 – 13 weeks | SSP is minimal; a short-to-medium wait bridges sensibly |
| Employee — 3–6 months occupational sick pay | 13 – 26 weeks | Cover picks up as employer support steps down |
| NHS staff / teachers — tapering full-to-half pay | 26 or 52 weeks (or split) | Aligns with the taper; keeps the premium efficient |
| Limited company director | Varies — often 4–13 weeks | Depends what the company can sustainably pay you while off |
Split deferred periods
Many plans allow the benefit to arrive in stages — say, half after 13 weeks and the rest after 26 — mirroring a sick-pay taper precisely. It's one of the neatest premium savings available and is rarely surfaced by online journeys.
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