To compare income protection plans, set each insurer's own documents side by side on six terms: what counts as being unable to work, the wait before payments start, how much and how long it pays, whether the premium is guaranteed, and the support that comes with a claim. The sections below do that for Aviva, Legal & General, LV=, Royal London, Scottish Widows and Zurich, with Vitality where its adviser literature speaks to a term, without ranking them.

Insurers price each applicant from their job, health and earnings, so no page can tell you what a plan would cost. For actual figures set against those terms, the enquiry form on this page reaches an FCA-authorised broker who can price them for your own job, free of charge.

How do you compare income protection plans?

Legal & General's terms, Zurich's documents, Royal London's product page and Vitality's literature come from those insurers' adviser sites. Scottish Widows' summary is the one Lloyds Bank's and Bank of Scotland's income protection pages link to. LV= says "You can’t get a quote directly from us" and points readers to its "advice partner". Each row names its document and date. For the basics, see how income protection works; it is a different product from critical illness cover, and both sit in our critical illness and income guides.

What counts as being unable to work, insurer by insurer?

This clause decides a claim, so read the words, not the label "own occupation".

Insurer and documentWhat the document says
Scottish Widows, Protect Income Protection Cover summary (September 2025)Own Occupation: "As a result of an illness or injury you can’t do the material and substantial duties of your normal occupation. And you aren’t doing any other occupation in its place for payment or profit."
Legal & General, Income Protection Benefit terms (April 2025, adviser site)"We’ll recognise you as incapacitated if, because of your illness or injury, you are unable to carry out the material and substantial duties of the occupation you are following at the point of incapacity."
LV=, Income Protection summary (April 2026)"Own occupation cover pays out if, because of an accident or sickness, you’re unable to do the main tasks of your occupation and aren’t doing any other paid or unpaid work."
Zurich, Income Protection terms and conditions (April 2026)"you must be unable to perform the main duties of the occupation you were doing before the injury or illness began."
Royal London, Personal Menu Plan plan details (July 2026)Its own-occupation test is met where the person covered is "unable to do the material and substantial duties of their own occupation".
Aviva, Living Costs Protection conditions (October 2024)Incapacity is the inability "to perform the duties , of each and every occupation you’ve been following in the 12 months before that illness or injury".

Where you hold more than one job, Zurich says "If you have more than one occupation, you must be unable to perform the main duties of all of them." Legal & General swaps its own-occupation test for an activities test "If you’re a houseperson, not working or working on average less than 16 hours per week over the 3 month period immediately prior to your incapacity": you must then be "unable to carry out at least 3" listed activities, such as walking and lifting. LV= pays a homemaker "if, because of an accident or sickness you’re unable to prepare a meal or do basic housework".

How long is the wait, how much does it pay and for how long?

The deferred period is the wait before payments start; the benefit period decides whether they could run to the end of the policy or stop after a fixed time on each claim.

Insurer and documentDeferred period optionsBenefit limitBenefit period
Aviva, Living Costs Protection summary (October 2024)"4, 8, 13 or 26 consecutive weeks""between £500 and £1,500 per month""a maximum of 12 months each time you’re incapacitated"
Legal & General, Income Protection Benefit terms (April 2025, adviser site)"4, 8, 13, 26 or 52 weeks""60% of your annual income for the first £60,000 and 50% of your annual income over £60,000"; overall "£240,000 per year"Until "you can return to work, your policy ends or until the limited benefit period" ends; that option is "12 or 24 months"
LV=, Income Protection summary (April 2026) and web page"3, 6, or 12 month" wait; "1 or 2 months" for some jobs"60% of your annual earned income before tax"; up to £20,833 a month for level cover"until you’re able to return to work, until the end of your policy or until you die"; its Budget version pays "a maximum of 12 or 24 months per claim"
Royal London, Personal Menu Plan plan details (July 2026); adviser web page"four, eight, 13, 26 or 52 weeks""65% of your first £60,000 of pre-tax earnings, plus up to 50% of the remainder, up to a maximum of £250,000 a year""one year, two year, five year or full term to a specific age (up to age 70)"
Scottish Widows, Protect summary (September 2025)"4 weeks, 8 weeks, 13 weeks, 26 weeks or 52 weeks""60% of your annual earned income up to £70,000, and 45% of any income above £70,000"; level cover up to £20,000 a month"Income Protection Cover – 2 years or Income Protection Cover – Full term"
Zurich, key features (April 2026)"4, 8, 13, 26, 52 or 104 weeks""65% of the first £60,000 you earn" plus "45% of any money you earn over £60,000"; "£20,000 a month" in total"the full term of your policy" or "a maximum of 24 months for each claim"

Aviva's 12-month maximum per claim sits closer to the other insurers' limited-period choices (Legal & General's 12 or 24 months, Zurich's 24, Scottish Widows' 2 years, LV='s Budget version) than to their full-term cover. Vitality's adviser sales aid (September 2026) offers "deferral periods and payment periods, including terms of 1, 2 and 5 years".

Lining up a wait and a benefit period against your own sick pay is something a broker can do with you; mention your sick pay when you send the enquiry form on this page.

Are premiums guaranteed, and what support comes with a claim?

All six insurers' documents describe a premium that stays put, each on its own condition. Aviva: "Your premiums are guaranteed". LV=: "Your premium is guaranteed and will not change, unless you have chosen inflation-linked cover." Zurich's guarantee has exceptions that include choosing Increasing Cover. Legal & General and Scottish Widows tie it to level cover, and Royal London says "As long as you pay your premiums on time, your premiums won’t change for the term of the cover". Cover that rises each year prices differently, so set level quotes against level ones.

Insurer and documentSupport and return-to-work features described
Aviva, Living Costs Protection summary (October 2024)"we’ll pay you one months’ benefit when you return to work" if you earn less after illness or injury.
Legal & General, Income Protection Benefit terms (April 2025, adviser site)Among "Things you might need to do so we can pay your monthly benefit": "Depending on your illness or injury you might need to attend a rehabilitation programme, counselling, or therapy."
LV=, web page"Access support designed to help you recover and return to work", with back to work support "usually capped at three times the monthly benefit for each claim you make".
Royal London, adviser web page"Clients with deferred periods of 13, 26 or 52 weeks receive payments in their first and second months back at work".
Scottish Widows, Protect summary (September 2025)Rehabilitation Income Benefit "if you return to the job you were doing before your incapacity on a part-time basis or reduced duties and your earnings are reduced", and Proportionate Income Benefit if you "start a new job or occupation with lower earnings than your previous job".
Zurich, key features (April 2026)A Return to Work Package "If you return to work in a limited capacity (for example on reduced hours) or to a different, lower paid job"; if you claim during the deferred period, "we’ll put you in touch with a specialist to assess your claim".

Paying no premiums while you claim is a separate feature, covered in what waiver of premium is. Aviva's income protection page gives its own claims figure: "In 2025, we paid 4,154 income protection claims, totalling more than £63 million" (January to December 2025). It is Aviva's own count, not a measure of how any other insurer decides claims.

What do these documents say that matters to the self-employed?

The documents differ on how a self-employed income is proved:

  • Zurich (April 2026): "If you’re a company director or self-employed, we may look at an average of your earnings over the previous 36 months." You must be "employed or self-employed" and working at least 16 hours a week when the policy starts.
  • LV= (web page): "there will be circumstances where we may consider averaging your income over a longer period of up to 36 months", which "will need to be asked by you at the point of claim". Dividends may count if they "meet our qualifying criteria".
  • Legal & General (April 2025): "We’ll need to see tax returns or business accounts", and if you have been self-employed for under 12 months at claim it will "limit your total monthly benefit amount to 35% of your yearly earnings at the time you were incapacitated".

Which providers and brokers are best, and how do you compare quotes?

No provider is best for everyone: the terms above matter differently to different jobs and sick pay, and price depends on the person. What can be said is how to make quotes comparable, as our comparison of life and critical illness cover does for that product.

Ask for each quote on the same footing: one monthly amount, deferred period and benefit period, and level or increasing cover throughout. Then read the incapacity clause, since a cheaper quote may rest on a different test, and note which documents each quote is based on.

A broker can compare several insurers in one conversation and check how each would treat your job, health and income. Sending the short form on this page introduces you to an FCA-authorised one, and buying nothing afterwards is fine. Guides on income protection and a mortgage and mortgage payment protection look at the borrower's side.

Frequently asked questions

Does income protection pay if you are made redundant?

Zurich's key features say "You cannot claim because you become unemployed", and Scottish Widows says "The policy does not include unemployment cover, so we won’t pay a claim because you become unemployed." LV= lists "unemployment" among reasons it does not cover. Each speaks only for its own policy.

Can you get income protection after 60?

Scottish Widows' summary says "You must be at least 18 and no more than 59 years of age when you apply for a policy", and LV= lists "Aged between 17 and 59". These are two insurers' application ages; a broker can say what others do for your age.

What does Vitality income protection cover?

Vitality's adviser sales aid (September 2026) describes a Recovery Benefit giving access to services such as "Priority Physio" and "Talking Therapies" "available from the point of claim", and says "We automatically guarantee a monthly tax-free payment of up to £1,500 - and up to £3,000 for Doctors and Surgeons - without proof of earnings." That is marketing written for advisers; the plan's own terms set the conditions.

When you would like offers built on your own age, job and earnings rather than on brochures, an FCA-authorised broker picks up each enquiry sent through the form on this page.

Sources