To apply for income protection insurance, the routes described on the insurers' own pages, read in October 2026, are a phone call, a call-back or an adviser. Aviva says you can apply with it direct by phone; others point you to their own phone team, a partner firm or an adviser. Below is how that works, what an application asks, what happens before an insurer accepts you, and how long you have to change your mind.

Want a second opinion on how an insurer would read your job, hours and health? Our enquiry form is on this page: complete it and an FCA-authorised broker will ring you back, with nothing to pay.

Which route does each insurer describe?

The table gives each route as the insurer's own page or document puts it. It covers the insurers read, not every seller, and is not a ranking.

InsurerRoute its own material describes
Aviva (web page, read 20 October 2026)Its page says you can apply for Living Costs Protection direct over the phone, and that a financial adviser can do it for you instead. Living Costs Protection is a particular plan with its own limits, set out in how to compare income protection plans.
LV= (web page, read 20 October 2026)Its page says you cannot get a quote from LV= directly, and its cover page says it offers income protection through its partner LifeSearch.
Legal & General (web page, read 20 October 2026)Income Protection Benefit is "available through our team of expert financial advisers", reached by phone for a quote.
Royal London (web page, read 20 October 2026)Its page gives speaking to "an independent financial adviser" as the next step, in Royal London's own words.
Scottish Widows cover, through Bank of Scotland (web page, read 20 October 2026)A Bank of Scotland protection expert "will speak to you on the telephone", or you can ask for a call-back. That expert deals with Scottish Widows policies. Scottish Widows' own policy summary (September 2025) sits on its adviser site.
Zurich (key features, April 2026)The document sits on Zurich's intermediary site and sends questions to "your adviser". Whether Zurich offers any other route is a question to put to Zurich or a broker.

So the first decision is the route. Whichever you choose, ask at the start whether anyone in it charges a fee.

Can you get an instant online quote?

The routes in the table are conversations, not calculators. Bank of Scotland's page describes a free call in which "you don’t have to agree to anything", and Legal & General's describes a phone call for a personalised quote. LV=, whose summary (April 2026) says what happens "if you apply for your policy online", still points its quote route at the partner firm.

A quote is also not the final price. Bank of Scotland's page lists what a price depends on, including your answers to the application questions, so a figure given before those answers is provisional. What moves the price is covered in how much income protection costs.

When you call or fill in a form, ask three things: whether the figure is final or indicative, whether a decision can be given on the call, and what would make the insurer ask for more. A broker reached through the enquiry form here can raise all three with insurers for you.

What does an income protection application ask you?

There are two layers: whether you qualify to apply at all, then the questions that set your terms.

  • Aviva (policy summary AL19001, October 2024): working at least 16 hours a week, and in work for at least the last 12 months. You also need two years registered with a doctor in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar, or to be able to give two years of medical history from one.
  • Zurich (key features PWL850001003, April 2026): a UK resident, "registered with a UK doctor when this policy starts, and for two years prior to applying".
  • Legal & General (policy terms QGI12745, April 2025, held on its adviser site): registered with a UK GP for at least two years and a UK resident.
  • Bank of Scotland, for Scottish Widows cover (web page, read 20 October 2026): working on average over 16 hours per week, a UK resident and registered with a UK GP for at least two years.

Each also sets entry ages, which are compared in income protection age limits. Aviva's page adds that you must not already be off work through illness or injury when you apply.

The questions themselves, on Aviva's summary, come in three groups: health and lifestyle, your job, and your personal circumstances. Scottish Widows' summary (September 2025) says it assesses what you tell it to see what cover it can offer. The job answers matter because insurers group occupations by risk, which income protection for builders explains for manual work; the hours and earnings questions for freelancers are in income protection for the self-employed, one of the critical illness and income guides.

What happens after you apply: accepted, excluded or asked for more?

An insurer can accept you on standard terms, accept you with an exclusion, or ask for more information first. Aviva's summary says it might "exclude a certain medical condition you have or an activity you do", and would tell you before giving a start date. Scottish Widows' summary says that if it excludes anything, or the premium differs from your personal quote summary, it will tell you before you decide to go ahead. In both cases you see the terms before you commit.

While it finds out more, Aviva offers a "protection promise": if more information is needed before a decision, it "will cover you for accidental injury free of charge". The promise "doesn’t provide cover if you’re off work due to illness". It ends on the earliest of several events, among them ten days after an acceptance offer, the date it decides to defer or decline, and 90 days from confirmation that free cover has started.

On medical evidence, Zurich's key features put the responsibility on the applicant: do not assume the insurer will contact your doctor for you. Among the commitments listed is: "Allow us to access your medical records for up to six months after your policy has started." Both Zurich and Aviva ask you to report any change to your answers before the policy starts. How the law treats a careless or deliberate wrong answer is covered in what you must disclose when you apply for cover.

Applying with few or no health questions is covered in income protection with no medical questions.

Do you prove your income when you apply or when you claim?

Insurers differ on when they look at income, and a plan can do both. Aviva's Living Costs Protection summary says it will not ask what your earnings are, because you choose a flat monthly benefit, though you must be working at least 16 hours a week just before a claim. Scottish Widows' summary goes the other way: the maximum cover you can have at application "is based on your earnings and any other regular income you are receiving".

At claim stage, the terms read ask for paperwork as well. Legal & General's policy terms say that when you claim it will need "contact details for your employer and proof of earnings". Zurich's terms (April 2026) say it will write to your GP or physician for medical evidence and will also need your financial information. Royal London's plan details (July 2026) list medical information and the earnings of the person covered among what it may ask for when a claim is made. Because the proof is asked for later, the sensible time to gather payslips, accounts or tax returns is before you apply. What counts as income for each type of worker is in how much income protection you need.

Can you change your mind after you buy?

Every policy document read gives a 30-day window to cancel and get premiums back, but the clock starts at different points.

  • Aviva: 30 days from the later of the day it tells you the start date and the day you receive your policy documents.
  • Legal & General: 30 days of receiving both the policy and the notice of your right to cancel, which it sends once the policy starts.
  • Royal London: 30 days of receiving your cover summary and plan details.
  • Scottish Widows: 30 days of the start date shown in your Policy Schedule.
  • LV=: 30 days of the policy starting.
  • Zurich: "the first 30 days"; its key features do not say from which date they run, so check the cancellation details it sends.

After the window, Aviva says you can still cancel but "we won’t refund any premiums", and Royal London says cover ends and you "won’t get anything back".

Frequently asked questions

Can you buy income protection online?

The pages read describe quotes by phone, call-back or adviser. Whether a particular firm offers an online application is worth asking before you start.

Is it free to speak to someone first?

Bank of Scotland's page says a call to its expert is "free" and that you do not have to agree to anything. For other routes, including advisers, ask before you start whether there is a fee.

To take it further, complete the enquiry form here and a broker will phone to talk through applying. There is no charge.

Sources