Life cover and income protection assessed on your contract earnings — not just your salary.
Most protection policies base cover on earned income. For a contractor drawing a £30k salary from a £100k+ day rate business, that’s a problem — standard underwriting would offer cover based on the salary, not what you actually earn. If the worst happened, the payout could fall far short of what your household actually depends on.
The same issue that affects contractor mortgages affects contractor protection. The solution is similar: knowing how to present contract income to underwriters, and which insurers take a broader view of contractor earnings. Done properly, your cover reflects your real earning power rather than the modest figure on your payslip.
No fee for protection advice. We are remunerated by the insurer on completion, so the guidance, research, and application support cost you nothing.
Most contractors need some combination of the four covers below. Which ones, and at what level, depends on your mortgage, your dependants, and how your income is structured — something we work through with you on the first call.
A lump sum paid to your dependants on death. Often arranged alongside a mortgage, on either a level or decreasing term basis to match the debt it protects.
A monthly payment if you can’t work due to illness or injury. The deferred period and benefit amount are set to match your circumstances — critical for contractors with no sick pay.
A lump sum on diagnosis of a specified serious illness. Often combined with life cover so that one policy addresses both death and serious illness.
Life cover written through your limited company. Premiums are paid by the company, it is tax-efficient, and the payout sits outside your personal estate.
Employees get statutory sick pay and often employer sick pay schemes. Contractors get neither. If you can’t work, your income stops — immediately. There is no safety net beyond whatever savings you have set aside, and an extended illness can erode those quickly.
Income protection replaces a portion of your income (typically 50–70%) if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury. It pays monthly until you return to work, or until the policy end date, giving you the breathing room to recover without the added pressure of vanishing income.
The deferred period — the waiting time before the policy pays out — is where contractors have some flexibility. A longer deferred period reduces the premium. If you have savings to cover three to six months, a longer deferred period often makes sense and keeps the cover affordable.
It is worth being honest with yourself about how long your savings would genuinely last if your income stopped tomorrow. For many contractors the answer is shorter than they assume once mortgage payments, bills, and everyday costs are accounted for. Setting the deferred period and benefit level around that real figure — rather than a guess — is exactly the kind of detail a contractor-aware adviser will press you on.
Contractors with a limited company can arrange life cover through the business as a relevant life policy. Premiums are a company expense, reducing corporation tax; the payout sits outside your estate, reducing inheritance tax exposure; and the cover level is based on total remuneration including dividends — not just salary. For a contractor, that last point alone can transform how much cover is available.
It is one of the most tax-efficient forms of life cover available in the UK. Most contractors who aren’t using it are paying more than they need to for less cover than they could get — usually simply because no one has explained the option to them.
The process is deliberately simple, and at no point does it cost you anything. There is no fee for protection advice — we are paid by the insurer only if you decide to proceed.
We understand what you need to cover — income, mortgage, dependants, and business continuity.
We search the market for the most suitable cover based on your circumstances and contract income.
We present options clearly. You decide. No pressure, no fee.
No fee. No obligation. Just a clear picture of what cover you need and what it costs.