About Royal London
Royal London is a mutual life, pensions and investment company – the largest in the UK, with almost 9 million policies held by customers. Its ‘mutual’ status means it’s owned by members, not investors, allowing for greater interaction and accountability with members and customers. This enables Royal London to continually improve its products and customer service.
Royal London income protection policy features
If you buy your income protection policy through Royal London, your policy is likely to come with the features outlined below. Here we'll explain what the feature is, what it means for you, and how it compares to other insurers on the market.
| Back-to-work bonus | Get 50% of your monthly income protection benefit after your first month back at work and 25% after your sound month back. | Very few insurers offer this benefit, so it's a good one to have. It gives you an extra financial cushion as you make your transition back into work. |
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| Benefit guarantee | Your income protection benefit will never fall below £1,500/month – as long as you bought at least that amount when you took out your policy. You normally need to be working a minimum number of hours to qualify for this benefit. | Royal London’s benefit guarantee on income protection policies is good. The amount is on par with other insurers who offer this benefit. Meanwhile, other insurers offer lower benefit guarantee amounts, or don’t offer the feature at all. |
| Guaranteed insurability | You’ll have the opportunity to increase your income protection cover after certain life changes. In a Royal London policy, this includes:
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For the life changes it covers, Royal London’s guaranteed insurability feature is good. It allows you to increase your cover by up to 50% (though as with other insurers, there's usually a cap placed on the total amount of cover you can increase to). Some other insurers offer less flexible versions of this feature, don’t offer it for these life changes, or don’t offer it all. Bear in mind that some insurers do allow you to use guaranteed insurability in circumstances not covered by Royal London. Namely:
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| Hospitalisation benefit | Get £100 per night if you are hospitalised for any reason during the waiting period of a claim. This benefit is usually subject to a minimum and maximum number of consecutive nights spent in hospital. | Some insurers don’t offer hospitalisation benefit at all, so this is a good feature to have on your income protection policy. The amount paid out by Royal London is on par with other insurers who offer this feature. |
| Waiver of premium | This handy add-on means that you won't keep paying your monthly premiums if you're off work for medical reasons. You usually need to be off for a certain amount of time before you can claim this benefit. | Royal London’s waiver of premium benefit is in line with other insurers in the market. Having this benefit gives you peace of mind in case you can’t work for health reasons. |
Royal London income protection extra policy benefits
Royal London income protection policies also come with extra benefits, outlined below. This is ‘non-contractual’, which means it’s not related to the contractual conditions of your own policy. Everyone is eligible – though this service is usually only made available if you buy your policy through an adviser.
| Helping Hand | A support service providing access to a second medical opinion; bereavement counselling; and to legal, career-related, and medical helplines. |
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Royal London income protection claim rate
In 2020, Royal London paid out 93% of new and existing income protection claims, amounting to £4.1m. Of those not paid out, it was either due to the claim not meeting the required policy definition or misrepresentation (i.e. providing inaccurate information during the application process).
Royal London income protection prices
The following prices are based on:
- Healthy 25-year old male or female office worker
- £1,500 of level income protection cover
| Product | Waiting period | Non-smoker | Smoker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term | 13 weeks | £22 | £30 |
| 26 weeks | £19 | £25 | |
| Short-term | 13 weeks | £12 | £15 |
| 26 weeks | £10 | £13 |
- Healthy 25-year old male or female plumber
- £1,500 of level income protection cover
| Product | Waiting period | Non-smoker | Smoker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term | 13 weeks | £39 | £53 |
| 26 weeks | £33 | £44 | |
| Short-term | 13 weeks | £18 | £24 |
| 26 weeks | £16 | £20 |
- Healthy 35-year old male or female office worker
- £1,500 of level income protection cover
| Product | Waiting period | Non-smoker | Smoker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term | 13 weeks | £34 | £46 |
| 26 weeks | £29 | £40 | |
| Short-term | 13 weeks | £12 | £15 |
| 26 weeks | £9 | £12 |
- Healthy 35-year old male or female plumber
- £1,500 of level income protection cover
| Product | Waiting period | Non-smoker | Smoker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term | 13 weeks | £60 | £84 |
| 26 weeks | £52 | £71 | |
| Short-term | 13 weeks | £27 | £37 |
| 26 weeks | £23 | £31 |
Quoted on 06/03/2020
Long-term: Royal London Personal Menu Plan
Short-term: Royal London Personal Menu Plan (2 years)
What does Royal London income protection cover?
Does Royal London income protection cover redundancy?
How do I cancel my Royal London income protection?
