Introduction

To celebrate our Diamond Jubilee, the Friendly Society are offering up to 3 months' free cover during 2008, when you apply for Income Protection (IP).

Being healthy day in and day out, year after year of your working life is a pretty tall order, and like most of us you probably succumb to the odd day off for minor ailments, but what if a more severe illness or injury prevented you from earning an income for a longer period of time? How would you keep up your mortgage payments, run the car, pay credit cards and daily living expenses, such as food, clothing, phone bills etc.

Official figures show that the number of people in the UK of working age who are long-term sick has fluctuated between 2.1 and 2.2 million since the late 1990s.

State incapacity benefit offers only minimal help after 28 weeks, eligibility is strict and claimants must undergo a test checking their ability to carry out a range of work-related activities - such as walking, sitting and using stairs. Even if they qualify, benefits are not generous and they are currently taxable..

An Income Protection plan may be the answer - it pays a regular income designed to protect your standard of living if you suffer long-term illness or injury, and once in force the insurer cannot cancel the plan, no matter how often you claim.

Although there are a number of insurance companies who offer this type of insurance, not all of them will provide cover for those in the police service - as they consider the occupational risks to be too great.

Your Friendly Society recognised this, and in 1997 introduced a straightforward and competitively priced Income Protection plan tailored to your conditions of service, but unlike other schemes available to police officers and police staff:

• there is no limit on the value of any claim,
• there is no limit* on the duration of any claim, and
• there is no limit on the number of times you can claim.

The plan also includes a critical illness benefit which will pay a one-off lump sum, regardless of whether you are unable to work or not.

*All cover ceases at age 60.