An important point to note is that income payment protection insurance should not be confused with income protection insurance as the two policies payout under different circumstances.

Income protection insurance pays out over the longer term; this can be anything up to the age of retirement if necessary. However it would only payout if you were to become ill or if you were involved in an accident which meant that you could not work. It would not cover unemployment by such as being made redundant.

However income payment protection on the other hand would pay tax free cash benefits for accident, sickness and unemployment (this is why you may also hear it called an ASU policy). It would not payout up to retirement age though - it only pays out over the short term.

How long this would be depends on the provider; some offer policies that pay for 12 months and others might offer protection that would payout for up to 24 months. You would have to wait a certain length of time before you would be able to claim on the cover and this is usually between 30 and 90 days of being continually unemployment or incapacitated. You do also have to check the terms in the policy to find out when and for how long the cover you are considering does payout and also for the exclusions.

Income protection UK cover allows you to be able to keep up with all the outgoings in your home. Of course one of your biggest concerns would be your monthly mortgage commitment. If you are unable to keep up with this then the lender could take you to court to seek repossession of your home and you could be evicted. With a policy to fall back on you would have the money to be able to pay your mortgage and of course your other essential bills.

If you had loan repayments to find the money for then again your policy would provide it. This would mean that you were not at risk of getting into debt and have the lender take you to court or worry about your credit rating being affected due to missed repayments. Along with this, outgoings such as the water, heating, lighting and grocery bill could all be kept up with and you would not have to make drastic lifestyle changes.

You will typically get the lowest quotes for income protection in the UK with standalone providers. You will also be able to look on their website and get valuable information related to the policy you are considering taking out. Do ensure that you would be able to claim against the policy as the product is not suitable for all. However providing you have checked the exclusions against your circumstances then you would have a safety net on which to rely if you did lose your income to accident, sickness or unemployment.