If you’re the breadwinner for the family, make sure you can meet essential bills and put food on the table when you are unable to work due to illness or injury. Protect your lifestyle, keep your family plans on track and avoid calling on your savings with Income Protection.
Pilots’ pay and benefits packages vary greatly from airline to airline, with some companies offering comprehensive sick pay arrangements and others offering little in terms of pay whilst being unable to work.
No matter which scheme you may have within your contract, arrangements tend to be complex and dependant on rank, seniority or age, so it is worthwhile taking the time to review what might be available if the worst were to happen and you had a time away from flying due to illness or injury.
The most important part of any such review is to highlight the gaps that may exist in your current employer scheme; we are able to facilitate that review with you, and we do so without charging any broker fee.
For airline pilots, there are two options normally considered to protect their income: Income Protection and Pilot’s Loss of Licence Insurance. While they might seem similar, there are key differences to consider:
Triggers payout: Pays out a regular monthly income if you’re unable to work due to any illness or injury, not just those affecting your license. To ensure the policy pays out as you would intend to, our team will construct your policy to specifically insure your ability to perform your role of a pilot; an off-the-shelf policy without careful due diligence may not provide this protection.
Payout duration: Continues to pay benefits until you can return to work, retire, or the policy term ends (whichever comes first).
Payout amount: Typically replaces 50-70% of all pre-tax income (including income from company provided sick pay schemes, generally up to a maximum income amount)
Focus: Provides a safety net for your income in a broad range of scenarios that prevent you from flying.
Triggers payout: Pays out a benefit, often a lump sum, if you lose your pilot’s license due to a medical condition and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) deems it unlikely to be reinstated within a specific timeframe (typically 2-5 years). Temporary, monthly payments are also available, but these may or may not later be subtracted from the overall lump sum.
Payout duration: Temporary monthly payments of a pre-determined amount, or a one-time lump sum payment.
Payout amount: Varies depending on the policy and coverage chosen, but typically has a maximum limit.
Focus: Specifically targets the risk of losing your license due to medical reasons.
Income protection is generally considered the more comprehensive option, offering wider coverage and potentially replacing a larger portion of your income for a longer period. It can also be flexible over the short term, offering a deferred payment period to suit your needs and aligning the policy towards a company offered scheme.
As part of our free financial review, we will be able to discuss in more detail how an income protection policy can be tailored to meet your induvial requirements and offer the best solution to you.