Does your client have the best possible waiting period?

Income Protection is designed to provide your clients with an income if they cannot work due to an illness or disability. If a disability or illness claim is assessed as valid, the selected cover amount will be calculated from the end of the waiting period, for the length of the disability. Selecting the correct waiting period is an important factor in providing your client with the best possible cover. FMI offers a selection of waiting periods, including a unique 14 day waiting period. Waiting periods help to ensure affordable premiums as conditions one would recover from during the waiting period would not result in claims. However, if clients don’t understand how the waiting period works, they could feel frustrated and anxious when they do not receive the expected pay-out and have not planned for the ‘gap’ between the start of their  of illness and the start of the  claim pay-out. For individual policies, FMI offers a selection of waiting periods e.g. BPE and Express Income offer a 7, 14, or 30 day waiting period. Under most group plans, the employer selects the waiting period, taking into account factors such as paid sick leave. Determining the most appropriate waiting period for disability cover will depend on your client’s needs, with the main question being ‘how long can they manage without their regular income?’. FMI offers self-employed people, such as small business owners, a 7 day waiting period as we understand that most business owners are dependent on monthly cash flow to survive so a shorter waiting period is preferable to a longer one. However, the shorter the waiting period, the higher the premium so this might not suit all clients. FMI’s 14 day waiting period FMI offers a unique 14 day waiting period to self-employed and salaried employees. The benefits include:

• The longer the waiting period, the lower the premium. The 14 day waiting period means that the premiums are cheaper than the premiums on a 7 day waiting period.
• Due to factors such as paid sick leave, salaried employees tend to have longer waiting periods but a 30 day wait might be too long for some clients. While a 7 day waiting period is not an option for salaried individuals, 14 days might be the perfect fit.
• Not only is there a choice between three waiting periods, the policyholder can choose to split their cover across all three waiting periods, meaning that a portion of the pay-out can be paid out  after a 14 day waiting period.

It is important that your client understands the terms and conditions of their cover so that, should they need it, their cover will pay out at the best possible time, helping to relieve the financial pressure that comes with a disability claim. If you have any questions about our product offerings, please contact our Financial Adviser Distribution Team on 0860 10 52 08 or [email protected]. If you have any questions about the claims process, please contact our Client Care Team on 0860 10 11 19 or [email protected].