Three products, and the muddle is expensive
People confuse these constantly. Each one solves a different problem, and having one does not cover you for the others.
Life cover
Pays a lump sum if you die. It is for the people left behind.
Income protection
Pays you a regular replacement income if illness or injury stops you working. It is for you, while you are still here.
Specified illness cover
Pays a lump sum on diagnosis of certain serious conditions. It is for the immediate shock: adapting a house, taking time off, getting through.
Income protection
You are considerably more likely to be out of work for six months through illness than to die during your working life. Yet life cover is common and income protection is rare, which is the wrong way round.
It pays a wage while you are out, and keeps paying until you recover, retire, or the policy ends. Insurers deliberately keep the benefit below your full salary so there is always a reason to go back to work.
The deferred period is the main lever on price. The longer you can wait before payments start, the cheaper the cover. Match it to how long your employer would keep paying you, and to what savings you have.
At the higher rate, relief takes 40% straight off the cost. It is one of very few insurance premiums the taxman helps you pay, and it is why the real cost is usually well below the quoted price.
Two calculators, before you talk to anybody.
What your family would be short if you died, and what would arrive each month if you could not work. No sign-up to see an answer.
Rough figures are fine. This is about the size of the gap, not the exact euro.
Real pricing depends on your age, health, occupation, deferred period and term. We get quotes across the market rather than from one insurer.
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Illustrative only and not personal advice. Figures are checked against Revenue, the Department of Social Protection and the Pensions Authority, and revised after each Budget. The life cover figure is a simplified needs estimate that makes no allowance for inflation, investment of the proceeds, or State supports your family might receive. Income protection benefit is shown at the usual maximum of 75% of earnings, and any State illness payment you receive is normally deducted from what the insurer pays. Premiums are illustrative only. Relief on premiums is available at your marginal rate on approved policies.
How much life cover is enough
Four lines on a page. We do this properly with you in half an hour, but the shape of it is simple.
Five things to watch out for
Cover through work is not yours
Death in service belongs to the job. Change employer and it goes with it, and you may be older and less healthy when you go looking for a replacement.
A stay-at-home parent has real economic value
Replacing that care costs money. Cover is often needed on both people, not just the earner.
Old policies are often the wrong size
Cover taken out when the mortgage was new and there were no children rarely still fits.
Tell the truth on the application
Everything, including things that seem irrelevant. A claim declined for non-disclosure years later is the worst possible outcome.
The cheapest policy you will ever be offered is today’s
Price rises with age and with health, and health has a habit of changing without notice.
Two different starting points
What sits behind you if you cannot work is completely different for an employee and for someone who owns the business.
If you are on PAYE
Start by finding out what you already have.
If you own the business
There is nothing behind you unless you arranged it.
Questions we get asked
How much does income protection actually cost?
It depends on age, health, occupation and the deferred period, so a real quote is the only honest answer. But after tax relief it is frequently a smaller monthly figure than people assume, often comparable to a phone contract, to insure tens of thousands of income a year.
I am healthy. Do I need this?
Health today is what makes cover cheap and available. Cover is not bought for the person you are now, it is bought for the person you might be after something you did not plan for. Once your health changes, the price changes or the door closes.
Should I take the cover offered with my mortgage?
Take the mortgage protection, because you generally have to. Just do not mistake it for family protection. It pays the bank, not your household. That is a separate calculation and usually a separate policy.
What if I already have policies from years ago?
Bring them in. Sometimes an older policy carries terms you would not get today and should be kept exactly as it is. Sometimes it is the wrong size or badly structured. You cannot know which without looking, and we will tell you honestly if the answer is to leave it alone.
The Budget, explained in the time it takes to drive home.
Budget measures are confusing and the headlines rarely show the full picture. We go through what actually changed for individuals and for businesses, and what it means for the year ahead. Available all year, not just on the night.
- Understand the real impact. Income tax, PRSI, USC, pensions and the supports for business owners, in plain terms.
- Listen whenever it suits. Under twenty minutes, at your desk, in the car or at home. No sign-up.
- The full summary alongside it. Our written Budget summary and flipbook sit on the same page.
What Budget {{ budgetYear }} means for you and your business
Finnegan Maguire Financial Advisors · 20 min
Find out what it would actually cost you.
We compare across the market, get real quotes based on your age, job and health, and tell you the premium after tax relief.
Book a first meetingPick a date and time that suits you.
No sales pitch, just a conversation about what you already have, what it would pay out, and what the gap would cost to close. You will get a written summary either way.
