• Nearly one in five said they would struggle to pay their mortgage or rent if they couldn’t work for two months due to illness or injury
  
• 26% of workers who do not have an income protection product would like to have it
  
  

Research from protection specialist LV= has explored attitudes to income protection to coincide with Income Protection Awareness Week (IPAW).

Our research* examining financial resilience reveals:

• 15% of working adults had an Income Protection policy in place, while 12% had IP provided by their employer 
• Over a quarter (26%) of workers who don’t hold an IP product would like to have one
• 60% of 25-44 year olds without protection would feel more financially resilient if they had a policy that paid if they were unable to work due to illness or injury 

Many people do not have adequate savings if unable to work, leaving them vulnerable to financial shocks:

• 26% of working adults have less than £1,000 in savings or no savings at all
• Almost one in five (19%) would have to rely on their partner’s income to cover bills if they were unable to work
• Only half of workers (49%) would be able to survive more than four months without an income. 

Mortgage holders are more likely than renters to hold an income protection policy

• One in four (25%) mortgage holders have income protection compared to just over one in ten (11%) renters surveyed
• 19% of UK workers would struggle to pay their mortgage or rent if they couldn’t work for two months due to illness or injury
• But 24% of mortgage holders surveyed believe that they don’t need income protection 

LV= paid £13.6 million in new and on-going income protection claims in 2021. The most commonly claimed conditions were Musculoskeletal issues (20%), fractures (20%) and cancer (17%), representing nearly 58% of all income protection claims.