Compare Income Protection Cover in South Africa
Income protection replaces your earnings when illness or injury stops you working. The wording decides whether it pays, so compare definitions and benefit terms before comparing price.
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- Occupation definition
- Waiting period
- Benefit term
- Escalation
- Temporary and partial cover
- Mental health treatment
What matters most when comparing income protection?
The occupation definition matters most: own-occupation cover pays when you cannot do your specific job, while any-occupation cover only pays when you cannot do any reasonable work. Then compare the waiting period against the savings you actually have, and check how long the benefit runs, since some policies stop after two or five years. Remember that benefits are paid tax-free under the rules that applied from 1 March 2015, so you insure your after-tax income, not your gross salary.
What to compare on income protection
Occupation definition
Own occupation is broader and pays more often than any-occupation wording.
Waiting period
How long you fund yourself before payments start. It must match your real savings.
Benefit term
To retirement age, or capped at two or five years. This is a large difference in value.
Escalation
Whether the benefit grows each year, which matters over a long claim.
Temporary and partial cover
Whether partial disability and phased returns to work are covered.
Mental health treatment
Insurers differ sharply. Some cover it fully, some limit the term, some exclude it.
How to compare income protection properly
- Work out your monthly after-tax income, since the benefit is paid tax-free under current rules.
- Check how long you could survive on savings and set the waiting period accordingly.
- Insist on seeing the occupation definition in writing before comparing premiums.
- Compare the benefit term: cover to retirement is worth far more than a capped benefit.
- Check what your employer already provides and insure the gap.
- Disclose your full medical history so the cover is not disputed when you claim.
What moves the price
- Age and smoker status
- Occupation and its risk class
- Medical history
- Waiting period and benefit term
- Occupation definition chosen
- Escalation and partial benefits added
Mistakes that make a cheap policy expensive
Insuring gross salary
Benefits are tax-free under the current rules, so insuring your gross income usually means paying for cover the insurer will not pay out in full.
Taking a long waiting period without savings
A six-month waiting period is cheap and useless if your savings run out in six weeks.
Accepting any-occupation wording
It is cheaper for a reason: the insurer only pays if you cannot do any reasonable work at all.
Relying on an employer benefit
Group cover usually ends when the job does, exactly when you may need it most.
Income protection guides
Frequently asked questions
Is income protection the same as disability cover?
Are the premiums tax deductible?
How much of my income can I insure?
Does it cover retrenchment?
Compare income protection in minutes
Tell us what you need once and we help you compare cover from South African insurers. Free, no obligation, and we never sell your details.