Shepherds Friendly income protection

Shepherds Friendly is a mutual society insurer, established in 1826, offering a variety of financial products, from income protection to ISAs.

One of Shepherds Friendly’s top products is income protection, offering customers peace of mind that they’re protected if they were ever unable to work for a period due to illness or injury.

Shepherds Friendly logo

Their income protection is seen to be excellent, rated 5 stars by expert rating site Defaqto.

However, does their income protection truly deliver on its promises and how does it compare to other options available on the market?

The advised team at Reassured can compare whole of market quotes for income protection to ensure you find the best deal.

Why not get in touch today with one of our friendly professionals today to protect your income?

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Shepherds Friendly income protection key points

  • 96.2% of income protection claims made to Shepherds Friendly have been paid out[1]
  • Up to 70% of your monthly income could be covered up, to a maximum of £33,600 per year
  • Provides extended coverage, enabling you to make claims until the age of 70 (if you select this as your policy cease age)
  • Premiums from Shepherds Friendly aren’t increased based on lifestyle or health conditions
  • 5 star Defaqto rating for income protection
  • Cover is available to those aged 16 - 60 (although cover is only available to those 18+ through Reassured)

Who are Shepherds Friendly?

Shepherds Friendly was established on Christmas day 1826. Based in Cheshire and a mutual society company, Shepherds Friendly have no shareholders.

Their profits are reinvested back into the business to enhance the services they provide, operating for the benefit of its members.

Their initial goal was to offer financial protection to members who couldn't work because of illness or injury and 200 years later they are still protecting incomes, as well as offering other financial products; life insurance, ISAs and investments.

Shepherds friendly reviews

Shepherds Friendly income protection is rated highly overall with 5 stars on expert rating sight, Defaqto.

By evaluating expert ratings and customer reviews, you can determine whether a company is trustworthy and if their product is of good quality.

Below is a table showing both customer and expert reviews about Shepherds Friendly:

Review siteProductScore
5 star defaqto rating Income protection5 stars
Trustpilot logo All products4.3
‘Excellent’
Reviews.io logo All products4.6
Smartmoneypeople Income protection4.33

(Correct as of 29/04/24)

Certain review platforms may choose not to evaluate specific products, focusing on only the insurance company as a whole instead.

This can limit the scope of information available to consumers seeking detailed product reviews.

Why not check out this Shepherds Friendly life insurance review written by Reassured.

Reassured is rated ‘Excellent’ with over 75,000 reviews on Trustpilot.

What is income protection?

Income protection is a form of cover that pays out if you were to have an injury or illness that temporarily prevents you from working.

Insurers could pay out up to 70% of your usual income. Typically, up to a maximum annual cap (for example, with Shepherds Friendly this is £33,600 per year).

You’ll receive monthly (tax-free) payments that can help with essential costs that your usual income would have covered, relieving you of financial stress whilst you recover.

There are different types of policy available, which can be catered to your personal circumstances and budget.

Reassured can help you explore your options through our whole of market comparison.

Protect your income from just 20p-a-day through Reassured ‡ .

Get Fee-Free Income Protection Quotes »

What can Shepherds Friendly income protection cover?

Shepherds friendly income protection can help you stay afloat when you’re unable to work, by helping you with:

  • Mortgage / rent payments
  • Living costs (bills, food shop, etc)
  • Childcare costs
  • Additional healthcare fees

Please note, you must be incapacitated for longer than your deferred period in order for your payments to commence.

Get in touch today to protect your income and monthly expenses.

How much Shepherds Friendly income protection insurance do you need?

By simply entering the required fields into the calculator, you will be provided with the amount of Shepherds Friendly income protection you may require:

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£723 a month is the average monthly mortgage payment in the UK, with the average monthly rental price coming in at £700.

The majority of our monthly income will go towards rental or mortgage payments.

For this reason, it’s essential to have precautions in place to ensure you could keep up to date with your payments if you weren’t receiving your usual income.

Monthly income protection payments can help to cover this large expense and ensure you can stay in your home.
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According to the Money Advice Service, the average household spends £340 a month on household bills.

This includes electricity, gas, TV and broadband.
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Childcare costs are on the rise with it now costing £137.69 per week for part-time nursery for a child under the age of two.

That’s over £550 per month - is this an amount you’d be able to keep up with if you were unable to work?

Becoming ill could also result in the need for additional childcare while you attend doctors’ appointments or medical treatment.
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The average household in the UK spends around £97 a week on their food shop, totaling £388 a month.

While this may seem like a small amount in comparison to some of the other expenses mentioned, the food shop is often where we try to scrimp and save when we fall on hard times.

Income protection can take care of the cost of your weekly food shop, as well as many other essential costs.
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At the beginning of 2020, credit card debt in the UK was at £2.1 billion, with almost 27 million UK residents in some kind of debt.

Becoming unable to work could make it hard to keep up with credit card or loan payments (including car finance or other financed goods).

Failure to keep up with payments could result in additional interest being incurred or late fees issues - resulting in a higher total needing to be paid.
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The average spent on public transport each month comes to an average of £94.

This includes the cost of public transport, as well as petrol and diesel vehicles.

While this amount may reduce while you’re unable to work as you won’t need to commute there may be additional spending on public transportation if your illness or injury leaves you unable to drive.
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Your total cover estimate

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How much is Shepherds Friendly income protection?

Shepherds Friendly advertise on their website that income protection policies can start from £5.

Typically, the price you pay for income protection can be influenced by:

  • Age
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Your occupation / hobbies
  • Whether you smoke
  • Policy type
  • Policy length
  • Payment period length

However, Shepherds Friendly stand out as insurer by not increasing premiums due to health / lifestyle factors like most other insurers do. Instead, premiums are age-banded and will increase the older you become.

Below is an example table of how much Shepherds Friendly income protection could cost:

AgePrice per month
20£12.95
25£13.82
30£15.58
35£16.98
40£19.60
45£22.22
50£32.72

Quotes are based on a non-smoker, in good health, with an annual income of £30,000. Cover is until age 65, with a 2 year payment period and 6 month deferred period.

Shepherds Friendly income protection policy

Below are the income protection policy terms and conditions offered by Shepherds Friendly:

Maximum benefit amount70% gross tax income or £33,600 per year
Deferred period4, 8, 13, 26 or 52 weeks
Definition of incapacityOwn occupation
Maximum payment period- Full cover: pays out until your chosen retirement age, up to a maximum of age 70
- Limited term: pays out for a maximum of 1 - 2 years
Premium typeAge banded (premiums increase yearly on the anniversary of the plan)

Shepherds Friendly pay out rates

In 2022, Shepherds Friendly paid out 96.2% of their income protection claims[1].

Usually a good indicator to if an insurance company is actually any good, is by reviewing their annual pay out rates and if they are high.

Pay out rates vary between insurers as they have their own terms and conditions (criteria).

A common figure of insurers paying out claims in income protection is around 84.4%[2]. Therefore, proving that Shepherds Friendly are reliable and tick one of the boxes towards being an excellent insurer.

We can offer assistance in comparing quotes from providers with high pay out rates.

What is the Shepherds Friendly simplified application?

Shepherds Friendly offer a simply automated online application that only takes 10 minutes to complete.

This can make the process for advisers and customers easily accessible and hassle free (based on moratorium underwriting).

Please note this is an option for those who require short-term (one- to two-year) cover and when certain health and lifestyle conditions are met.

Shepherds Friendly additional benefits

Shepherds Friendly include enhanced benefits to all UK customers with an income protection policy open with them.

Partnering with Nuffield Health, Shepherds Friendly offer health and wellbeing support services for those with an income protection policy.

This includes:

As well as this, they also provide family support benefits. This includes:

  • Bereavement payment - If you die during the term of your plan your loved ones may be provided with a payment of £6,000 (instalments of £1,000 for six months or a £6,000 lump sum payment will be made to your estate if no surviving partner)
  • New child payment - Upon the birth or adoption of your child, you could be eligible for £250 into a Shepherds Friendly Junior ISA (must be after 45 weeks of having cover)

One or Two-Year Benefit option

You can choose the duration for when benefits will be paid, with the option to set it up to a maximum of one or two years for every claim.

Guaranteed Insurability Option

The option to increase your benefit amount (provided you remain within the maximum benefit threshold) if certain 'life events' like a mortgage increase, marriage, having children, or divorce occur, you won't need to fill out another full application form or provide new medical information.

Waiver premiums

When your claim is accepted, Shepherds Friendly won’t need to collect any premiums for the period commencing 4 weeks after the expiry of the waiting period until your claim ends.

House person benefit

If you become unemployed, you can still be eligible for the house persons benefit which is a capped pay out of 1,400 a month maximum for 12 months.

Career Break

You can apply to suspend cover and premium payments for 3-24 months, known as a ‘career’ break. In this time you won’t be able to make a claim.

Compare Shepherds Friendly income protection

The advised team at Reassured can compare Shepherds Friendly income protection with all other UK insurers with its whole of market comparison service.

Meaning, not only can you explore what other insurers have to offer compared to Shepherds Friendly, but you can also find the best deals.

All quotes are personalised, fee-free and with no-obligation, allowing you to explore the market and secure your perfect cover.

Our friendly professionals can assist you throughout the entire process, answering any questions or queries you may have regarding income protection.

So why not reach out today and start your journey to protecting your income?

Compare Income Protection Quotes »

Sources:

[1] https://www.shepherdsfriendly.co.uk/news/shepherds-friendly-claims-paid-2022/

[2] https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2023/5/protection-insurers-pay-out-6.85-billion-to-support-individuals-and-families/

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