Scottish Widows Income Protection Plan

(formerly Black Horse Income Protection Plan).

What your plan does

This plan can pay you a monthly income if you’re unable to work due to an accident or illness, which can help give you peace of mind in a time of uncertainty.

Payments won’t start immediately; there’s a waiting period before we start to pay you - usually between 1 and 12 months. This is called the deferred period.

You’ll receive payments at a level that we agreed together, they’ll usually be a percentage of your salary and they’ll continue until:

  • you go back to work,
  • your plan reaches its end date, or
  • you die.

You’ll have to meet our definition of illnesses and accidents before we pay out. 

A flowchart illustrating the process of determining entitlement to payments after reporting an illness or accident. The steps are: 1. Let us know about your illness or accident. 2. Share the information we need. 3. We'll check if you're entitled to payments. If entitled, there is a waiting period of 1–12 months before payment begins. If not entitled, an explanation will be provided.

How your plan works

How your plan works

You make regular monthly payments called premiums, and your premiums cover the cost of providing your income protection insurance, including charges, with any remaining money invested into an investment fund.

You’ll find more information about our charges in your original policy documents, or contact us to ask for more information.

When you took out your plan, there were two options available:

Level benefit

The level of cover stays the same during the plan’s term.

We’ll review your premiums occasionally to check if the amount you’re paying is enough for the cover you have.

Increasing benefit

The level of cover increases each year by a set rate, for example 5%, or in line with the Retail Prices Index.

Your monthly payments will also go up each year if you chose this type of plan.

You can change your plan to a level one if you no longer want your cover and payments to increase each year. If you choose to do this, you can’t change it back at a later date.

Other benefits

The plan may also pay out money if you die.

You could receive a cash payment when your plan ends or if you give it up early, although this isn’t guaranteed.

Investment values can go down as well as up. Please call us for more information.  

This is a type of permanent health insurance. Unlike other health insurance, you can make repeat claims while you have the plan.

Policies are for a pre-agreed time, called a fixed term.

Normally, the plan expires when you’re between the ages of 55 and 65, often ending around the time you might retire. 

Key features and risks

The most important thing to understand is what your plan will pay you, if you’re unable to work and we accept your claim.

1) Your monthly payments would not start immediately, you’d have to wait between 1 and 12 months from the first day of your disability, depending on your plan. This is called the deferred period. You can check how long you’d have to wait for your first payment in your original plan documents.

2) The monthly amount we would pay is either your chosen cover amount OR a set percentage of your actual monthly salary (up to a certain limit) – whichever is lowest.

3) Once our payments start, they would continue until:

you go back to work,

your plan reaches its end date, or

you die.
 

Are you paying for the right amount of cover?

It's important to let us know if your salary, occupation or employment status changes, as it could mean that:

  • If you’re paying for a level of cover which is more than your monthly salary, we’ll pay you a percentage of your salary up to a maximum monetary limit. For example, if you are paying for cover of £1,500 per month, but you have a monthly salary of £1,000 at the time of claim, we’d only pay you a percentage of your monthly salary. In this example, you could have saved money by paying for less cover.

    A comparison between salary and cover amounts. On the left, a red bar labeled 'Salary £1,000 per month.' On the right, an orange bar labeled 'Cover £1,500 per month' with an upward arrow and the text 'Overpaying for this cover' above it. The bars are separated by a dotted horizontal line.

  • If the level of cover you’ve chosen is less than your monthly salary, you’ll only receive the amount of cover you’re paying for. For example, if you’re paying for cover of £1,000 per month, but your monthly salary is £1,500 at the time of claim, we’d only pay you a percentage of £1,000. In this example, you may not have enough cover and it’s important to review your level of cover.

    An image showing two vertical bars representing financial amounts. The bar on the left is labeled 'Salary' and is colored dark red, with a value of £1,500 per month. The bar on the right is labeled 'Cover' and is colored orange, with a value of £1,000 per month. A dotted horizontal line at the top of the 'Cover' bar indicates that it does not reach the same height as the 'Salary' bar. An arrow pointing downwards from this line to the top of the 'Cover' bar has text next to it stating 'Not enough cover.'

Remember

Remember

If your plan has a Level Benefit, your amount of cover won’t change while you have the plan, even if your salary has increased.
 

If your plan has Increasing Benefit, your amount of cover will automatically increase each year, even if your salary does not. In either case, the monthly payments we make to you, in the event of a successful claim, will be the lower of your chosen cover amount and a set percentage of your actual monthly salary at the point of claim (up to a certain monetary limit).

It's important to regularly review your cover level and whether it’s still suitable. Depending on your plan type, you may be able to reduce your level of cover and remove any future automatic annual increases. Please contact us if you want to change your level of cover.

Reviewing your plan

Check your current salary matches your level of cover. Do you have enough cover, or are you paying for cover you don’t need?

You’ll find details about your cover on your annual statement or original plan documents.

Contact us to make any changes.

Your options

It’s easy to make change to make sure you have the right amount of cover. You can:

  • Reduce your level of cover if your income or occupation changes
  • Increase your level of cover if your income or occupation changes
  • If you have a plan with Increasing Benefit, you can remove automatic annual increases to your cover
  • Leave your plan unchanged and review again next year

Contact us to make any changes.

We will also review your premiums every 5 years to check if the amount you pay remains enough for the cover you have. We’ll write to let you know the outcome of each review, and explain your options.

How to make a claim

If you need to contact us to make a claim, our specialist team are on hand to provide support and deal with your claim as smoothly as possible.

We’ll need to complete some checks before we can confirm if you’re entitled to payments.
 

Making a claim for ill health

Contact us

Contact us

You’ll find details about your plan on your annual statement or original plan documents.

If you have any questions, or need help, please get in touch.

Contact us