Can I get Income Protection Before Starting a New Job?

Getting Income Protection Between Jobs

Changing jobs is one of the easiest ways to accidentally lose income protection.

It’s rarely deliberate. Most people assume their cover will just carry on, or that they’ll sort it once they’re settled into the new role.

That gap is where problems start.

This is what actually matters when you’re moving jobs and you want to keep your income protected.

Why job changes create risk

Most income protection policies are tied to your employment status.

If you leave a job, your employer-provided benefits usually stop with it. That includes group income protection and death-in-service cover.

If you haven’t arranged personal cover before you move, there’s often a window where you’re earning, but uninsured.

That’s the bit people don’t see coming.

Employer cover versus personal cover

Employer income protection is useful, but it has limits.

It only exists while you’re employed there.

Once you leave, it’s gone.

Personal income protection stays with you.

You control it.

You take it with you from job to job.

The mistake people make is relying on employer cover and assuming they can always replace it later. That’s not always true.

Timing matters more than people realise

If you apply for income protection while you’re healthy and fully employed, underwriting is usually straightforward.

If you apply after leaving a job, or after something medical crops up, it can be slower, more restricted, or not possible at all.

The safest time to review or set up cover is before you resign, not after.

What happens if you change into a riskier job

This catches people out in a different way.

Once you have a personal income protection policy in place, you do not have to tell the insurer if you change jobs later.

If you move from a lower-risk occupation to a higher-risk one, for example from an office-based role like an accountant to a manual role like a carpenter, the policy continues on the original terms.

You are automatically covered, even though the new job is riskier.

The insurer does not re-underwrite you just because you changed roles.

This cuts both ways.

• If you move into a safer job later, your premium doesn’t reduce. You would need to reapply to get a lower rate.
• If you move into a riskier job, the insurer doesn’t increase your premium.

That’s exactly why it often makes sense to take cover out while you’re still in a lower-risk occupation, especially if you can see yourself moving into something more physical in the future.

Once the policy is in place, it follows you.

What happens if you’re between jobs and get sick

Insurers require you to be in active employment for a standard income protection claim to be valid.

If you become ill or injured while you’re between jobs, a normal claim usually won’t be paid.

There is a limited fallback in some policies called Essential Activities Benefit.

This is a reduced form of income protection.

It is not automatic. If your employment status changes, you must tell the insurer and ask to be moved onto Essential Activities Benefit.

If accepted, it can pay up to €15,000 per year. The qualifying tests are very strict.

They are not about whether you can do your job. They are about basic functioning, such as whether you can walk, wash, or dress yourself.

It is designed for severe incapacity only.

It is not a substitute for proper income protection.

The main advantage of Essential Activities Benefit is that you can usually reinstate your cover at the original level and price within 12 months, without having to answer new medical questions.

What if your new job doesn’t offer income protection

Many roles offer higher pay but fewer benefits.

If your new employer only offers limited sick pay, or none at all, the risk shifts back onto you.

At that point, personal income protection is often the only thing standing between you and having no income if something goes wrong.

This is especially important if you’re moving into contract work, self-employment, or a probation-heavy role with no access to state illness benefit.

If you can’t work, your income can drop to zero.

Underlying medical conditions change the equation

If you have a medical history, the order you do things in matters even more.

You may already be fully covered under a group scheme in your current job. Replacing that cover personally may not be possible, or may come with exclusions.

Leaving first and checking later can close doors that were open before.

This is one of the most common and most avoidable mistakes we see.

The simple rule

Don’t resign first and sort insurance later.

Review what you have.

Check what you’re losing.

See what’s possible to replace.

Then decide.

It costs nothing to check your options while you’re still employed. It can cost a lot if you leave it too late.

What to do next

If you’re considering a job change and want to understand how it affects your income protection, the sensible step is to look at it before anything changes.

If you’d like help, you can complete our income protection questionnaire and we’ll take a look at your situation in confidence.

Best of luck with the move.

Thanks for reading

Nick

Editor’s note: First published September 2021. Fully rebuilt in 2026 to reflect current Irish income protection rules and how claims are actually assessed when changing jobs.