Table of Contents
If you’re a doctor, you know income protection is important.
The issue isn’t awareness – it’s finding the time to figure out what actually makes sense.
So here’s the simple version.
You don’t need five policies or anything complicated.
In practice, most GPs do one of three things:
The right option depends on your income, your health, and how flexible you want your cover to be.
There’s a limit that applies across the board.
The total amount you can insure, including State Illness Benefit and any policies you have, is capped at 75% of your gross income.
So this isn’t about stacking policies on top of each other.
It’s about getting the right mix within that limit.
This is the part most people don’t realise until it’s too late.
The IMO scheme is well known, so a lot of doctors default to it.
But it’s not the only option.
You can set up income protection through a number of insurers, and each one assesses applications differently.
Sticking with a single route can limit what’s available to you.
The IMO scheme uses reviewable premiums.
That means they can go up over time based on claims experience and pricing changes.
With a private policy, you can choose guaranteed premiums that stay the same from day one.
If you’ve ongoing symptoms, investigations or referrals, insurers will usually postpone cover.
And if you apply to the wrong insurer first and get a loading or exclusion, that decision can follow you and affect what other insurers offer.
Timing and order matter more than most people realise.
The IMO scheme is one of the better group income protection options available.
But it’s built around a single insurer and a fixed structure.
That means:
For many doctors, it works well as a base level of cover — but not always as a complete solution.
The IMO scheme isn’t something we arrange directly. Our advice is based on the five insurers available through brokers in Ireland, but we’ll help you compare everything properly before you decide.
Here’s a real-world example to give you a feel for cost:
Quote Type: Income Protection
First Person: Non-Smoker, born on 21/04/1993
Cover Amount: €99,812 per year until age 65.
Occupation Class: Doctor (Class 1)
Deferred Period: 26 weeks
You pay the full premium upfront, but you can claim tax relief at 40% in your annual return.
After tax relief, the actual cost is significantly lower than the headline figure.
The IMO scheme can look cheaper initially, but it’s worth factoring in membership costs and the fact that premiums are reviewable.
If you’re short on time, this is the simplest way to approach it:
That’s it.
Get the structure right early and it’s something you rarely have to think about again.
If you want help getting this right, there are two options:
We’ll look at your situation, check all five insurers, and make sure you don’t close off better options by applying in the wrong order.
As Ireland's leading life insurance broker, we specialise in comparing the rates and policies from the top five Irish life insurance providers and offering the very best value quotes to suit the individual needs of our clients. Our expertise lies in finding a suitable insurance plan for those with specific needs, be it a particular illness, occupation or claim history, we've got you covered in every sense!
Watch our video
