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You’re an accountant.
You don’t get paid if you don’t work.
Whether you’re running your own practice or working in a firm, your income depends on you showing up, thinking clearly, and getting through the workload.
If illness knocks you out for a few months, there’s no backlog bonus waiting for you.
Your income just stops, and that’s the gap income protection is designed to fill.
You’re not climbing scaffolding, but your job still depends heavily on you being well enough to sit at your desk.
Most claims for accountants aren’t dramatic accidents. They’re things like stress, burnout, back issues, or conditions that make it hard to sit, focus, or work long hours.
And if you can’t do those things, you can’t do your job.
Income protection pays you a monthly replacement income (up to 75% of your gross earnings) if you can’t work due to illness or injury.
It keeps the bills paid, the mortgage covered, and the pressure off while you recover.
You probably already know this, but it’s worth spelling out.
Income protection is one of the few personal insurance policies that qualifies for tax relief.
If your premium is €100 per month and you’re paying tax at 40%, the real cost to you is €60.
That’s a small monthly price to protect your income.
David runs his own practice. Like most self-employed people, he had no sick pay.
In 2023, he developed a painful back issue and couldn’t sit for more than 10 minutes
He had income protection with a 4-week waiting period.
After 4 weeks off work, he had a valid claim, but it took about 7 weeks before payments started because of paperwork delays.
If it looks like you’ll be out of work for a while, start the claim early. The admin can take time.
He ended up out of work for nearly 9 months. His policy paid €3,000 per month and kept everything ticking over.
I spend all day telling clients to limit risk. This policy saved me. I’d have been in serious trouble without it.
Accountants are seen as low risk, so you’ll usually fall into the cheapest occupation class.
That said, the price and terms can still vary quite a bit depending on the insurer.
We’ll show you quotes from all insurers in Ireland.
Same idea, similar benefits, but different pricing.
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Not all insurers assess your application the same way.
Even with a low-risk job like accounting, things like stress, back pain, or time off work can be treated very differently depending on who you apply to first.
The order you apply in matters.
If you apply to the wrong insurer first, you might still get cover, but not on the best terms available.
That’s why we check the market first and go to the right insurer, rather than just applying and hoping for the best.
Example: Mark, age 40, self employed accountant earning €80,000, wants €4,000 per month cover with a 13-week waiting period.
Cost to the company: €140 per month
The company can claim tax relief.
No Benefit-in-Kind applies.
And he’s covered right up to age 70..
If he never claims, great.
If he does, it’s the best money his company will ever spend.
If you’re self-employed, you’re not eligible for state illness beenfit so you don’t have a safety net. If you’re not working, there’s no income coming in.
If you’re employed, check your sick pay. Most firms cover somewhere between 4 and 13 weeks.
We match your policy to kick in when your sick pay stops or when you feel things would get tight financially without an income.
In short: serious illness cover helps in a crisis. Income protection keeps your income going while you recover.
In reality, most accountants prioritise income protection first.
Not because serious illness cover isn’t useful, but because income protection covers far more situations.
It pays out for the things that actually stop people working – stress, back issues, and long-term conditions – not just a fixed list of illnesses.
Once that’s in place, some people then add serious illness cover on top.
But very few do it the other way around.
You look after your clients’ finances.
This is you doing the same for yourself.
Income protection is:
It’s not just about replacing income.
It can also support recovery, rehabilitation, and getting you back to work.
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Written by Nick McGowan, QFA RPA APA
Nick is a qualified financial advisor and founder of Lion.ie, a multi-agency Irish life insurance and income protection brokerage based in Tullamore.
He’s been helping people secure fair, transparent cover for over 15 years and was named Protection Broker of the Year 2022.
If you’d like straight answers without the sales pitch, learn more about Nick here.
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!
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