10-second summary
If your role doesn’t quite fit here, see our full guide to Income Protection by Job.
If you’re an engineer, you’re usually starting from a good place. Insurers generally see engineering as sensible, structured work which means income protection is normally available and competitively priced.
Where things go wrong isn’t whether you can get cover , it’s whether you end up paying too much.
I regularly see engineers pay more than they should, or end up with awkward exclusions, simply because their role wasn’t explained properly at the start. Same age. Same income. Very different outcomes.
We arrange income protection for engineers every week across software, IT, civil, electrical and hybrid roles.
That’s why this page exists. Not to explain how income protection works, but to help engineers avoid common traps before you ever get near an application form.
One thing worth clearing up early: insurers don’t treat “engineer” as a single occupation.
They break it into risk classes, and that classification drives the premium more than almost anything else.
In broad terms:
Most engineers land in Class 1 or Class 2, which is good news.
Problems usually crop up when a generic occupation is used, instead of properly explaining the role and securing the correct risk classification. Electrical and civil engineers are the most common examples.
Handled properly, two engineers can look very similar to an insurer.
Handled badly, they can be worlds apart.
This is one of those distinctions that sounds minor, but makes a real difference in practice.
If you’re an office-based engineer – software, IT, systems, design, CAD-focused roles – insurers usually treat you as low risk. These are the cleanest, best-priced income protection cases we deal with.
If you’re site-based, things get a bit more nuanced.
Civil engineers, project engineers and anyone spending regular time on construction sites are often rated slightly higher risk, but that doesn’t automatically mean expensive cover.
What matters is context:
A lot of engineers assume site work instantly puts them in a high-risk bracket. In reality, many don’t, as long as the insurer understands the role properly.
In Ireland, income protection is generally limited to 75% of your income.
If you’re a PAYE employee, insurers deduct the State Illness Benefit when calculating how much you can insure.
A simple example:
If you’re self-employed or a company director paying Class S PRSI, you can usually insure the full 75%, as there’s no state illness benefit to offset.
The deferred period is the waiting time before your policy starts paying out.
In practice, most engineers settle on one of two options:
Shorter deferred periods push premiums up quickly, and in many cases they’re unnecessary.
Matching the waiting period to your real-world sick pay is one of the easiest ways to keep costs sensible without weakening the policy.
This is usually the question people hesitate to ask.
The honest answer: cover is generally very well priced.
As a broad guide, we regularly see engineers insuring around €50,000 per year for a net cost (after tax relief) of €30–€60 per month.
That’s not a promise or a quote — it’s just what tends to happen when:
Anyone giving you an exact number without understanding those points first is guessing. And guessing tends to cost more in the long run.
These are the areas insurers usually focus on:
Having a medical history doesn’t automatically mean a refusal.
In many cases, insurers will offer cover with an exclusion linked to that condition.
The real risk comes from non-disclosure – it’s the single most common reason income protection claims fail, even years later.
We ask the right questions because we want your policy to be watertight. Income protection is all about the claim being paid in a timely manner without unnecessary stress. And that’s what you’re paying for.
Handled properly, underwriting shouldn’t feel adversarial. It should feel routine.
Price matters. But insurer choice matters more.
Different insurers take very different views on engineering roles, particularly electrical and site-based work.
Some are pragmatic. Others are not.
That’s why we don’t default to one insurer. The right fit depends on your duties, your work environment and your medical history. Getting that balance right at the start avoids expensive problems later.
The process itself is straightforward:
If a medical screening is needed, it’s arranged and paid for by the insurer.
When you’re ready to learn about your options, please complete this questionnaire.
Thanks for reading
Nick
Editor’s note: This page was first published in 2023 and refreshed in 2026 to reflect current income protection rules and insurer underwriting practices in Ireland.
Written by Nick McGowan, QFA RPA APA
Nick is a qualified financial advisor and founder of Lion.ie, an Irish life insurance and income protection brokerage based in Tullamore.
He’s been helping people get 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!
Watch our video
