Income Protection - Occupational Changes
Some income protection providers require you to notify them of any changes in your occupation or substantially change your job duties.
The onus is on you to volunteer the information to your income protection provider and if you fail to disclose occupational changes, there is a risk that your income protection company may refuse to pay you out in the event of a claim.
However, the policy conditions should be checked thoroughly before informing your insurance company of any occupational changes, as some contracts do NOT require occupational changes to be notified.
For those income protection providers that do not require to be notified of any occupational changes, there may be a benefit in notifying them, however, there may be a benefit in NOT notifying them.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Lets say that when you took out your income protection cover, you were an office worker, with only clerical duties, and you were given the best possible 'own occupation' cover, meaning you would be paid an income if you were, due to accident or ill-health, unable to carry out the duties of your job.
You then decided to have a career change and become a steeple jack.
If your policy does NOT require you to notify your income protection provider, and if therefore did NOT choose to inform them, your policy would CONTINUE to provide you with 'own occupation' cover, at the same premium as before, but you would now be covered if you were unable to carry-out the duties of a steeple jack, which obviously carries a lot more risk.
If you DID notify the insurance company, they may be able to downgrade your cover.
This last point is so important that we recommend that you contact us for advice in the event of any occupational change. We will check your policy wording and confirm the best course of action.
