There is no doubt that starting or running a business is hard work. It often involves very long hours and a large amount of stress. Naturally, the combination of long-hours and stress can have a large impact on the human body.

Stress can frequently result in any number of medical conditions, from high blood pressure resulting in heart attack to mental health issues. Long-hours spent working in manual work or in front of a computer screen can also result in any number of medical conditions, including back, joint and muscle trouble.

No matter what the medical condition suffered, any time taken off work could have very severe financial consequences for the self-employed, not only for the finances of the business but also for the personal finances of the business owner.

The self-employed often face a much larger financial exposure to illness or injury than most. After all, the self-employed have bills and debt repayments to make like most people but they also have debt repayments and bills to pay for their business also. For example, a business owner may have a mortgage loan to service both for their home and their business premises.

By allowing the self-employed to insure up to 65 per cent of their gross salary and dividends, income protection provides an extremely valuable form of financial protection. This type of insurance has the potential to payout a monthly benefit each and every month until planned retirement should the plan-holder be unable to return to work due to sickness or injury. Practically every medical condition that prevents the plan-holder from working is covered under an income protection plan, even stress and back trouble.

The funds from this type of plan can be used however the plan-holder sees fit, whether that is to service business or personal loans and bills. Many self-employed individuals also value income protection cover as it could potentially provide a source of funds for which to pay a replacement should they have to take time off work, which is an added benefit for the self-employed over the employed who take out this cover.