The basic idea behind TPD
Life insurance pays when you die. TPD cover brings that payout forward to the point where a doctor confirms you will never be able to work again, or never manage daily life without help. Your family gets the money while you are alive and need it most, for adapting the house, clearing the mortgage or replacing your earnings.
On most plans the TPD payout uses up the cover. If the insurer pays a TPD claim, the life cover attached to it stops, because the same sum cannot be paid twice. Some policies let you keep a separate amount of life cover running, so read the terms before you assume the policy carries on.
Insurers want medical evidence that the condition is permanent. That usually means reports from your specialists and your GP, and sometimes an independent assessment arranged by the insurer. A TPD claim can take longer to settle than a life claim, because doctors may want to see how your condition responds to treatment before they call it permanent.
Three definitions, three very different policies
The words in the TPD definition decide when the insurer will pay. Two people with the same injury can get different outcomes because one holds an own occupation policy and the other has cover based on daily living tasks. When you compare quotes, compare the definition before you compare anything else.
Insurers tend to offer the more generous wording only to people in office or professional roles. Manual workers often find the only TPD option available to them uses the daily living test.
Your definition can also change during the policy. If you move from a desk role into hands-on work, ask whether your cover changes with it. A few policies switch to a stricter test if you stop paid work, for example to care for children, so check that clause before you plan a career break.
- Own occupation: you can never again do your own job
- Suited or any occupation: you can never again do any job that fits your skills and training
- Activities of daily living: you permanently cannot do a set number of tasks such as washing, dressing or feeding yourself without help
Where TPD fits with your other cover
TPD sits in a gap between critical illness cover and income protection. Critical illness pays on diagnosis of a listed condition, so a back injury or a long-term mental health condition might not count. TPD looks at what you can still do, not the name of the condition. Income protection replaces part of your pay monthly while you are off sick, even if you recover later.
For most working people, income protection does more of the heavy lifting because it pays for shorter absences too. TPD can still be a useful extra on top of mortgage cover, giving a lump sum to clear the debt if you are left permanently unable to work.
How Hi Tomorrow helps with TPD
We look at your job first, because it shapes which TPD wording you can get. Then we line up the definitions on offer from the insurers on our panel and explain, in plain words, what each one would mean if you got hurt. If income protection would serve you better, we will say so.
Our advice on personal protection costs you nothing, and the final decision on terms always rests with the insurer's underwriters. You get a clear recommendation and help filling in the application.