Keeping your PCV entitlement
Driving a bus or coach needs a passenger-carrying vehicle licence, and the DVLA sets stricter medical rules for it than for a car. Your doctor and the DVLA will look closely at heart conditions, diabetes, eyesight, sleep disorders and anything that could cause sudden loss of control.
If you fail to meet the standard, you may keep your car licence but lose the right to drive passengers. Your employer might find you other work in the depot, such as cleaning or engineering support, or they might not, and any alternative role may pay less than driving.
Shifts, timetables and the pressure of the job
Early starts, late finishes and split shifts make regular sleep hard. Add sitting for hours behind the wheel, tight timetables, traffic you cannot control and the occasional abusive passenger, and the job puts steady strain on both body and mind over a working life.
Common reasons for time off include back and shoulder pain from steering and seating, stress and anxiety, and injuries from assaults. Income protection can cover all of these, subject to the insurer's terms and the health questions you answer honestly when you apply.
What your employer already gives you
Many bus operators pay company sick pay that starts at full pay and steps down after a number of weeks or months, depending on your length of service. Some have group life cover or a pension scheme with a death benefit. Coach drivers at smaller firms may get statutory sick pay only.
Find your staff handbook or ask the depot office. Once you know the week your pay reduces, you can set your income protection to start then. Paying for cover that overlaps with full company sick pay wastes money, so getting this date right keeps the premium down.
- How long you get full pay, then half pay
- Whether there is a group life scheme or death in service benefit
- Whether your benefits stop if you leave or are medically retired
When the depot's death benefit falls short
If your operator offers a life benefit through a pension or group scheme, find out what it pays and when it stops. The amount is often linked to salary, so it may not reflect your mortgage or the number of children you have. It also ends if you leave.
A personal life policy can top that up or replace it. Choose a term that runs until your youngest child is independent or your mortgage is cleared. The cover then stays put whichever depot or operator you drive for, and it carries on if you leave the buses altogether.
Cover built by Hi Tomorrow around your depot benefits
We match your income protection to your company sick pay so there is no gap and no overlap. Insurers place bus driving in an occupation class that affects price and the claim definition, and we explain whether a policy would judge you against driving or against a wider range of work.
We can add life insurance that stays with you if you change operators or move into another line of work, unlike death in service. If you hold other cover already, we review it so you are not paying twice. Every policy depends on the insurer's underwriting and your honest answers.