What your force already provides
Police officers are not employees in the usual sense, but they do receive sick pay under police regulations. Officers usually get full pay for a period, then reduced pay, with the details set by the regulations and your force's decisions. The police pension scheme also includes a death in service benefit and may pay an ill-health pension if you are medically retired.
These benefits are good compared with many jobs. Their limits matter, though. Pay reduces after a long absence, and the scheme only protects you while you serve. If you resign, transfer to a civilian role or retire early, the cover changes.
A job that tests body and mind
Officers face assaults, vehicle pursuits, foot chases and violent arrests. Injuries to knees, shoulders and backs are common, and some are serious enough to keep an officer off for months. Shift work and night duties take their own toll on sleep, diet and long-term health.
The mental strain can be heavier still. Repeated exposure to traumatic scenes, high workloads and scrutiny can lead to stress, depression and post-traumatic stress. Personal income protection covers mental health conditions on the same basis as physical ones, subject to your medical history and the policy terms.
- Assaults and injuries during arrests
- Road traffic collisions on response driving
- Post-traumatic stress and burnout
- Effects of long-term shift work
Setting income protection to start when pay drops
Because your full pay lasts for a while, you do not need income protection to start after four weeks. Many officers choose a long deferred period that begins when their pay would reduce. That keeps the premium lower while still protecting you through a long illness.
Some officers join group schemes run by staff associations or federations. These can be useful, but read the small print. Check whether the cover continues if you leave the service, whether the price can rise each year, and whether it uses an own occupation definition.
If you are a special constable, your policing is voluntary and unpaid, so the insurer will look at your main job instead. Tell them about your special duties too, because they may ask about the risks involved.
Life cover that leaves the station with you
Police pension death benefits can be valuable, especially for spouses and children. But plenty of officers leave before retirement for other careers, and the death benefit goes with the job. Personal life insurance stays in place whatever you do next.
Sizing your own cover around your mortgage and your children's needs means your family's protection does not depend on whether you are still in uniform. You choose the amount and the term, and the policy carries on through a move to a civilian career or another force.
How Hi Tomorrow helps police officers
We help you understand when your police sick pay steps down, then set an income protection deferred period to match. Insurers group occupations into risk classes, and some ask about firearms, public order or undercover roles. We explain how each insurer would assess your role and whether the claim test is own occupation.
We can also arrange life insurance that sits alongside your pension benefits and write it in trust, so the money goes to the people you choose without waiting for probate. Every application goes through the insurer's own underwriting before terms are offered.