Hands, wrists and a lot of screen time
Writing code is about as safe as jobs get. Your tools are a keyboard, a mouse and a monitor. Over years, those tools can still cause trouble. Repetitive strain in the wrists and forearms, a stiff neck from a laptop on the sofa and headaches from long sessions are common complaints in the industry.
Mental health matters just as much. Release pressure, on-call rotas and the habit of working into the evening can lead to burnout. If any of these keeps you away from your desk for months, income protection pays a regular sum so the rent and bills keep getting paid.
Start-up, scale-up or big tech
Benefits vary hugely across tech. A large employer might offer months of full sick pay, group income protection and death in service. An early-stage start-up may offer the legal minimum and equity that cannot pay a mortgage. Many developers move between the two every few years.
Personal cover follows you from job to job, which suits a career with frequent moves. Set the deferred period to the sick pay you can rely on, and review it when your benefits change. If you go freelance or start contracting, our IT contractor page covers that set-up.
- Check sick pay length in each new contract
- Remember group cover ends when you leave
- Review your benefit if your salary jumps
Risk groups and the definition of incapacity
Insurers divide occupations into classes. Developers usually sit among the lower-risk classes, which keeps premiums down and makes an own occupation definition easy to get. That means a claim depends on whether you can do your job as a developer.
Read the policy wording for how the insurer treats a partial return to work. A phased return after a wrist injury or a period of burnout is common, and some policies pay a reduced benefit while your hours build back up.
Equity, options and a salary that jumps
Tech pay can rise quickly with a promotion or a move. Insurers base the benefit on earnings, so increase your cover when your salary does, and ask whether your policy has an option to raise the benefit without new medical questions.
Share options and equity rarely count as income for income protection. They might be valuable one day, but they will not pay your bills during a long absence.
Life cover and how Hi Tomorrow helps
Tech salaries often support a large mortgage. Life insurance can clear that debt or replace income for a partner and children, and a trust can get the money to them without waiting for probate. Death in service, if you have it, is a bonus rather than a plan.
We explain options in straightforward terms, compare policies across the insurers on our panel and help you describe any past back, wrist or mental health problems accurately. You can start online at any time and talk to our UK team in office hours.