Aviva Income Protection: Cover, Costs & Claims Explained
Aviva’s personal policy is called Income Protection+. It pays up to 65% of your first £60,000 of earnings each month if illness or injury stops you doing your own job, after a waiting period you choose from 4 to 104 weeks. Aviva says it accepted 90% of individual income protection claims in 2025. This guide covers what it pays, what is included, example prices, Aviva’s group and NHS options, and how to claim or cancel.
Quick Answer
Aviva Income Protection+ replaces part of your income if you cannot do your own job because of illness or injury. You choose how much (up to 65% of the first £60,000 you earn plus 45% above that), how long to wait before it pays, and whether it pays until the end of the policy or for up to 24 months per claim. It includes extras such as a hospital benefit, a trauma benefit and Aviva’s DigiCare+ health support app.
Is it good value? Aviva is one of the UK’s largest protection insurers, with an own-occupation definition and a 90% acceptance rate on individual income protection claims in 2025. Whether it is the cheapest for you depends on your age, job and health, so it is worth comparing against other insurers. For how income protection works in general, see our income protection insurance guide.
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Key Features at a Glance
From Aviva’s Income Protection+ policy summary (version 10/2024):
| Feature | Aviva Income Protection+ |
|---|---|
| Maximum benefit | 65% of the first £60,000 of earnings plus 45% above, up to £240,000 a year (£20,000 a month) |
| Deferred periods | 4, 8, 13, 26, 52 or 104 weeks; dual deferred periods available |
| How long it pays | Full cover to the end of the term, or limited to 24 months per claim |
| Entry age | 18 to 59 |
| Policy end age | Between 50 and your 71st birthday |
| Premiums | Guaranteed, or reviewable every five years |
| Waiver of premium | Included, after 13 weeks or the end of the deferred period |
| Cooling-off period | 30 days |
How Much Aviva Pays
Aviva caps the benefit at 65% of the first £60,000 you earn, plus 45% of anything above £60,000, up to £240,000 a year. The cap stops people being better off ill than working. Some examples of the maximum:
- Earning £30,000: up to £19,500 a year, about £1,625 a month
- Earning £40,000: up to £26,000 a year, about £2,167 a month
- Earning £80,000: up to £48,000 a year (£39,000 plus £9,000), about £4,000 a month
You can choose less than the maximum to keep the price down. Many people cover their essential outgoings, such as the mortgage and bills, rather than their full income. Limited payment term policies pay for up to 24 months per claim and are cheaper; after a claim you need to be back at work for six months before claiming again. Full cover keeps paying for as long as you cannot work, up to the end of the policy.
The deferred period is the other big lever: the longer you wait, the cheaper it is. Many employees match it to when their sick pay ends. From April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 a week at most, for up to 28 weeks, so check what your employer actually pays.
Own Occupation: When You Can Claim
The definition of incapacity is the most important part of any income protection policy. Aviva’s policy conditions define it as the inability, caused by illness or injury, to perform the duties of each and every occupation you have been following in the 12 months before the illness or injury. In practice this is an own occupation definition: you are assessed against your own job, not any job you could do.
“Duties” means the main tasks that are a significant part of your job; commuting does not count. Occupations of less than 10 hours a week are ignored. Own-occupation cover is the most generous definition and, as MoneyHelper explains, the easiest type to claim on. Cheaper “suited” or “any occupation” definitions are stricter.
What Is Included, and Optional Extras
Included at no extra cost, according to Aviva’s policy summary:
- Waiver of premium: you stop paying premiums while claiming.
- Back-to-work benefit: a reduced benefit if you return on lower earnings.
- Hospital benefit: £100 a night in hospital, up to 90 nights.
- Trauma benefit: six times your monthly benefit, up to £40,000, for specified serious injuries.
- Life change benefit: increase your cover at certain life events without new medical questions.
- DigiCare+: Aviva’s health app. Drewberry lists a 24/7 nurse helpline, mental health support sessions, physiotherapy access, annual health checks and nutrition consultations; a digital GP service costs extra.
Optional extras for an additional premium: fracture cover for 18 specified fractures, and global treatment, with a lifetime limit of up to £2 million per person.
What Aviva Income Protection Costs
Drewberry published these example Aviva premiums in October 2025 for £1,250 a month of benefit, a 4-week deferred period, an office-based job, non-smoker, with no pre-existing conditions:
| Age | Monthly premium |
|---|---|
| 30 | £24.55 |
| 40 | £36.77 |
| 50 | £58.48 |
These are illustrations, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, job, health, smoking, the benefit amount, the deferred period and whether you choose full or limited cover. A longer deferred period or a limited payment term can cut the price substantially. Because insurers price different jobs and health histories differently, Aviva will be the cheapest for some people and not others, so comparing quotes matters. For how Aviva compares on life cover, see Aviva life insurance reviews and Vitality vs Aviva.
Aviva Claims Record
Aviva publishes claims figures every year. For 2025, it says:
- It paid £1.99 billion across 61,632 individual and group protection claims, accepting 96.9% of all claims.
- For individual income protection, it paid just over £63.5 million to around 4,100 new and existing claimants, and accepted 90% of claims.
- The most common causes of individual income protection claims were musculoskeletal conditions, followed by mental health and cancer.
Across the whole industry, the ABI reports that 79% of income protection claims were paid in 2025, individual and group combined. The most common reason claims fail across insurers is information not disclosed on the application, so answering the medical and lifestyle questions fully is the best protection.
Options for NHS Staff and the Self-Employed
NHS staff: NHS sick pay can run for up to six months on full pay and six months on half pay, depending on length of service. Drewberry notes that Aviva offers a special deferred period option for doctors, surgeons, nurses and midwives, so part of the benefit starts when sick pay drops to half, and the full benefit when it stops. This avoids paying for cover you do not need in the first months.
Self-employed: there is no sick pay at all, so a short deferred period often matters more. Insurers generally assess self-employed earnings differently from salaries, so check how Aviva will calculate yours before choosing a benefit amount. See self-employed income protection and protection for the self-employed.
Aviva Group Income Protection
Many people searching for Aviva income protection have it through their employer. Aviva is a major provider of group income protection, which employers buy to pay staff a proportion of their salary during long-term sickness. In 2025, Aviva says it paid more than £146 million in group income protection benefits to around 6,500 claimants; cancer was the most common reason for a claim (26%), followed by mental health (18%).
If you have group cover, your employer’s HR team holds the policy details and usually starts the claim. Group cover ends when you leave the job, which is one reason some people also hold a personal policy. Our group income protection guide explains how it works for employers and staff.
How to Claim or Cancel
- Claim early. Aviva’s policy conditions say to contact them as soon as possible after you become unable to work, and before the incapacity has lasted eight weeks or your deferred period ends, whichever is sooner.
- Have ready: your policy number, details of your job and earnings, and your GP or specialist’s details.
- Cancel within 30 days for a full refund. After that you can cancel at any time, but premiums are not refunded. Before cancelling, check whether you could reduce the benefit or lengthen the deferred period instead, and make sure any replacement is in place first. Our guide to cancelling Aviva policies covers the process.
- Redundancy: income protection pays for illness, not job loss, but Aviva will still pay if you become incapacitated within three months of redundancy. See income protection and redundancy.
Other Aviva cover: Aviva life and critical illness cover, Aviva mortgage life insurance and Aviva whole of life. Aviva health insurance is a different product that pays for private treatment rather than your income; see Aviva health insurance cover. For how income protection compares with critical illness and life insurance, see life vs critical illness vs income protection, and for other insurers, the best life insurance companies.
FAQs: Aviva Income Protection (2026)
What does Aviva income protection cover?
Aviva’s personal policy, Income Protection+, pays a monthly benefit if illness or injury stops you doing your own job, once your chosen deferred period has passed. Its policy conditions define incapacity as being unable, because of illness or injury, to perform the duties of each and every occupation you have followed in the 12 months before. It is not limited to a list of conditions, so musculoskeletal problems, mental health conditions and cancer, which Aviva says were the most common causes of individual claims in 2025, can all be covered. Several extras are included at no extra cost, such as a hospital benefit of £100 a night, a trauma benefit and a back-to-work benefit if you return on lower earnings. Anything you had before applying may be excluded depending on your answers to the medical questions.
How much income protection can I get from Aviva?
According to Aviva’s policy summary, the maximum benefit is 65% of the first £60,000 of your earnings plus 45% of earnings above £60,000, capped at £240,000 a year (£20,000 a month). For someone earning £40,000 a year, that works out at up to £26,000 a year, or about £2,167 a month. You can choose less. The benefit is paid monthly after the deferred period you choose: 4, 8, 13, 26, 52 or 104 weeks.
Does Aviva income protection cover redundancy?
Income protection is not redundancy insurance: it pays when illness or injury stops you working, not because you lose your job. However, Aviva’s policy summary says that if you become incapacitated within three months of being made redundant, you can still claim the main benefit. Aviva’s life change benefit also lets you increase cover at certain life events without new medical questions. For cover that pays if you lose your job, look at short-term accident, sickness and unemployment policies, which are a different product.
How do I cancel or claim on Aviva income protection?
You have 30 days to cancel after the policy starts, or after you receive your documents if later, and get a full refund of premiums. After that you can cancel at any time by contacting Aviva, but premiums are not refunded and cover ends. To claim, Aviva’s policy conditions say you must contact them as soon as possible after you become unable to work, and before the incapacity has lasted eight weeks or your deferred period ends, whichever is sooner, so it is worth calling early even if you expect to be back at work. Use the contact details in your policy documents or the Aviva website.
Important Information
This 2026 guide is independent general information, not financial advice. Policy details are taken from Aviva’s Income Protection+ policy summary (AL52001, 10/2024) and policy conditions, and claims figures from Aviva’s 2025 claims announcement and the ABI; these can change, so always check the current key features and policy wording before buying. Example premiums were published by a third party and are illustrations, not quotes. A regulated financial adviser can recommend cover for your circumstances. Going Private UK is not affiliated with Aviva or any insurer named. If you compare quotes through this site, we may receive a commission from our FCA-regulated partners at no cost to you; this does not influence our guides.
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