For tradespeople
Income protection for tradies
Your income comes from your body and your hands. Income protection replaces most of it if an injury or illness stops you working on the tools.
Cover matched to your work. The right occupation rating. No jargon.
Your body is the business. Insure it like one.
A trade income comes from physical work. If an injury stops you on the tools, income protection keeps the money coming while you recover.
The tradie’s risk
Your income comes from your body holding up
Income protection replaces a large part of your income, usually up to about 70%, if illness or injury stops you working. For a tradie, that income comes from physical work, so a back injury, a knee, a shoulder or a serious illness can stop you earning even when someone in an office job could keep going. Income protection is what keeps the mortgage and the household running while you recover.
Why tradies need cover
What working on the tools changes
A trade income depends on your body holding up, and the work carries more injury risk than most desk jobs. If you cannot handle the tools, the income stops, but the bills do not. Income protection pays a monthly benefit while you cannot work in your occupation, so time off the tools does not become a financial crisis.
The risks that are specific to trades
- Hands-on, physical workYour income comes from your body and your hands, not a keyboard.
- Higher injury riskA back, a knee or a shoulder injury can stop you working when a desk job would carry on.
- Often no safety netMany tradies are self-employed, with no sick leave and no default cover in super.
- Real pressuresTrade work carries its own stresses, which is why mental as well as physical cover matters.
1 in 5
income protection claims relate to mental ill health
Trade work carries real pressures. Cover that recognises psychological as well as physical conditions is worth confirming, because mental ill health is behind a large share of claims across the industry.
Source: Council of Australian Life Insurers
How it works
Waiting and benefit periods
Income protection pays a monthly benefit, generally up to around 70% of your income, when you cannot work because of illness or injury. Two settings shape almost everything: the waiting period before payments start, and the benefit period they continue for. If you are self-employed with no sick leave, the waiting period is a real decision.
Reading the policy
How a policy assesses your occupation
Income protection policies assess your ability to work in different ways. Some assess whether you can work in the occupation you usually do; others assess whether you can work in any occupation you are suited to by training, education or experience. The definition a policy uses affects when a benefit is paid, so it is worth understanding which one applies. We read the definitions with you so you know what a policy would and would not do, based on your circumstances.
Where advice earns its keep
Occupation ratings: price and wording both matter
Insurers rate trades as higher risk than office work, which affects both price and terms. That makes two things worth understanding: the occupation category you are placed in, and how the policy defines your occupation, because the definition affects when a benefit is paid.
What it costs
There is no single price
Premiums depend on the levers below, including your trade and its risk rating. The Australian Government’s Moneysmart has a plain-English overview of how income protection is priced.
What shapes your premium
- Age and incomeThe income you are insuring and your age when cover starts.
- Waiting and benefit periodsA longer wait or a shorter benefit period lowers the premium.
- Trade and risk ratingInsurers rate trades as higher risk, which affects both price and terms.
- Health and historyYour medical history and how your work is assessed.
If illness or injury stops you working, the income stops. That is exactly what this cover is for.
Moshe Chaiton, Director & Principal Adviser
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Can tradies get income protection?
Yes. Income protection is available to tradies, including the self-employed. Trades are rated as higher risk than office work, so the occupation category and the policy wording matter, which is why advice is worth getting from the start.
Does income protection cover a tradie for an injury?
Income protection responds to illness or injury that stops you working in your occupation, which includes injuries that stop you doing your trade. How a specific injury is assessed depends on the policy definition and any exclusions, so check the wording for your cover.
Is income protection tax deductible for tradies?
Premiums for income protection held outside super are generally tax deductible, because the benefit is treated as replacement income. Cover held inside super is treated differently. Tax depends on your situation, so confirm with your accountant.
Do I need income protection if I already have TPD?
They do different jobs. Income protection pays a monthly benefit while you cannot work; TPD pays a lump sum if a condition is permanent. Many tradies hold both so a temporary injury and a permanent one are each covered.
What waiting period should a tradie choose?
That depends on how long your savings could realistically cover you, especially if you are self-employed with no sick leave. A longer waiting period lowers the premium but means longer before payments begin.
Related cover
The cover tradies arrange alongside
For tradespeople
Protect the income your hands earn
A no-obligation chat with an adviser who gets your occupation rating right, reads the policy definitions, and sets the waiting and benefit periods around life on the tools.