Why worry about income protection from early on?

As a leading income protection provider to the dental profession, we know all too well of the challenges faced by colleagues who have not insured the investment they’ve made in their education and their ability to work and earn an income.

Yet, indicative figures from a recent event we sponsored showed understanding of income protection is still low amongst young dental professionals. From those answering a survey at our stand at the Fast Tracking Your Future Live event held in London on 14 June 2025, just under half said they did ‘not feel confident at all’ in what income protection covers. More than a third said ‘I’m not sure’ on how they would cover their expenses if they couldn’t work due to ill health¹.

“We had many questions at the event from young dental professionals who knew it was important to plan their finances, yet many had not considered how they would protect themselves if they couldn’t work due to ill health or were not fully sure of what income protection covers,” said Alexandra Fisk, Head of Member Services at Dentists’ Provident.

What income protection insurance is

Your income is your life’s financial foundation – it pays for everything you need and enjoy. Unlike many professions, dentists often become self-employed early on, with all the risks this incurs. If you’re a private dentist, you are likely to see a major reduction in earnings if you fall ill. If you do not receive an income, how long would it be before you’d run out of money?

An income protection policy will provide a safety net should you be off work through illness or injury. It helps you maintain your lifestyle without depleting your savings, relying on your family or the welfare state for financial support, by giving you a regular benefit to help replace the income you lose. Income protection insurance helps you rest easier knowing you have an important safeguard in place – if the worst should happen and an illness or injury means giving up on your career of choice and starting all over again.

Why take it out young?

There are many benefits of taking out a policy while young. How many of us think about bike insurance after the bike is stolen or mobile phone cover after cracking the screen? It goes without saying that life will take a toll on your health, so the younger you are when you take out your income protection insurance, the less likely you are to have already developed a health condition that may impact your ability to get cover in the future.

What our claims tell us

In 2024 our youngest claimant was 27 years old. Often the claims in young professionals are as a result of a sporting or holidaying injury. In fact, nearly a quarter (23%) of claims last year for those under 35 were due to accidents.

For example, in 2024 a young dentist suffered a fracture as a result of a cycling accident, and was unable to work for three months. Our income protection plan supported them during the initial recovery and throughout their rehabilitation period until they were able to resume their full-time responsibilities.

As you are just starting out in your career you may not have had time to build up sufficient savings to see you through a period where you have no income. This means that a couple of weeks off with the ‘flu could have a big impact on your finances that month. In fact, 6% of our claims in 2024 was for infectious diseases.

Plan for the unexpected

Having income protection in place is the best way to maintain your financial independence and avoid having to curtail your expenditure.

Looking after your physical and mental wellbeing could mean you never need to call on these services for your whole career.

However, life is never that predictable, so take the time to step back and think about your future.

References

1. Dentists’ Provident own questionnaire, Fast Tracking Your Future Live event, 14 June 2025, 29 responses