Becky Price and Steph Gillespie are both BEVA member equine vets in practice who have benefitted from an income protection policy with PG Mutual. They tell us more about their experiences and why they would recommend income protection to every equine vet.
"I first came across income protection as a student whilst on EMS" said Steph, "one of the vets there had a wrist injury and was having trouble getting her job done and was stuck in a bit of a battle with her employer. She told me that no matter what I should make sure I had income protection and sure enough, since graduating four years ago I have been a loyal BEVA member and PG Mutual customer."
"My back just went and that was it"
"I signed up and paid for my cover but I really wasn't expecting to need it but back in April the perfect storm brewed. I injured my back at work, took a break to go on holiday where I didn't do much and then came back in the midst of foot abscess season so spent a lot of time bending down and the final nail in the coffin was taking a kick to the back from a youngster. My back just went and that was it."
"My practice's sick pay policy at the time was four weeks' full pay and then it moved to statutory and I truly believed I'd be back to work before that ended, but as it turned out I wasn't back for seven weeks. Statutory sick pay really is abysmal so it was a huge, huge relief that I had income protection. At the time I was working four days a week so didn't qualify for the maximum sick pay and was on about £100 a week which was slightly alarming as my rent alone was over £1000 a month at the time. Without income protection I'd have been in real financial trouble."
"Had I been off for much longer I do think I would have really struggled mentally"
"Putting in the claim was really straightforward and the money was in my account in less than a week which was a massive relief and a real burden off my mind. My injury actually co-incided with my partner going off for a 6 week exercise abroad with the army so I very suddenly went from being busy going out and about treating horses and coming home in the evening to him to finding myself unable to move easily stuck in the house with just the dog for company. I had amazing friends who checked in on me each day but had I been off for much longer I do think I would have really struggled mentally."
Whilst Steph obtained her injury at work, Becky's story began on a bank holiday Monday in 2023.
"Like all of us I didn't think I was going to have an accident, days go on and we have a very physical job but this was a riding accident" recalled Becky. "I had a really uneventful fall but it resulted in a nasty fracture-dislocation in my ankle. I naively thought I'd be up and about and back to work within 12 weeks but actually I've subsequently needed three surgeries so it's been tricky with our job being so physical. I'd got used to being independent in my job and earning a living so it was really difficult to get to a point where I couldn't do the job like I did before. I've been lucky to be in supportive teams and have a supportive family but from a financial perspective I was really lucky to have taken out income protection."
"Back as a new graduate I was given advice similarly to Steph and told to make sure I had income protection due to the nature of the job. So within three months of qualifying I was set up also not expecting to ever need it. Skip forward to last year and I was submitting my claim to PG Mutual and thankfully I had that security because if I didn't I'd have been in a bit of trouble. As much as everyone is supportive, financially there's only so much they can do - you have set sick pay and then statutory pay which as Steph says doesn't really cut the mustard with the cost of living."
"Skip forward to last year and I was submitting my claim to PG Mutual"
"Prior to putting in my claim I called PG Mutual to get some advice and they were super helpful. Submitting the claim was straightforward and my payment came through really quickly. I've had to claim on multiple occasions for the same injury and each time was just as easy as the first. PG Mutual upped my financial allowance as much as they could based on my policy and I was offered help with rehab both mentally and physically. We musn't forget that recovering from an injury does have an affect on your mental headspace. As equine vets we work hard and spend a lot of time on our own usually feel a bit invicible, so it was difficult to come to terms with not being able to do my job so well."
"So I'll now always recommend PG Mutual's income protection to new graduates and fellow colleagues. I think seeing me going through my rehab process has really brought it home to other members of my team."
Andy Elkington, CEO of PG Mutual explains more about income protection, why it's so important and how it differs from other types of insurance.
"Too many people are relying on the state safety net but it doesn't meet their needs"
"I'm so glad we were able to help Steph and Becky during what was quite a difficult time" said Andy. "Income protection is a long-term insurance product so when your employer's sick pay stops, PG Mutual will step in to pay up to 70% of your gross income until you're either able to go back to work or aged 65. Our longest ongoing claim at the moment is 29 years. People who fall ill, even for a relatively short time, quite quickly find the financial implications of their income stopping but their bills, mortgage, rent continuing really difficult."
"Statutory sick pay is the state safety net, it pays just over £116 a week for 28 weeks. After that time you would move onto employment and support allowance which is often even less than that and is means-tested. This means too many people are relying on the state safety net but it doesn't meet their needs. Employers do their best to look after their staff but there's only so much they can do. If your employees are off for sometimes years, it's not feasible for employers to support someone for that long."
"We go above and beyond to pay out"
"Whilst claiming on insurance is typically seen to be a slow process, we pride ourselves on being different. We're a "mutual" company so we're owned by our members and we're there to pay claims. We don't have shareholders, we don't have a profit target to meet and we're not trying to avoid paying a claim. Overall we pay out over 95% of our claims so we've got a really good record on that. We go above and beyond to pay out, we're a member-owned organisation so that's what we're about."
Reflecting on Steph and Becky's comments regarding their mental wellbeing, Andy talked more about the hollistic support PG Mutual offer its members. "We often see claimants suffering from cabin fever. We're really keen to help people rehabilitate and not just get back to work but get their lives back. We offer a virtual GP service so wherever you are you can access a free GP consultation through your phone or iPad, and that's for all members not just claimants. We are keen to support people before anything goes wrong.
"We strongly suggest that everyone takes out income protection as soon as possible, it's important and doesn't take long to do. A quote takes just a minute and you can apply online with help from our team if you need it. If there are pre-existing conditions you can talk to our underwriters to find a solution to make sure we can cover you. We focus on those in animal and human healthcare and try to make the process as easy and quick as possible."
You can find out more about income protection from PG Mutual and start your quote today.
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Listen to the full interview with Steph, Beck and Andy on the BEVApod channel.