Risk and protection for medical professionals
Your ability to earn is almost certainly your most valuable financial asset. A doctor or pharmacist in mid-career may generate several million euro in income over their remaining working life. Yet many medical professionals carry insufficient protection against illness, injury, or death, the events that could interrupt or end that income entirely.
Why protection matters for you
A self-employed GP or pharmacy owner has no employer providing sick pay, group life cover, or income continuity during illness. If you cannot work, your income stops. Your practice overheads do not.
The gap between what the State provides and what you actually need is stark. Illness Benefit is currently capped at EUR 232 per week. For most medical professionals, that is a fraction of your monthly outgoings, let alone your lifestyle.
If a partner in a medical practice dies or becomes permanently incapacitated, the surviving partners need capital to buy out that partner's share without destabilising the business. And medical professionals who have built significant wealth through practice ownership, property, and investments face potential inheritance tax liabilities that can force the sale of family assets unless properly planned for.
Our protection services
Life cover
Life insurance provides a lump sum or regular income to your dependants in the event of your death. The right level of cover depends on your family circumstances, outstanding debts including practice loans, and the income your family would need to maintain their standard of living. We advise on term life cover, whole-of-life policies, and convertible options so your cover can evolve as your circumstances change.
Serious illness cover
Serious illness cover pays a tax-free lump sum on diagnosis of a specified condition such as cancer, heart attack, or stroke. For a self-employed medical professional, this lump sum can bridge the gap between falling ill and being able to return to work, covering practice overheads, locum costs, and personal expenses during recovery.
Income protection
Income protection insurance replaces a portion of your income (typically up to 75% of earnings) if you are unable to work due to illness or injury. For self-employed GPs and pharmacists, this is the most important piece of the protection puzzle. We would go as far as saying it should be the first policy any self-employed medical professional puts in place.
The tax treatment is favourable. Premiums paid by a self-employed individual are tax-deductible as an allowable expense against rental or trading income, which reduces the net cost of cover by your marginal tax rate. For a higher-rate taxpayer, the State is effectively subsidising roughly 40% of your premium cost. Benefits are taxed as income when received, but since your income during a claim period is likely to be lower, the effective tax rate on benefits may be reduced.
Section 72 life insurance
Section 72 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 allows you to take out a life insurance policy specifically to cover an anticipated inheritance tax (CAT) liability. The proceeds, provided the conditions are met, are exempt from CAT. They can be used to pay the tax bill without adding to it. For medical professionals who intend to pass a practice, property portfolio, or other significant assets to their children, a Section 72 policy means the next generation does not have to sell assets to meet a tax bill.
Business protection
Business protection covers the financial consequences of a business partner's death or serious illness. In a GP partnership or a pharmacy with multiple owners, the death of one partner creates an immediate need for capital: to buy out the deceased partner's share, to fund a replacement, or to restructure the business. Without insurance in place, the surviving partners may be forced to borrow, sell assets, or bring in an unwanted outside investor.
Key person insurance and shareholder or partnership protection policies ensure the business has resources to manage these transitions. The policies are typically written in trust so that proceeds are paid directly to the surviving partners or to the business, outside the deceased partner's estate.
Getting the right cover
Protection planning is not about buying every policy available. It is about identifying the specific risks that would have the greatest financial impact on you, your family, and your practice, then putting appropriate cover in place at a cost that is proportionate and sustainable.
We review your existing cover, identify gaps, and recommend solutions from across the market. As an independent intermediary, we are not tied to any single provider.
Contact us
To review your protection arrangements or discuss what cover is right for your situation, contact us at
