These insurance policies are agreements to pay out a fixed amount per month in the event of you not being able to work due to illness, or accident, or both.

• Benefit Period
Generally the benefit period is from 2 years all the way to age 65, however some policies are rather different offering to age 70. The cost of the policy premiums reduces greatly the shorter the benefit period.
• Waiting Period
Waiting period is a little like the excess on motor insurance, it is basically the number of days you need to be off work before you can claim, and is generally between 14 days and 2 years. The longer the benefit period the lower the cost of the insurance. For example changing the benefit period from 14 days to 30 days can almost halve the cost.

It is basically the same as Income Protection, however the term is frequently used for income insurance provided within superannuation funds, and tends to have more limited defenitions, frequently only has a 2 year benefit period, and only the superannuation fund can obtain the tax deduction for the premiums.

It is however a simply and cash flow effective method of obtain income insurance.
Income | Life | Trauma | TPD Insurance