LV= has released two new income protection products, one designed for workers, the other designed for small businesses.

The first product, Mortgage and Rent cover, is aimed at workers who have a variable income may not be able to prove their earnings easily, requires no evidence of minimum hours worked or proof of income for applications or claims.

It covers mortgage or rental payments on main residences of up to £2,000 a month.

The second product, Executive Income Protection, is aimed at small businesses that cannot access group protection.

Employers will be able to make a claim for the sick pay of an employee or is too sick or injured to work. LV= will cover 80% of earnings up to £300,000 a year for level cover and £225,000 for inflation-linked cover.

Additional cover can be taken out if required, and it some cases the policy can be transferred to a new employee if the original leaves the business.

LV= protection director Debbie Kennedy says: “As an industry we are good at tinkering with our core products and adding feature after feature, but there are times when the right thing to do is to start fresh and design new products to meet a specific target market.

“Advisers have a great opportunity to proactively connect with customers at the point when they are taking on long term financial commitments such as a mortgage or rental contract.

“Communicating the value of insurance and providing protection solutions at the right time in those discussions is essential.”

And Protection Guru product specialist Robert Harvey adds: “With most income protection insurance plans financially assessing claims based on the claimants earnings over the prior year, workers with variable incomes such as the self-employed and those in the ‘gig economy’, may find traditional plans unsuitable.

“The simplified nature of mortgage and rent cover should make it an attractive solution for clients looking for budget, lower-cost option.”