Income Protection

If you were to suffer a serious illness or injury then your career could be at risk. For expatriate pilots, this risk also extends to families through every aspect of expatriate life including housing, children's education, medical cover and even the ability to stay in Hong Kong. TopCover has been designed to provide a secure, stable monthly income to enable you to have sufficient time to deal with any medical condition and to plan for the future. Its primary aim is to provide you with time to deal with your situation, without financial distress. Personal Accident and Critical Illness benefits can also provide immediate cash lump sums, even when you are in the early stages of your disability and still employed by the company. By providing financial security, Members with TopCover are often able to return to flying - either with the company, or with a new employer in the future, once the medical problem has been resolved.

TopCover Income Protection provides up to US$15,000 a month in benefits. These benefits are paid for up to 60 months for any one claim for the same or related cause. Monthly benefits do not have to be paid consecutively. For example, if you recover from your illness and return to work, but after a period of time you are grounded again for the same or related medical condition, then the balance of any monthly benefits not yet paid remain available to you. Any new medical disability in the future would be eligible for the full 60 monthly benefits.

There is a Waiting Period of 150 days from the first day that you are unable to fly before any benefits are paid. TopCover is designed for serious medical conditions and not for short-term illnesses or injuries which should be managed using the company paid sick leave and medical insurance provisions.

Monthly benefits are paid until the earlier of:

  • all 60 monthly benefits have been paid
  • age 60
  • death
  • return to flying duty

The amount of benefit paid each month depends upon the actual loss of income you have suffered. The income you can insure is your entire gross income from your employment with the company and includes all salary, flight time and duty payments, and all allowances (housing, education, etc).

If you are still employed during your claim you will receive your full insured benefit, subject to a limit of 100% of your pre-disability gross income. This means that if you are still employed but receiving a lower monthly salary due to being grounded, TopCover can 'top you up' to a maximum of your full income.

If you leave the airline and subsequently return to regular employment, either as a pilot or in any other role, TopCover will continue to pay benefits in accordance with the Proportionate Benefit Formula as described in the policy. Basically, your new income will be supplemented by benefit payments in proportion to your actual loss of income and the percentage of your income that you had insured. You will always be financially better off working, than not working. In this way, TopCover provides a period of financial rehabilitation to enable you to re-start your career in another airline, or in any other occupation that you choose.

If you do not return to work following a disability then benefits will be paid until the benefit period is exhausted.

TopCover benefits are not affected in any way by the payment of the company Loss of Licence benefit.