Redundancy Insurance, Income Protection, Accident and Sickness Insurance
Authorised and Regulated by
The Financial Services Authority
As a fully independent financial services company (authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority - number 227014), we could offer you a range of policies from all the leading providers and hope that you buy one. However we like to add some value by focusing on a policy which we believe is a good quality policy, that will do what you expect it to do.
We are keen to point out that we do not receive enhanced terms from these insurers for featuring their policy, nor are we compelled to sell the policies of any one company. This gives us the ability to instantly offer a different policy if we feel it is better than the one we are currently offering.
We therefore select what we consider to be the best all round policy available in each sector, using both quality and price criteria.
Our website aims to provide you with complete information on the policy, so that you can make an informed decision before you buy. It is not possible for us to offer an advice and recommendation service via a website, and your policy is purchased as a non-advised transaction. However we provide you with all the information that you need, and we are also available to answer your questions via the telephone or via email.
Redundancy Insurance | Unemployment Insurance | Payment Protection THE INCOME PROTECTION MARKET AND How it Works
Below is some general information on the income protection market and the key details of the policy we feature on our website to protect yourself against unemployment or accident and sickness.
These type of policies can usually be purchased as Accident and Sickness Insurance Only, Redundancy Insurance Only or combined Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance. Our featured policy allows you to do this, so that you are only paying for the features you require.
ACCIDENT SICKNESS AND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE - THE SIMPLE STUFF
This section aims to give you a good understanding of how most accident sickness and unemployment policies work.
While all policies will have their own terms and conditions, there are some generic conditions that most accident, sickness and unemployment policies adhere to. Our featured policy is explained in more detail in the "Comprehensive Information" section below. Please ensure you read the policy document for your specific policy before applying for cover.
An accident, sickness and unemployment policy will have the following features :
Feature
Example
The Insured Person
You
An Insurable Event
Redundancy
Sum Assured
£500 per month
Monthly Premium
£17
Qualifying Period
30 Days
Payment Term
12 Months
Voluntary Excess Period
Back to Day One
Exclusion Period
120 days
In this example, as long as you continue to pay the monthly premium (£17), you will become eligible to claim after the exclusion period has expired. Using the example data above; if you purchased the policy on 1st January then you become eligible to claim on 1st May. If you become aware that you are going to lose your job during the exclusion period, the policy will not pay out.
Once the exclusion period has expired, then if the insurable event occurs (i.e. you are made redundant) and the insurable event continues until the end of the qualifying period (i.e. you are unemployed for 30 days), then you will be eligible to claim. Once the policy has started to pay, it will continue to pay the sum assured (£500pm) for the payment term of the policy (12 months). The policy will stop paying you if you are able to go back to work, or the payment term expires.
All policies have a qualifying or waiting period which means that you need to be registered as unemployed for 30 days in order to make a claim. Each policy will also have a voluntary excess period, which is the length of time that you chose to go before the policy starts to pay out. So for example, with Back to Day One cover, you only need to be unemployed for the qualifying period (30 days) before the policy will start to pay out, and will pay you back to the first day of the claim. If you chose a 60 day excess (sometimes called a deferment period), you will need to be still without work after the qualifying period plus the excess (i.e. 90 days) before the policy will start to pay, and they will then pay you back to day 61 of your claim.
These policies are ideal for protecting your income against unemployment resulting from redundancy, or against accident and sickness. These policies do not normally require any medical underwriting, although pre-existing conditions may be excluded.
They have no predefined term and are renewable annually. Therefore all the while you continue to pay your monthly premiums, and you meet the insurer's eligibility criteria, then the policy will remain in force. These policies not pay out a lump sum. This means that if you have taken out a policy to protect your mortgage, it will not pay off your entire mortgage debt if you were to die or suffer a critical illness.
The insurer will normally put a level on the maximum amount a policy will pay out each month. The maximum level that you will be eligible for under the policy is usually determined by a percentage of your gross annual income. You will therefore need to prove your income in the event of a claim. For information on our featured policy limits see the Comprehensive Information below.
That’s the simple stuff.... for those of you who like more information, then there is a whole lot more detail below, as well as more details on our featured policy, or you can download the policy summary by clicking the link above.
ACCIDENT SICKNESS AND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE - COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION
We are not obliged to sell the policy of any particular company. We constantly review the policies we offer and can change them at any time.
12 Month Income Protection Policy - Core Conditions
On this website we feature an Income Protection policy which is linked directly to your income. Whilst it can be used to protect a mortgage, loan or other debt, the amount paid out will depend entirely upon your gross provable income. You therefore do not need to have a mortgage or pay rent in order to take out the policy.
It is possible to protect up to 50% of your gross earnings (before tax and other deductions), up to a maximum payment of £1,500 per month. In the event of a claim you would need to prove your income.
This policy allows you to insure yourself against unemployment / redundancy only, or accident and sickness only, or accident sickness and unemployment.
The payment term is 12 months. This means that in the event of a claim, the policy will continue to pay you a monthly amount until you either go back to work, get better or the payment terms ends.
The qualifying or waiting period is 30 days. This means that you must be registered as unemployed, or signed off work sick by a doctor, for 30 days in order to make a claim. This is usual for these types of policies.
The policy has a 120 day exclusion period for unemployment claims. This means that you cannot make a claim for unemployment in the first 120 days of holding the policy; this is standard practice as it stops people buying a policy one week and claiming the next.
Unlike a lot of accident sickness and unemployment protection policies, this income protection policy does not require you to have been in continuous employment for 6 months prior to application. You are allowed to take out this policy even if you have not been continuously working for the last six months. However in order to make a claim for redundancy, you will need to have been continuously employed for six months prior to the date of claim.
For example, if you have been in continuous employment for only 2 months, you can take out a policy, and as long as you go for another 4 months without being told that you are going to be made redundant, then you would be eligible to claim. At the time of claim, you would have been in continuous employment for at least six months.
There is no exclusion period for accident and sickness claims, although pre-existing conditions may be excluded.
Our promise is to always offer you the most appropriate cover at the cheapest price.
An income protection policy will give you peace of mind in the knowledge that your regular bills will be covered if you cannot work due to accident or sickness, or if you are made redundant. You can use it to protect your mortgage, rent or just general living expenses - you do not need to have a mortgage to take out our featured policy.
Whilst your mortgage company must deal with your situation sympathetically and positively, ultimately your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it.
There is a 1 in 7 chance of a working adult being off work for more than 6 months due to illness or injury.*
More than 2 million people have been off work and claiming benefits for a period of 6 months or more.*
You are three times more likely to be off work for more than 3 months due to illness or injury than to die before age 65.*
* Source - Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), 2004 (RETURN TO TOP)
Mortgage Payment Protection & ASU
There is a great deal of confusion about Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI) and Accident, Sickness & Unemployment Insurance (ASU). They are effectively the same thing. A mortgage payment protection policy is set up to pay mortgage related costs should you be in a position where you can’t make the payments yourself. It is also possible to insure yourself if you do not have a mortgage, and our featured policy allows you to do that.
Our policy is linked to your income, so you can cover 50% of your gross earnings, to spend on whatever you wish.
It is important to decide what eventualities you want to cover. Many self employed people would instantly lose their income if they were unable to work due to accident or injury, therefore they would seek to cover these eventualities. They may not however necessarily want to include unemployment insurance as it may be difficult for them to prove in the event of a claim.
People in regular employment may not be as concerned about covering accident and sickness, if they feel their employer will pay them, but they may be concerned about redundancy and their chances of finding work elsewhere. In this case they may only want a redundancy insurance policy.
For the vast majority of people, both unemployment and the impact of long term sickness or injury are of sufficient concern to make them to decide upon a policy that covers all eventualities.
A policy taken out to protect income normally allows you to insure a percentage of your gross income. It is not possible to protect all of your income as the insurer wants you to be incentivised to return to work.
These policies are available upon application without the need for underwriting or medical examination. There are certain criteria that would not be covered in the event of a claim, and these are covered in detail in the policy wording. For example, you will not be successful in your claim for unemployment if you knew you were to become unemployed, or if the insurer considers that it was reasonable that you knew it was likely to happen, or if the unemployment is any way voluntary.
Some of the larger insurance companies issue policies that coincide with the term of your mortgage, however the most popular policies have no specific term and are renewable annually. (RETURN TO TOP)
Why these policies?
As an independent finance company, Platinum Financial Consulting is not committed to sell the policies of any one company.
We try to identify the best policy in each individual sector. We evaluate the policy available on a number of criteria such as the terms and conditions offered, the claims payment history of the company, the financial strength of the company providing the insurance and perhaps most importantly the premium.
Although we have many more policies available to us, the ones that we have selected are currently the policies which we consider to be amongst the leading policies in their category. We can however stop selling a policy if a better policy becomes available, or the service offered by the company is not of a standard that we would accept for our customers.
Many of the companies who offer this insurance on-line are either selling their own policy, or trying to offer everything in the hope that you will buy something from them. We build a personal relationship with both our customers and the insurance companies who provide these policies. This means that we can ensure that our customers are always receiving the best service available.
Our independence means that we can reject those policies that we feel do not offer both quality or competitive premium. We have removed products from our website which we feel are not in the best interests of our clients.
Should we change an insurance provider, we will assess the new policy against those held by existing policy holders and where appropriate we will offer the customer the alternative policy. (RETURN TO TOP)
how Quickly Can I Get Cover?
It is possible to set the income protection policy up within a couple of days, and usually much quicker. Once we receive an application, we log it on to the insurers' systems within 24 hours. (RETURN TO TOP)
Can I Buy More than One Policy?
It is possible to buy more than one type of policy, as long as you are not overinsured. Many people buy two or more policies to get the cover they require, if their income allows. Most insurers, and certainly the insurer on this website, will allow you to run policies in tandem.
If you are thinking about buying more than one policy, please get in touch. It is important to make sure you are you not overinsured, and we are happy to calculate this with you, and discuss your options. (RETURN TO TOP)
This Policy Will Never Pay Out If:
You cease to be resident in the UK or if your disability or unemployment results from :
war (whether declared or not), military duty in peacekeeping operations outside the UK, invasion, riot as an active participant, revolution or similar
any self-inflicted injuries, HIV or any HIV-related illness including AIDS, or as a result of taking alcohol or drugs.
For full policy terms and conditions it is important that you read the policy wording appropriate to your specific policy. (RETURN TO TOP)
These notes are intended as a guide only. They should not be considered as specific advice.
Upon application we will confirm you have supplied all necessary information, and inform you of the terms and conditions of the selected provider, before the policy comes into force.
If you think these notes are incomplete or misleading in any way, please contact us immediately.
Below are some questions our customers ask on a regular basis. If you want further clarification on these or any other points we would be only too pleased to help you. Please contact us by calling 08450 55 95 65.
If my employer makes a redundancy payment will this stop me claiming redundancy insurance?
This unemployment policy will pay you in full even if your employer makes a lump sum redundancy payment. This means that even if you receive several thousands of pounds in redundancy payments, you can still immediately claim on your policy. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
If I claim on my redundancy insurance will this prevent me receiving Jobseekers benefits?
It is a condition of the policy on this website and most other redundancy insurance policies that you MUST be able to claim jobseekers allowance before you can claim unemployment insurance.
There are two types of Jobseekers allowance and for the majority of people they can claim the full Jobseekers allowance [JSA(C)] as well as receive full benefit from their redundancy insurance policy.
For people on low incomes, typically less that £6,000 per annum, they can also receive an income related Jobseekers Allowance [JAS(IB)]. Depending on their financial circumstances income from a redundancy insurance policy may be offset against the income related [JAS(IB)] Jobseekers Allowance. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
Can I claim unemployment insurance if I am self-employed?
It is possible for the self-employed to claim on the unemployment insurance policy featured on this site.
The insurance can only be claimed if you have involuntarily ceased to trade in your current business and have prepared final reports and accounts for the HM Revenue & Customs. Full details are available in the policy wording. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
Can I Buy A Joint Policy for Redundancy?
Income linked unemployment cover does not allow for joint cover, as it is based on your individual gross earnings. However both husband and wife, or partners, can each take out their own unemployment protection policy, and in the unlikely event that you are both made redundant at the same time, both policies will pay out. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
Can I Claim While I am On Benefit?
If you lose your job, you will need to be eligible to claim for Job Seekers Allowance in order to make a claim for unemployment on your ASU policy. We cannot guarantee how this may or not affect other benefits, and we would advise you to contact the Benefits Office if you have any questions relating to this matter.
Any claim for accident and sickness is unlikely to affect any existing benefit claim, although again you should check with the Benefits Office. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
Can I Claim if I don't get job seeker's allowance?
It is a condition for ASU policies that you must be eligible to claim Job Seekers Allowance (even if you are not in receipt of it) in order to make a claim for unemployment.
It is possible to be eligible for Job Seekers Allowance but not receive it, this is because there are two types of allowance one of which is means tested. We cannot say which type of benefit you will be entitled to.
Amongst other things being eligible for Job Seekers Allowance demonstrates that you are part of the UK tax / benefits system. It also demonstrates that you are actively looking for work as the benefit isn’t paid to people who are not active in the job market. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
If I am employed in a family business, can i take out Unemployment Insurance?
Our featured policy will consider you as self employed if you work for a company in which a person who is a member of your immediate family has control (either alone or with others) over the company. They consider immediate family to be your spouse, civil partner, live in partner, children and parents. If you are classed as self employed, then the business must have involuntarily ceased trading and and submitted final accounts to HM Revenue & Customs, and you must be registered as unemployed with the JobCentre Plus, in order for you to make a claim for unemployment.
Can I have unemployment cover if i am a company director?
If you do not have a controlling shareholding, and have a formal contract of employment, then the insurer will usually classify you as employed for the purposes of claiming for unemployment.
However, if you have controlling shareholding as well as a directorship, then you may be classified as self employed
by the insurer. If you are classed as self employed, then the business must have involuntarily ceased trading and and submitted final accounts to HM Revenue & Customs, and you must be registered as unemployed with the JobCentre Plus, in order for you to make a claim for unemployment. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
If i am self employed can I protect against unemployment?
Yes self employed individuals can protect themselves against unemployment.
However if you are classed as self employed, then the business must have involuntarily ceased trading and and submitted final accounts to HM Revenue & Customs, and you must be registered as unemployed with the JobCentre Plus, in order for you to make a claim for unemployment. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
Can i have unemployment cover if i'm on a fixed term contract?
You will be eligible for cover as a Contract Worker by the insurer if you meet the following criteria :
- immediately prior to your claim, you were employed on an annual contract which has been renewed at least once; or
- immediately prior to your claim, you have been employed on a contract with the same employer for a period of 24 months; or
- immediately prior to the commencement of your fixed term contract, you were employed on a permanent basis by the same employer.
If you are a contract worker and you meet the criteria above if your contract is terminated early you will be able to claim up to the date when your contract would have otherwise naturally expired. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
can i claim for unemployment cover if i am made voluntarily redundant?
If you opt to take voluntary redundancy, the majority of insurers (including the one featured on this website) will not pay out.
However if sufficient people do not take the voluntary package and the employer decides to make people compulsorily redundant, and so you are made redundant against your will, then your policy will pay out. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
can a business owner claim for unemployment insurance if their business closes?
To make a claim for unemployment, your business must have ceased to trade completely, as you will be classified as self employed by the insurer.
If you are classed as self employed, then the business must have involuntarily ceased trading and and submitted final accounts to HM Revenue & Customs, and you must be registered as unemployed with the JobCentre Plus, in order for you to make a claim for unemployment. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
Do you offer joint redundancy policies?
Income linked unemployment cover does not allow for joint cover, as it is based on your individual gross earnings. However both husband and wife, or partners, can each take out their own unemployment protection policy, and in the unlikely event that you are both made redundant at the same time, both policies will pay out. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
can i have unemployment protection if i don't have a mortgage?
Yes, our featured policy allows to take out unemployment protection, or accident and sickness protection, even if you do not have a mortgage or pay rent. Our income protection policy is based on a percentage of your gross provable income, and you can spend the monthly benefit from your policy on whatever you like. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
why can't i cover my full salary against accident sickness or unemployment?
Insurers tend not to cover the full amount of your income as it could be argued that you would be financially better off being out of work, than in it. Insurers will usually apply a maximum percentage of your income that they will allow you to claim benefit for. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
can i take out unemployment or redundancy protection if i work in the financial services or banking sector?
Some insurers are not taking any applications from the financial services sector at the moment, however other insurers are.
Whenever you make a claim on an unemployment policy, your claim will be assessed on whether they believe you had prior knowledge that your job was at risk of redundancy at the time you took out the policy.
Insurers require that you should not be aware of any impending unemployment, whether or not you have received official notification and your employer has not announced a programme of job losses, any departmental or company restructure or merger with another company. Furthermore, you should be aware that you will not be covered for unemployment that arises from any programme of job losses, any departmental or company restructure, or merger with another company, announced by your employer before the start date of your policy, or within 120 days after the start date of your policy. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
can i take out unemployment Insurance if i have only just started a new job?
Yes you can. Unlike some policies, this policy allows you take it out even if you haven't been working continuously for the last six months. However if you make a claim for unemployment on the policy, at the point of claim you will need to have worked continuously for the past six months in order to be eligible for a claim. (RETURN TO TOP OF FAQs )
This website uses the phrases Redundancy Insurance, Unemployment Insurance, Accident and Sickness Insurance and Mortgage Payment Protection. We use these phrases interchangeably because they are the terms our customers use when talking to us. Invariably there is little or no difference between policies whether you use the term Redundancy Insurance or you prefer to call it Unemployment Insurance as the policy will cover the same things. Mortgage Payment Protection is a policy that will allow you to insure yourself against accident sickness and unemployment, but it will usually require that you have a mortgage in place. Our featured policy allows you to cover whatever you wish - your mortgage, your rent, your living expenses, even your beer money! You do not have to have a mortgage to take out our featured policy.
Many people are concerned about what would happen to them if they were made redundant. Most people are unaware that redundancy insurance is an option. Almost everybody can apply for a redundancy insurance policy no matter what their employment circumstances. When you purchase a redundancy insurance policy you are protected should your employer decide to make you redundant, as long as you do not take voluntary redundancy. Each policy will have its own terms and conditions and we therefore recommend that you read the policy document in full before buying any redundancy insurance policy. While this type of insurance is mainly aimed at the employed the self employed can also purchase a redundancy insurance policy, the conditions for claiming are naturally more stringent, but it is possible for the self employed to claim. Many people make the mistake of waiting until they feel redundancy is likely before buying a policy, however the insurer will put conditions in place to protect themselves from people who buy a redundancy insurance policy when they know they are going to be made redundant. Our view is, if you are concerned about redundancy the best time to but a redundancy insurance policy is now.
You can insure yourself against losing your job by purchasing an unemployment insurance policy. The vast majority of these policies are bought to protect a mortgage and typically they will also include accident and sickness cover. These policies are more commonly known as mortgage payment protection polices or ASU which stands for accident, sickness and unemployment insurance. The unemployment element of the policy is designed to protect you if you lose your job through no means of your own. Obviously examples would be redundancy or company relocation. If you were dismissed for gross miss-conduct then your unemployment insurance policy is unlikely to pay out. These polices are aimed at giving you peace of mind when you are in work and perhaps more importantly when you are out of work. When times are hard and people are concerned about their future an unemployment insurance policy at least allows you to know that your major financial commitments such as your mortgage are taken case of. If you are unfortunate enough to lose your job financial pressures could result in you having to take employment in a field where you have little or no expertise. If you are receiving benefit from an unemployment insurance policy that immediate financial pressure is removed and you can focus your efforts at finding employment in your chosen career.
A mortgage is one of the biggest financial commitments you may ever make. You promise to make regular monthly payments to your mortgage lender for a number of years, typically 25 years. Are you certain you can make all the payments ? If not then mortgage payment protection is something you should consider. If you were unfortunate enough to lose your job or if you suffered an accident or illness then you may not be able to make your monthly mortgage payments. This could lead to arrears and other problems with your mortgage lender. A mortgage payment protection insurance policy looks to pay your monthly mortgage payment if accident sickness or unemployment prevent you from working, They will typically pay your mortgage for up to 12 months, for many people this could make the difference between having their property repossessed or keeping their home. If you have a longer term illness then mortgage payment protection will not keep on paying your mortgage for ever, but by taking care of the important first year you can start to make plans for the future without the pressure of a mortgage lender making constant demands. The premiums for mortgage payment protection are relatively cheap especially when compared to the financial loss you could face. You may feel that given your circumstances accident and sickness insurance is not necessary or unemployment insurance is irrelevant. The latter is particularly true for the self employed. The good news is that when you buy your policy you do not have to purchase those elements that you think necessary. This means that your mortgage payment protection policy could cover accident and sickness only or you could have a policy that only covered unemployment. It costs nothing to ask, at Platinum we are more than happy to answer any questions you have relating to mortgage payment protection. We will explain the policy if full and provide you with quotes without any obligation.
All of the product types above could also be considered to be income protection insurance. As we have stated in several places throughout this website there are a number of policies that are all provide a different type of cover or benefit, however the typical customer would nevertheless call them all income protection. Most mortgage payment protection insurance is also inked to your income, therefore it is a form of income protection even though it is technically called mortgage payment protection. This means that a mortgage payment protection policy may be your best first call if income protection is a major requirement for you. The product on this website (as at 4th February 2009) is not linked to mortgage or rent nor any other expenditure the only thing you will need to prove is your income. This makes it a pure income protection policy and one of the few that will allow you to insure against unemployment only. These policies should be considered short term solutions as the benefit will only pay out for typically 12 months. Their aim is to offer you short term income protection while you either find new employment or recover from a short illness. In the case of illness if you suffer a condition that means you are unable to work for more than a year, the benefit will stop after 12 months. It is possible to but an income protection policy that will pay out until your normal retirement date, however they will only cover accident and sickness. It is not possible to buy a long term income protection policy, i,e, more than 12 months, to cover unemployment and redundancy. For most people some form of income protection should be an essential insurance purchase. You would not think twice about insuring your home, life even a car. Why then shouldn't you insure the one thing that will allow you to pay for all of these things, you income. Income protection insurance will allow you to do just that.
