Accident, Sickness & Unemployment Insurance

Enjoy peace of mind and continue to pay your essential outgoings each month irrespective of accident, sickness, unemployment or redundancy. Best Income Insurance is an income protection cover that is designed to protect your monthly income if you were to fall sick, have an accident that forces you out of work or are made redundant.

Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance is a policy that provides a monthly tax-free payment, paid directly to you, to replace your income if you were to unexpectedly lose your job due to no fault of your own. Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance, also known as ASU, is an insurance policy that allows you the time you need to recover from an injury or illness or find a new job should you be made redundant, without suffering financially. If you lose your regular income due to accident, sickness or unemployment, your policy will pay a monthly tax-free payment to cover your loss of earnings until up to 12 months, or you return to work.

Peace of Mind For You and Your Loved Ones

Mortgages, rent, bills, cars, mobile phones, groceries, pets, clothing. It all costs money. Would you be able to keep up with the costs if you were to lose your regular income? Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policies allow you to continue paying your monthly outgoings, whilst providing the breathing space for you to recover before you return to work, or find the right job, without the financial pressure.

The Most Important Type of Insurance

Many employers do not pay sick pay for accident and sickness; however everyone is entitled to government paid Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Unfortunately, this totals to around £86.00 per week, which doesn’t go very far. With unemployment, if you are made redundant then you will be entitled to Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), however this is a weekly payment of £68.00. Could you survive on that?

A Safety Net You Can Rely On

Relying on government benefits will mean that you will need to fall back on your own savings, credit cards, or family and friends, which will quickly become problematic. By having a comprehensive Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance policy in place, you are covering yourself against some of the most stressful situations life can deal you and taking control of your future and finances.

Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance is undoubtedly one of the most important types of insurance there is. It’s an investment in your well-being and future and will protect you from unnecessary stress and financial difficulty during an already stressful time. It is all too easy to think “it won’t happen to me”, but the reality is that certain situations are outside of your control. We all know somebody who has taken time off work with an unexpected illness or injury. Accidents happen, and there is little we can do to prepare ourselves for impact that an accident or illness can have on our lives, both mentally and financially. It can affect your loved ones and take its toll to the extent that you may not recover as well as you should, due to the overwhelming stress that accompanies losing your salary.

Similarly, nobody turns up at work expecting to made redundant because something or other has gone wrong with the business. No one believes it will happen to them, until it does. And once it does, it will be too late to do anything. Having an Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policy in place will allow you the time you need to take a breather, and find the right career for you, rather than settling for the first thing that comes along due to financial pressure.

With all Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance policies, there are initial exclusion periods for which you will not be able to make a claim, so the sooner you secure your policy, the sooner you will be protected against loss of income. Taking the initiative and protecting yourself against these types of situations is extremely important, and when the stakes are so high, covering yourself against Accident, Sickness and Unemployment is the only sensible thing to do.

It works by you in the first instance making a decision to purchase cover, once you have made this decision, you will need to complete your research and choose the correct product for your situation and circumstances.

You will need to read the key facts and policy wording documents and make sure that you meet the eligibility or criteria of the policy to purchase. You will usually find that you will be asked a list of questions confirming your situation, these are called eligibility questions. Once answered you will need to set up the direct debit in order your monthly premium can be collected.

Once finalised you will be sent details of your policy by email and or post, this will include the illustration, application you completed and also the policy schedule, key facts, policy wordings and terms of business. This is your policy documentation and should be kept in a safe place, we will always have a copy of your documentation, but it is always prudent to keep in safe place after you have read through everything.

For unemployment policies the policy always has an initial exclusion period, this means that if you are made aware your job is at risk within this period then it is best to cancel the policy, this time from could be 60 days, 90 days or 120 days. For accident & sickness there is no initial exclusion period and you are covered immediately on taking the cover out.

You can then choose an excess or waiting period, this is the time you must wait at point of claim before you receive your pay-out. Again, this is dependent on your own preferences and budgets, the most expensive waiting period is 30 days increasing to 90 days which is the cheapest for accident sickness and unemployment cover.

Your Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover will continue as long as you are paying your monthly premium payments, if you stop paying your cover will stop. If you continue paying, then your cover will continue until you reach the age of retirement or indeed if you wish to cancel.

If you are in a situation where you have to make a claim, then you will be able to claim on the Accident, Sickness and Unemployment for a maximum of 12 months or until you return to work, whichever is the sooner.

A very simple way to look at this is to ask yourself a few fundamental questions. Does your employer offer sick pay? Do you have enough savings that you are willing to use to cover your bills for up to a year? Could you maintain your lifestyle and expenses if you had Statutory Sick Pay of £86 per week, or Job Seekers Allowance of just £68 per week?

If you live with your partner and/or children, how would they be affected if you were to lose your regular income? Would you be able to keep up with your mortgage or rent payments? On top of this financial stress, would you be able to fully recover from your accident or sickness, or find a new career, knowing that your situation could be affecting your loved ones?

If the answer to any of the above is no, then you should seriously consider buying Accident, Sickness and Unemployment protection. We tend to ignore the sensible thing to do, and say something along the lines of “this will never happen to me”, until it does that is, and then unfortunately, it is too late.

It is impossible to purchase Accident, Sickness and Unemployment protection after the event has occurred. A suggestion would be to sit down as soon as possible and work out how much you spend on bills and running the household each month. It may be possible to live without entertainment, holidays, and eating out, as this will no doubt stop if you are not working, however all the mandatory financial commitments will have to be upheld regardless of whether you are employer or not. Once you have this figure, you should then analyse your situation and see how long you could last should your regular income was not coming in.

The sooner you purchase your Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance, the sooner you will be covered in the case of the worst case scenario becoming a reality. Buying Accident, Sickness and Unemployment protection will undoubtedly give yourself the peace of mind that comes with knowing your salary is safe and protected.

Your Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover will continue as long as you are paying your monthly premium payments, if you stop paying your cover will stop. If you continue paying, then your cover will continue until you reach the age of retirement or indeed if you wish to cancel.

There are many different types of policies available. We call this type of Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance, because it will pay you every month for 12 months should you need to claim, as it protections you against Accident, Sickness and Unemployment. However, you could have a pure income protection plan. This type of Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policy is linked purely to your income and how much you earn monthly.

The policy could be linked to a financial commitment, such as your mortgage, hence to buy this type of Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policy you will need to have a mortgage in place. Also, the amount of cover you can take will be dependent on your monthly mortgage payment.

There are also policies that are linked to your rent payment or loan payments, and in order to be able to purchase this type of policy you will need to have a rental agreement or a loan agreement in place. Again, the amount of cover you can take could depend on your monthly rent or loan payment. Other Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance policies will require you to have regular commitments in place. These regular commitments could be you monthly direct debit payments, like utilities or council tax or insurance payments, it could even include things like TV licence, dental treatment or magazine subscriptions.

The fundamental difference between the policies comes at any point of claim, as any policy that is linked to a commitment or commitments you will need to provide evidence of this commitment at claim. Because of this, the paperwork is slightly more involved than with a pure income protection accident, sickness or unemployment policy. However, you may find that these policies could be, in some circumstances, slightly cheaper as ultimately the insurer may deem that having a commitment could be less risk to someone who is just covering their income.

There are many different types of policies available. We call this type of Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance, because it will pay you every month for 12 months should you need to claim, as it protections you against Accident, Sickness and Unemployment. However, you could have a pure income protection plan. This type of Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policy is linked purely to your income and how much you earn monthly.

The policy could be linked to a financial commitment, such as your mortgage, hence to buy this type of Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policy you will need to have a mortgage in place. Also, the amount of cover you can take will be dependent on your monthly mortgage payment

There are also policies that are linked to your rent payment or loan payments, and in order to be able to purchase this type of policy you will need to have a rental agreement or a loan agreement in place. Again, the amount of cover you can take could depend on your monthly rent or loan payment. Other Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance policies will require you to have regular commitments in place. These regular commitments could be you monthly direct debit payments, like utilities or council tax or insurance payments, it could even include things like TV licence, dental treatment or magazine subscriptions.

The fundamental difference between the policies comes at any point of claim, as any policy that is linked to a commitment or commitments you will need to provide evidence of this commitment at claim. Because of this, the paperwork is slightly more involved than with a pure income protection accident, sickness or unemployment policy. However, you may find that these policies could be, in some circumstances, slightly cheaper as ultimately the insurer may deem that having a commitment could be less risk to someone who is just covering their income

The whole purpose of purchasing Accident, Sickness and Unemployment protection is that it is there for you if and when you ever need to make a claim. Making sure you are eligible to claim is paramount and hence you should always refer to your individual policy wordings to check, you can always call the claims team who will be able to provide the relevant information, their details can again be found in the policy wording.

However, in the main the following cover most situations of when you can make a claim, it is easier to split into accident and sickness and then unemployment.

For accident and sickness claims you will need to be signed off work for a minimum period of 30 days, this sign off must be confirmed by your GP or a medical consultant, however dependent on the policy you purchase this could be as low as 3 days. You will not be able to claim should the illness, accident or injury be defined as a pre-existing condition, you will not be able to claim against and self-inflicted injuries, for example, drink or drug related problems, self-harm or elective plastic surgery.

If you have back, neck or spine problems or are suffering anxiety, stress or depression then a consultant sign off may be required rather than just a GP sign off.

For unemployment claims, again you will need to be out of work for a minimum period of 30-days, you must be registered and in receipt of a job-seekers agreement. You must also be actively seeking new work, if you are self-employed you will then need to have de-registered with HMRC and also your business will need to have ceased trading you may need to file you last accounts and in most circumstances if your business is a limited company then a third party other than a director would have needed to wind up the company.

You will not be able to claim should you leave of your own free will, accept a voluntary redundancy package offered by your employer or if you have been sacked due to misconduct, disciplinary or breaking your employers code of conduct.

You will also not be able to claim if you were made aware your job was at risk within the initial exclusion period or before you purchased the policy, payment in lieu of notice or payment due from a settlement agreement can affect how quickly your claim is paid

As you can see an accident, sickness an unemployment claim is based on the unforeseen, any prior knowledge whether its accident, sickness or unemployment will mean you are unable to claim.

The monthly cost of the policy depends on the different or individual type of policy you purchase. The policy may have lots of individual benefits and extra features, which may make it more expensive than another policy, however in the main there are certain points within a policy that are fairly standard and are the basis of cost of the plan.

Your Age

Age is a very big factor, unfortunately the older you are the higher the cost, we call this age banding, a simple way to look at this is every 5 years the price will be slightly higher than the previous 5 years.

Initial Exclusion Period

The initial exclusion period is the time from purchase that you cannot be made aware your job is at risk or make a claim. The shorter the initial exclusion period, then more expensive the cost.

Excess Period

How quickly you would like your claim paid will also have a bearing on the price, and we call this excess or waiting period. The quicker you wish the claim to be paid, the higher the cost of your premium.

Benefit Amount

The amount of money you would like to have paid to you also increases the cost. All policies have a maximum limit, we call this the benefit amount, the higher the benefit amount you want the higher the cost.

There are some finer points that can affect the price you pay, for instance your post code, or the industry you work in or the occupation you have, where you travel, your medical conditions or your hobbies or pastimes can sometimes have a bearing on the price you pay.

Unfortunately, if you are age 60, work as a crane operator on an oil rig in the North Sea, climb mountains in your spare time whilst suffering from lots of ongoing medical conditions, and you also want the maximum benefit amount available, paid in the quickest pay out time, with the lowest initial exclusion period for unemployment, you may need to sit down and have a cup of tea, as it could be a little more expensive than you may want to pay.

Now that you have done your research, you can start comparing quotes using our online application system. By filling out your details and requirements, you will generate instant quotes and be able to read the policy documents and finer details of policy, from not only Best Insurance, but market leading insurers.

You can start comparing policies based on your age, the benefit amount you require, the different initial exclusion periods, and also how quickly the policy will pay out should you need to make a claim.

You can then start to look at the different features or extra benefits each policy offers. For instance, some policies will offer a selection of additional extras to make them stand out against other policies. It is important to read the policy benefits, and you could always look at this as the gold, silver and bronze standard of policy, because the gold star policy may be feature rich, and have additional legal protection or back to work support. Certain policies will have a waiver of premium should you ever need to claim, or it may come with additional hospitalisation benefit or reduced working hours.

Making sure that you have the correct Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policy is important, and making sure you understand the policy terms and conditions in order to purchase and to claim is also very important. Compare quotes online now, or speak to one of our trained insurance specialists, who will be more than happy to guide you through the process.