Taking out accident sickness and
unemployment cover

Accident sickness and unemployment cover (ASU) is a form of insurance designed specifically to help protect you and your family from a loss of income. Some employers will also offer accident and sickness only plans as a corporate benefit for their staff.

First, we’ll look at what is available for individuals. To decide whether or not it would be useful, it’s necessary to spend a second or two thinking about how you and your family would cope if bad luck suddenly knocked on your door through;

• an accident that meant you were unable to work;
• an illness with the same result;
• involuntary redundancy.

Struggling to cope

In such circumstances, most of the people around you would hopefully be sympathetic. You may also be fortunate in having an employer with a very generous sickness package or that paid out a large redundancy settlement.

Unfortunately, these things may not be the case or they may not last.

If you lose your income, the banks, building societies and credit card companies may be able to offer some limited short-term help, but they do not have a reputation for unlimited patience.

Your employer’s sickness benefits may not offer much protection if they are only available to the minimum levels demanded by the law.

Even a generous redundancy pay-off won’t last long if you’re struggling to find a new job.

In such situations, you will probably be looking for a guaranteed income each month and that’s why it may be worth thinking about accident sickness and unemployment cover.

Protection for your family

An ASU insurance policy could provide you with typically 12-24 months regular income of up to £1500 per month in the event any of the above misfortunes struck (though these policy features and benefits may vary depending on your provider).

This could quite literally help you keep a roof over your family’s head.

These policies can be purchased privately and they’re sometimes also called PPI (payment protection insurance).

If you are fortunate, your employer may offer accident and sickness cover (contributory or non-contributory) as part of your benefits package. In such cases you may be able to supplement that by taking out a separate private policy that provides unemployment insurance.

Protecting your employees

If you’re an employer, the benefits of providing accident and sickness insurance as part of your package may be substantial.

Typically it may help increase employee loyalty and bonding. It’s also a good way of adding value to a package without simply needing to find more cash for increased pay settlements.

ASU – peace of mind

Having accident sickness and unemployment cover can provide that extra comfort of knowing that you’re prepared should bad luck strike. Finding out more might be a smart move.