FAQ’s

Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance (also referred to as ASU) is there to protect an individual’s mortgage payment and related costs.  It can also be used to protect loss of income, ensuring that a monthly benefit is available should the individual be absent from work or made redundant.  The plans are similar in make up and in order to have a success application the following are generally accepted requirements:

Age

An applicant must be between the ages of 18 and 65 years old.  This is generally accepted as the normal working period in the UK.  An ASU plan must stop before your 65th birthday.  Therefore, the applicant must be aware that if they are applying for cover in relation to their mortgage and the mortgage payments extend beyond the age of 65 that this type of insurance will not provide any protection of payments beyond normal retirement age (65).

Residency.

To be eligible for ASU cover an applicant must be a UK resident.  This means they have a permanent UK address and are registered with a UK doctor.

Employment

The applicant must work on average 16 hours per week in the UK, meaning that they are paying National Insurance contributions and are able to claim Job Seekers Allowance should you be made unemployed.  If someone is in the UK working on Visa then they will be ineligible for the Unemployment element of the ASU cover.  It may be possible that if the person has made sufficient National Insurance contributions which may enable them to claim part of the Job Seekers Allowance.  The individual could still apply for the Accident and Sickness component of the cover.

Mortgage Payment

If an application for ASU is to protect a mortgage then the applicant must have a mortgage agreement in their name.  Conversely, if the application is in joint names then both names should be on the mortgage agreement.  Should you not have a mortgage then there are some companies that will provide the same cover but in relation to your rent and associated costs.  The same rules apply as with a mortgage related plan.

No Mortgage or Rent

If someone has no mortgage or rent then it does not preclude them from ASU as they could consider the Income Protector version.  This is purely based on the individual’s income and will typically cover 65% of the person’s basic salary.

Health

There are certain standard significant exclusions with the majority of ASU plans these include any pre-existing conditions as well as; self inflicted injuries, drug/alcohol abuse, HIV, most psychiatric/mental illnesses and back related issues.  An application for ASU can still be put in and any health issues must be disclosed but if successful the plan will not pay out on the excluded conditions.

Unemployment

The majority of ASU providers will not allow an individual to apply for Unemployment benefit if there are any impending or recent redundancies in their place of employment.  However, they can still apply for AS.

Unemployment takes place when the industry structure changes. With the development of economy, the needs and technology used by industry also develops and thus changes. This can happen because of the changing taste of people or developing technology, service or product. The increase in demand and supply can also lead to such a change.

In the UK, several industries that used to employ majority of population like mining and ship building industries have now disappeared. The extent of unemployment that is faced by any country is dependent on many things like:

Mobility of labor: If people are able to switch between the jobs swiftly from one industry that is declining to another that is growing then structural unemployment will be comparatively less.

The pace of changing economy: The swift changes taking place in the economy accounts for changing demand and supply fashion. Further structural unemployment may want people to adapt to the changes quickly. The regional structure of the industry: If industries are shutting down at a great pace in a particular area then it makes it tough for the people to look out for new jobs. Both mining and shipbuilding industries were highly concentrated and few of its areas have taken time to get accustom and decrease the level of structural unemployment.

So now if you have been removed from your job because of economic reasons or your working hours have been decreased for no fault of yours then you may become eligible to file for unemployment insurance claim. You can very easily evaluate online if you qualify for unemployment insurance claim. You will get detailed information under the unemployment insurance of the state where you have worked. For instance, if you have been working in West Yorkshire then search for “West Yorkshire Unemployment” online to view the official website of the state unemployment office. The benefits of structural unemployment insurance can only be gained if you know what kind of situations it covers you for. The state laws governing your state and region also act as a dominant factor in deciding how much and for how long would you be eligible to get unemployment benefits.

Safeguarding yourself from such unanticipated circumstances is important. Unemployment situation can arise in any country and in any field. There are many reasons that can lead to such type of unemployment. The change in demand and supply trend, developing technology and other reasons can cause unemployment in a particular field or within the entire country.

Some people try to work part time until they find a job that matches their career whereas some get into business with their friends or family members by investing some money to fight the situation. Whatever the solution be, unemployment is very difficult situation and one must keep himself prepared to tackle it the best way he could.