Accident sickness and unemployment insurance helps you in paying back your monthly mortgage loan and your bills in case you are not able to pay for it due to illness or accident. Accidents can occur anytime and in case you are not able to work and earn for the time you recover, it is essential to secure yourself financially so that you don’t undergo debts. When you purchase such a policy you have to pay for it every month and it would then cover for your expenses when you are made redundant temporarily due to accident or sickness.
When a person makes claim under any kind of unemployment cover then his claim would not be approved if discovered that redundancy was on the cards or it is due to his mistakes. Also, to claim for this policy you have to be 18 years of age and must reside in Channel Island, UK or Isle of Man. It is needed to work for minimum 16 hours a week and be employed or self employed for the at least last 6 months.
In order to become eligible for accident sickness and unemployment insurance, one must be above 18 and under 65 years and shall be a permanent resident of UK. Person working on seasonal or contractual basis will not be held eligible for this insurance type. These plans come with initial waiting period which is generally of 90 to 120 days as per the insurance provider. The period can be changed by the company or as per your situation under which you file a claim.
In order to file a claim against your accident sickness and unemployment policy you have 3 main options:
Telephone Call
Call your insurance company and inform them about the accident or sickness that is keeping your from work. They will then carry on the required investigation and provide you with needed assistance.
Claim Form
The next thing that you can do is to go to your insurance company or fill the insurance form online. The first part of the claim form is to be completed by the policy holders and the second part will for to the GP, consultant or specialist. The third part of the insurance claim concerns your earnings and is to be filled out by your current employer.
Once the consultant or specialist makes sure that your reason for filing the claim is valid by enquiring you and your present employer. He then processes the form further so as to make you eligible for this insurance claim. Also it is necessary that you haven’t missed any payment against your insurance policy in the last 12 months.
Before making a claim against your insurance policy you must be aware of the deferred period that your insurance company provided at the time of signing the plan. This period is when you are required to be unable to work because of sickness or accident before you become eligible to receive your claim. It is usually a 30 day period.
In your claim form you need to take care of the following things:
Personal details: Fill them carefully because any error in your claim form may lead to denial of your unemployment benefit. After filling your forms, GP – you doctor will need to sign it and put his stamp on it so show that you are seriously ill and not faking it.
After that, if your AS plan is in relation to mortgage insurance than your previous payments will be checked and it would be made sure that you have paid your previous 12 installments in time. If your plan is Income based then your employer will be contacted for the completion of earnings section and your basic salary will only be taken into account.
Terminal illness insurance which comes under mortgage life insurance protection is also helpful. The terminal illness benefit includes both mortgage insurance and term life insurance which implies you should be diagnosed with terminal illness to enjoy its benefits rather than actually waiting to die. This assists in ensuring that you don’t have extra worry of meeting your mortgage installments when you are unemployed or not working due to your illness.
Now an unemployment benefit is another kind of benefit that you can enjoy in case of no work or income source. This insurance benefit is designed to pay some benefit to a person on monthly basis. In several cases this benefit is usually subjected at the employed but anyone can choose to have this cover. The eligibility criteria for enjoying unemployment benefit are:
He must be a resident of UK. He must be above 18 and under 65 years and shall be a permanent resident of UK. Person working on seasonal or contractual basis will not be held eligible for this insurance type. These plans come with initial waiting period which is generally of 90 to 120 days as per the insurance provider. The period can be changed by the company or as per your situation under which you file a claim.
Redundancy insurance also protects you in case you are held redundant by your company not because of your fault. There can be shortcomings in the company for which you may be dismissed, also sickness or injury of any kind may make you disable to work for a period of time. During this time you need some income to feed yourself and your family as well as to take care of your expenses.
You will be eligible for redundancy insurance if:
- You have lost your job because of economic downtown or low productivity
- If you are not able to work because of some injury
- If you have paid all your premiums and continue the same during your claim period
- If you have been unemployed for six months or more before filing the claim
There are 3 main types of redundancy insurance:
Mortgage protection insurance: The main aim of this insurance type is to secure the monthly repayments to the lenders.
Salary protection Insurance: The money that one gets from this policy is free of tax deduction. It covers living expenses and usually the policy holder is able to get higher payout as compared to its mortgage insurance plan. The premium paid for this type of insurance is higher than the other covers but policy holders get up to 50% of their regular monthly income.
Rental payment insurance: one can become eligible to get rental payments through the income he gets from this policy. It is a very short-term policy.
Another type of insurance that helps you in paying off your mortgage and loans in case you are sick or not able to work because of some reason is mortgage life insurance protection. The mortgage life insurance protection is a decreasing term policy. It implies that the value of insurance keeps on decreasing every year as the mortgage balance reduces. The premium cost remains the same but your real cost of insurance rises. The solution is to choose the level term mortgage policy. This policy can be purchased for 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 year term.
Then there is mortgage protection cover. This cover is usually taken to protect a secured loan on your house. This insurance helps the contractors to get the money you borrowed from them for purchasing your house back through this policy in case you are not able to make the payment due to loss of job or your death. The mortgage company decides whether to utilize the mortgage loan insurance as per the needs of the investor in mortgage market. Due to the losses that can happen, the major investors need mortgage loan insurance over the loans that are made with low down payments. The deferment period of this policy ranges from 8to 13 weeks.
With the availability of internet and introduction of websites, usually companies now allow its customers to ask for insurance quote online. One can now purchase an insurance policy while sitting at his home only. You can compare and contrast the rates among various insurance policies. Look at their deductibles, premium rates and benefits to know which company is the best and will suit your needs in the long run. Also make sure that you pick the insurance whose premium you can pay easily without going out of your budget.
Ask for quotes from all top companies and compare them before deciding on your insurance policy. There are several types of unemployment insurance that becomes active in certain condition or part of your life. You should understand your insurance policy properly and ensure that you read the terms and conditions carefully before signing it to be aware of the shortcomings when you can file a claim against it.
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