Unemployment Insurance News

Have you taken the time to think about how your family would get by financially if you are forced out of work? Involuntary redundancy is a very real issue for many people in today’s economic conditions. Although thinking about the prospects of losing your job is unpleasant and may seem pessimistic, it is actually practical and responsible to cover your family. Unemployment insurance is an affordable insurance protection that provides a replacement for your monthly income if you are faced with involuntary redundancy. This cover is your best protection since the State has very restrictive criteria for getting unemployment assistance, and the amounts received are often very small.

There are three basic types of insurance products that you can consider to provide you with unemployment insurance. Mortgage payment protection insurance, loan payment protection insurance, and income payment protection insurance make up an umbrella of products known as the payment protection insurance sector. These covers essentially serve as redundancy cover by paying benefits to you when you are involuntarily forced out of work.

The benefits and conditions of the typical redundancy insurance product

The three types of payment cover have very similar intentions. However, there are some subtle differences in purpose. Mortgage payment insurance is targeted at saving your home by replacing lost income so you can make mortgage repayments. Loan payment cover protects your assets and credit rating by giving you support to meet debt obligations each month. Income payment cover is essentially a benefit for use in meeting all of your financial obligations and needs each month. Regardless of the product or purpose, though, the basics of the products and terms and conditions are very comparable. Each is designed to keep you afloat during tough times. There are some common elements to redundancy cover that you must consider to get the right plan.

The first major consideration in selecting your best unemployment protection is what the length of the insurance plan is. Typically, cover runs for either 12 months or 24 months. It is important to consider how long you think you will need protection before agreeing to a plan. If you are confident in your ability to quickly find other work, a 12 month solution might work for you. If you are uncertain or operate in a struggling industry, the 24 month insurance might be right for you.

How soon do you need your replacement pay cheques after losing your job? Obviously, most people want to get paid sooner rather than letter. There are some insurance plans that begin paying benefits 30 days after the covered event. Other products begin benefits either 60 days or 90 days after the insured event. Be concerned with this factor as it is a vital financial issue. If you are on a tight monthly budget, can you really afford to wait? If not, focus on a 30 day benefits starting point. If you have a nice savings account or another source of income, a 60 or 90 day payout plan might be okay.

How much cover do you want, or need? The amount of your protection is up to you as the consumer. Most people are interested in the maximum allowable protection as it replaces a significant portion of your normal income. Others may have other income or funding and want to save premium costs by choosing a lower coverage amount. The maximum allowable monthly benefit payment is £1500 or 50 per cent of your normal monthly gross income. The payments are non-taxed so your net pay is much more significant, thus helping you better manage your bills and debt payment obligations.

Coverage eligibility and levels of protection

Always be sure you are eligible to collect the benefits of an insurance plan before agreeing to purchase one. This is common sense, right? Unfortunately, many people not eligible to get benefits under the terms of payment protection policies have been sold products in the past by institutions. This may sound unethical, and it is, but you need to be aware of the basic eligibility requirements to protection yourself. To be eligible for cover you must be employed full time for six months. This means that retired people, part time employees, and those with pre-existing medical conditions can not collect benefits from the insurance. Yet, all have been targeted by unscrupulous sellers looking to add-on to loan products.

Assuming you are eligible for unemployment insurance, there are some additional benefits or covers you may want to consider. Some providers offer ASU (accident, sickness, and unemployment) insurance solutions that offer broader protection for the three insured events. You can also usually opt to cover just one or two of the events. Some people might just want unemployment protection if their employer already has an adequate sickness scheme to cover health issues. Others may just want sickness and accident protection if they are not concerned about long-term redundancy. Be confident you can quickly find work before going this route.

Another great add-on benefit that many people find useful is carer cover. Carer cover provides replacement income protection in the event that you have to leave work to take care of a sick or injured family member. Of course, again, no one wants to be in this situation, but it does happen. Give yourself the flexibility to leave work and care for your loved one through the extra protection of carer cover.

Where to buy unemployment insurance and the cost

Unemployment cover can be extremely expensive, or it can be quite affordable, the trick is to know where to buy protection and what to watch out for. Financial institutions and independent insurance specialists are the two common sources for PPI products. Institutions are notorious for their expensive insurance solutions. They also have a reputation for pressure selling and deceptive selling tactics. In fact, a 2005 super complaint by leading consumer advocate group, Citizen’s Advice, brought to light some of the more common mis-selling approaches used by large banks.

Financial institutions are companies that deal in a multitude of financial products. Thus, they are more generalists and not specialists at selling insurance. Banks have historically sold payment cover products in combination with loans, like mortgages, personal loans, and credit cards. This has led to unfair selling such as pressuring of borrowers to buy protection from the lender. Some have even deceived the new borrower by building the expensive insurance into the loan repayment to spread out the cost, then hiding the details of the protection in the fine print of disclosure documents.

Many high street companies were also found guilty of selling products to those people mentioned as ineligible to collect benefits from unemployment plans. This gross mis-selling led to fines from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) following its investigation of the payment protection sector. The FSA conducted its investigation and delivered its findings in early 2007, after reacting to the Citizen’s Advice complaint. By fining well known companies on the high street, the FSA sent a strong message that mis-selling would not be tolerated.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) also investigated the sector following the super complaint. It later referred payment protection insurance to the Competition Commission for a more in-depth review. The Commission subsequently released several recommendations for improvements within the sector. The first major issue the committee targeted was the bundling of loans and insurance products that often was unfair to consumers. A 7 day waiting period was placed on lenders before they could sell unemployment insurance to a new borrower. This gives the consumer more time to explore the market to get a more fair deal on cover.

There are more fair deals to be had in the open market. Independent specialists are not only more knowledgeable about the insurance products. They also offer much more affordable rates. Typically, a standalone provider sells loan payment protection for 10 times less what an institutions sells it for. Similarly, mortgage payment cover is a bout four times less expensive, and income payment insurance is about five times less expensive. If you consider the increased knowledge and better service you usually get through a specialist provider, and add the significant savings, it is clear that insurance specialists offer the best value for redundancy cover.

Conclusions

The first thing to remember about unemployment insurance is that you need it to protect your family. Unless you have adequate funding from other sources besides your full time job, or you want to chance getting a little assistance from the State, the peace of mind that comes with redundancy insurance is your best option for protection. Here are some other things to remember when looking for the best value in protection:

• Be aware of the length of time, benefits starting point, and maximum cover offered by plans you are considering for purchase
• Along with involuntary redundancy, you can cover accidents and illness
• Consider the added protection offered by carer cover
• Look to independent specialists for the best value in unemployment protection as they have expertise and often offer much more affordable premium rates.

In order to prevent your family from facing financial ruin should you have to deal with involuntary redundancy, it is necessary to buy an unemployment cover in Northern Ireland. You could also protect against incapacity for illness or accident. Government assistance for people forced out of work is very minimal and a small percentage of people get aid. You have to take action yourself by purchasing one of three common products that are utilized to fulfill unemployment protection needs. These three products, mortgage payment protection, loan protection, and income payment cover form a sector of the insurance market known as payment protection insurance.

Mortgage cover helps you to manage your monthly mortgage repayment obligations. Keeping your home secure is a first priority when you are out of work, and this product is focused on that. Loan payment protection is great for meeting your monthly personal loan and credit card payment obligations. Income payment cover is good for managing various financial expectations. While each of the products has its unique niche, they all effectively serve as unemployment cover in Northern Ireland because they provide monthly benefits that replace lost job income from a covered event.

The features of unemployment protection

There are some common components with payment protection products that you need to weigh as you look to get the best protection possible. One is the length of benefits payout, which is usually either 12 months long or 24 months long.

Another is the origination of the first payment. Some policies pay you the first benefit as soon as thirty days after a covered event occurs. This is the ideal situation if you are on a budget, and without a job income. Other plans promise to deliver the first payment at 60 days or 90 days following the event.

The highest level of protection you can usually get with a payment protection policy is the lesser of half your regular gross income or 1500 Pounds. This doesn’t replace all of your lost income but since the payments are tax free, it should give you enough support to make it through the unemployment period.

Your eligibility for unemployment cover in Northern Ireland is dependent on your status as a full time employee. You usually have to work full time for six months to get benefits. Retired people, part time employees, and also people with pre-existing medical conditions are not typically able to collect.

Your protection with payment cover

With payment protection, you generally get insurance against involuntary redundancy, which enables you to collect during redundancy. Many providers also allow you to add benefits for incapacity from accident or illness. This makes for a potentially broader insurance package.

Some people choose only to insure against one event or the other. Typically, you can cover redundancy and leave out the incapacity piece, which some people do because their employers cover accidents and extended illness. Others do need accident and sickness protection but leave out redundancy to save premiums. This is only a good idea if you have savings and an ability to quickly find new work.

You might also want to watch for policies that include carer cover. This is a nice extra protection that some providers include for free. With this cover, you get monthly benefits if you have to leave work to manage the health of a sick or injured family member.

Getting the best deal on unemployment cover in Northern Ireland

You can generally buy payment cover policies from either financial institutions or independent insurance specialists. However, most discerning consumers are starting to realize that the best deal most often comes from independent providers. Financial institutions usually have much higher premium rates and in the past, have often pressured customers by bundling their plans with loan products.

In 2005, Citizen’s Advice filed a super complaint with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) regarding the bundling of loans and insurances, and other unfair selling practices. The OFT asked the Competition Commission to further review. After its review, the Commission made some recommendations, including the placement of a seven day ban on the sale of payment protection following a loan sale.

Thanks to the heightened awareness in the sector and the resolutions, consumers are now experiencing better service and lower rates from standalone providers. You can usually find unemployment cover in Northern Ireland for rates as much as five times less on mortgage cover. Income payment protection runs about five times less through an independent provider. Loan protection can be as much as ten times less expensive. These savings and the benefits of protection make it very important that you insure your family right away.

Mortgage payment protection would be your safety net to fall back onto in the event you were to become a victim of redundancy or incapacity. If you were to suddenly lose your income to either of these events you would have to struggle each month to find the money needed to maintain the repayments of your mortgage. Should you fall into arrears that you are unable to catch up on then you are risking losing your home.

What mortgage protection does?

Mortgage cover would go a long way towards ensuring that if you were to suffer from redundancy or incapacity and lose your income you would have a substantial amount of money towards being able to meet the demands of your mortgage each month.

The policy provides an income that is tax free once you have been unable to work or have been incapacitated for a period of time which must be checked before taking out the cover as the terms can differ greatly with each provider. The income supplied from the mortgage protection insurance would be welcomed as tax free payments each month for the term offered.

Without a policy you could fall behind on your mortgage repayments and this might lead to lender repossession if there is no way that you are able to catch up on the missed repayments. So the small monthly premium for mortgage payment protection to protect against this can be well worth it.

When could I claim on the insurance?

Providers will have different rules as to when you could make a claim on your insurance. The terms offered by the provider you are considering taking out protection with would have to be checked at the time of applying for the mortgage payment protection insurance.

Your provider could offer a policy that would allow you to make a claim once you had suffered 30 days of incapacity or had been redundant. However there are some that could ask you wait as long as the 90th day before making a claim.
When you could claim is important with mortgage payment protection insurance as 90 days can be a long time to wait before seeing any money. Lenders can choose to take you to court if you have mortgage arrears of just a couple of months. By the 90th day you could already be in mortgage arrears by 3 months and could have the lender sending threats of court proceedings.

How much benefit would I get?

Again the amount of income you would get towards your mortgage repayment would depend on the provider. All will set a maximum amount that you would be able to insure up to so they would have to pre-agree with the amount you choose when you apply for cover.

The payments you do receive would be tax free each month, should you need to make a claim, and would of course provide a substantial sum of money towards you being able to continue servicing your repayments and so keep out of mortgage arrears.

How long would payments last?

Some providers will allow you to claim on your mortgage payment protection for 12 months. This can be more than enough time for you to have recovered from your accident or illness or for you to have gone out and found work.
However there are also providers who might offer 24 monthly payments on their protection. One thing you would have to take into account is that the cost of a policy that would payout for 24 months would be a lot dearer than one that gave you 12 months of insurance.

As there is such a big difference it is essential that when comparing the cost of mortgage cover you always ensure you are comparing the same terms.

Would you be eligible to make a claim?

Before taking out any mortgage payment protection it is essential that you are aware of the small print and have checked to ensure that you would be eligible to claim on the policy. If not then you could be paying out for insurance that you cannot possibly hope to make a claim against.

The terms can differ greatly between providers with some adding in more conditions than others. However any ethical specialist would provide you with the information you need so that you can make a decision regarding the suitability of protection before taking cover out.

For instance to be eligible to claim you would have to be working full time, at least 16 hours per week, and have worked from a period of 6 months prior to taking cover. You would also have to reside in the UK, the Isle of Man or the Chanel Islands to be eligible.

Checking the exclusions

The exclusions as mentioned above are what can stop you from being eligible to claim and so make the cover useless. While mortgage payment protection is a great form of insurance against a loss of income, it is not suitable for all individuals.

For example if you have an illness that is considered ongoing then you would have to double check the terms as there would be some limits which might mean you could not make a claim. Certain conditions such as back problems and illness brought about through stress could also be excluded.

If you are self-employed you would also need to check the terms. Generally the self-employed would only be eligible to claim if they had to cease trading altogether due to circumstances not of their own fault.

Of course there can be many more exclusions with some providers adding in many more than others. Therefore always go over the terms with a fine tooth comb to ensure you know what you are taking on.

Choose the events you want to protect against

While you might want total security against unemployment and incapacity together, in which case you could claim
should you suffer either event, you might want to tailor the mortgage payment protection to suit your needs.
You could just choose to take out mortgage cover for unemployment alone if you were one of the lucky ones that would get a good sick pay plan from your employer. You could alternatively choose just to protect against incapacity alone should this work out better for your circumstances.

The events you choose to take protection against would go towards setting how much you would pay in monthly premiums. This means that you would only be paying for protection that you needed.

Other policies you could consider

Mortgage cover is just one of a family of payment protection policies that you might want to consider taking against unemployment and incapacity.

If you have loan repayments to maintain then you might want to look into loan payment protection. This type of insurance can be taken out in the same way expect of course you would have peace of mind for your loan repayments. This could stop you falling behind on secured loan repayments which could lead to you losing your home. It could also stop you from being taken to court if you fall into debt with unsecured loan debts.
Income payment protection could also be considered. This policy gives you more freedom as you would be able to use the income supplied from the insurance in any way you wanted. You would have an income when bills arrived through your letterbox and would not have to scrimp and scrape to find the money.

Why you might consider mortgage cover

If you take into account that you would have to provide eligibility to claim an income from the State if you become unemployed or incapacitated, then you can see why paying a small premium each month for mortgage protection could make sense. In order to be able to claim State benefits you would for instance not have to have savings over a certain amount. If made redundant then you could be expected to use your redundancy money.

You would also have to remember that any money the State provides would only be towards the interest repayment of your mortgage and up to so much. You would also not see any benefit until the 13th week of your unemployment or incapacity and by this time you would already be in arrears with your mortgage by 3 months. Lenders can choose to repossess your home if you are just a couple of months behind on your repayments.

With mortgage payment protection you would have the income chosen by you and pre-agreed by your provider is as little as 30 days, depending on the provider.

Ensure you get a good deal on your insurance

One of the biggest benefits to taking out mortgage protection insurance with an independent provider is the savings you are able to make on the insurance. With some providers you might save up to as much as 40% on the premiums.
Should you be tempted to take cover at the time of borrowing then you can pay way over the odds for your policy. In the past lenders have calculated the cost of payment protection for your repayments over the term of the mortgage and then added this amount onto the amount you borrow. This means that interest is paid on not only the amount you borrow but also the protection which could mean adding on hundreds of pounds more than you need to pay.
With the independent provider you can also compare the terms on offer which then leads to you getting the right policy for your needs at a cost you can afford.

Benefiting from mortgage protection

The biggest benefit of course when taking mortgage protection is that you would have insurance against mortgage arrears. Mortgage arrears are the worst nightmare of all homeowners buying their home over many years.
Mortgage payment protection would provide you with peace and security of knowing just how much you would have coming into the home and how long for. This could allow you to make a quicker recovery as you would not have additional stress and worry added in or it would allow you the time to go out and search for work.

Income cover has to be checked out carefully as there are two different types of ways that you can protect your income. The type we are mainly covering here is actually called income payment protection. The other simply named income protection, however both types of cover can be termed the same. With this in mind it is essential that you check to ensure that you are looking at the right type of policy. One pays out just in the event that you lose your own income to incapacity and for up to your retirement age if needed while the one we are talking about here would cover involuntary redundancy and incapacity but pay out over the shorter term as explained below. Both are extremely valuable ways of protecting against a loss of income but both cover that loss in different ways so you have to ensure that you chose the best for your needs.

What exactly would income payment protection do?

Income payment protection can be taken to cover incapacity and involuntary unemployment in the same cover. If you did fall victim to one of these events then you would be able to make a claim on the policy and begin to receive an income back that was tax free each month for up to the term of the policy which would be dependent on the provider you have chosen to take your cover with. It is essential that you do bear the terms in mind when looking for and comparing the cost of the income payment protection as they can differ substantially as to how long you would have to wait before claiming and how long the benefit might continue.

Income payment protection insurance is not intended to pay out your tax free income for the odd day or two of sickness. There would always be a period of time that you would have to wait before being able to claim on your policy and this would also be dependent on the provider you had chosen to take out your cover with. Any ethical payment protection provider would provide you with all the information that you need so that you would be able to make the correct choice.

So how long might I have to wait before being able to claim on my insurance?

Your provider could allow you to make a claim on your policy, if you should have to, once you have been a victim to involuntary redundancy or incapacity for a period of no less than 30 days. In this case you would get your tax free income from the 31st day and be able to continue claiming if you should need it. This income would go a long way towards you being able to keep your essential outgoings up to date while you took the time to search around for work or concentrate on making your recovery.

Other providers could ask that you defer from making a claim until as long as the 60th day and with other providers you might have to stand to as long as the 90th day before being able to make your claim. When considering how long you would have to wait before claiming on your policy you do have to bear in mind that should you have to wait for as long as the 90th day before claiming you would have to wait for a period of 3 months. If you were unable to continue meeting your essential outgoings during this time then you could have letters coming into the home which would cause you a great deal of stress and worry. It could also mean that you have to struggle to catch up on the payments you have missed.

When considering how long you would need to stand before being able to make your claim you would need to bear in mind that some providers date back the cover to the first day of you suffering one of the events that you had chosen to protect against, so check to find out if your provider would.

How long might I be able to continue claiming my income?

With some providers if you were to have to make a claim you could make a claim and continue claiming on your policy for as long as the 12th month before the benefits would then cease. In this case you would get your tax free income each month for up to that time where you to need it. This would provide security which allows you to concentrate on recovering from your accident or illness. However with other providers you could be able to make a claim on the insurance, if needed, for up to a maximum of 24 months before the policy ceases providing.

While you might consider a 24 month policy to be the best you would have to take certain factors into account before rushing into taking out the cover to ensure that you get the right deal for your needs.

For instance if the provider offered you a policy that you could claim on if needed which would continue for a period of 24 months, if you were to have to make a claim for that length of time, you would need to pay out more in the premiums each month. This means that when you apply for the policy you would have to check the terms to ensure that you are making a like for like comparison for the monthly premiums.

You would also have to take into account that you could have made a recovery and been able to go back to work well or have found work well within a period of 12 months. However also give some thought to the fact that whether you take a policy out that could potentially provide an income over 12 or 24 months if you were to have to claim for that length of time the benefits would cease at the term regardless of your circumstances. This means that if you remained incapacitated or unemployed when you cover had reached its term you would have to find money yourself after this time.

How much monthly tax free benefit would I get?

When you apply for the policy how much you choose to cover of your own monthly income goes towards the cost of the premiums each month. You could choose how much you wanted to cover up to the limit offered by the provider so they would have to pre-agree to your chosen amount when you apply. Usually you could insure up to half of your gross monthly income or up to £1,500 whichever amount was the least and this is then what you would be paid back once the deferment period had passed and for up to the term of the policy.

This income would go a long way towards you being able to meet your essential demands and outgoings and would stop you from having to struggle from month to month. While you can choose to insure up to half of your gross monthly income this does not mean you have to insure this much. If you want to keep the cost down of the monthly premiums you could choose to cover well below this amount.

Choose the events that you want to take out cover for

When applying for your income protection insurance you can choose to take out cover that would provide you with an income in the event that you should become a victim to involuntary redundancy or incapacity. If you chose to cover either of the events then of course you would have the security of being able to make a claim for either of the events. You could however choose to cover just one event or the other and as the events covered would go towards how much you have to pay each month in premiums this means that you would only be paying out for the protection that you actually need.

If you were lucky enough to get full sick pay over an extended period of time then you could choose just to take out protection against the possibility of becoming a victim to involuntary redundancy. If you were then a victim to involuntary unemployment you could make a claim on the policy and begin to receive your tax free income whilst you searched for work.

Should the sick pay plan from your employer not be much good and you knew you would struggle if you suffered accident or illness that left you unable to work then you could just choose to take out insurance against incapacity. This could work out in your favour if you knew that you would have substantial redundancy money to rely on.

Due to the fact that the events would go towards setting how much you would pay each month in monthly premiums you would have to make this choice at the time of applying for your income payment protection insurance.

Check to find out if the provider offers you carer cover in with your insurance

You could also give some thought to whether or not the provider would allow you to make a claim on your income protection policy in the event that you were to have to give up full time work to remain at home to take care of a loved one should they become a victim to incapacity. A generous provider would offer you carer cover but not all do so always check for this added for of security before taking it out.

If you had carer cover behind you there would be no need to look for someone to come into the home to take care of your family member nor would you have to payout costs. You would be there to take care of them which would provide you and your loved one with enormous peace of mind and security.

Ensure you would be able to make a claim on the insurance

When considering any income protection policy with any provider you would have to check to ensure that you would be eligible to claim on the insurance before you take it out. There will always be exclusions in any cover and some providers could add in many more than others. Any ethical provider would provide you with access to the exclusions so you can ensure you could benefit before taking out the policy.

• To be able to take out the cover you would need to be working in a full time position when applying and you would have to be working full time for a certain amount of time which could be in the region of 6 months.
• You should be living in the UK, Channel Isles or the Isle of Man to be eligible to claim on the insurance.
• If you are of retirement age then you would not be able to take cover.
• Should you suffer an ongoing illness when you apply for your policy then you would have to check the wording of the cover carefully as usually you would not be able to claim on the policy if you were unable to work due to your ongoing illness.
• If you are self-employed then you would also have to check the terms of the policy very carefully as you would only be able to make a claim on your policy in the event that you were to have to cease trading on a permanent basis.

What other forms of payment protection are there to choose from?

Income payment protection insurance is a great way to ensure that if you were to lose your income to incapacity or unemployment through no fault of your own you would have money that you could put towards being able to meet your essential repayments. However you could have other repayments that you want to secure against this possibility and therefore you might want to look into taking out mortgage, loan or credit card insurance.

Should your biggest monthly outlay be your monthly mortgage repayments then you could choose to take out mortgage payment protection. You could protect up to so much of your monthly mortgage repayment and this would be the income that you would get back each month in the event that you should have to make a claim on the policy. This income could mean the difference between you being able to keep up with your mortgage repayments and falling behind on them. Should you fall behind on your mortgage repayments you would have to catch up otherwise you would be at risk of having your home take from you through repossession?

If you want to ensure that you would have an income coming into the home so that you would be able to keep up with your unsecured or secured loan repayments then you could take out loan payment protection. The monthly income could be enough to stop you from falling into debt with your loan repayments which could result in your lender taking you to court.

Credit card payment protection could be taken out by anyone who has the monthly commitment of credit card bills. You could choose to protect a percentage of the monthly outstanding balance on your credit card and this would be the amount that you would be able to claim back in the event that you were to have to make a claim on your policy. This means that you would have a substantial amount towards meeting your bill each month and not have to worry about falling behind on your repayments and into debt.

Ensure you get the best possible deal on your insurance

When considering income protection insurance you could find you could get the best deal if you choose to shop around with independent payment protection providers. You can of course get the policy with one of the lenders on the high street but usually you could pay way over the odds when taking a policy this way. With payments protection providers you could also compare the exclusions that can be found in the protection which must be checked against your circumstances so that you would be sure of being able to claim on your cover if it were needed.

There has been a great deal of bad publicity regarding all types of payment protection after a super complaint was made to the Office of Fair trading by the Citizens Advice. Following this there was an investigation by the Financial Services Authority and fines were handed out to some of the top high street lenders for mis-selling payment protection. The Competition Commission then made an in-depth review of the sector and recommended changes to the way that lenders could sell protection. Lenders have to wait for a period of time before they can contact the consumer and also make the consumer aware that they have the option of shopping around for the cover.

Providing you check the small print and find out what exclusions there are in the policy then this will go towards ensuring that you would not be buying something that you would not be able to make a claim on if it were needed.

The many benefits to taking out income payment protection insurance

With income protection insurance behind you there would be a substantial amount of income coming into the home each month which you would be able to use towards meeting the demands of your essential outgoings each month. Without this valuable form of protection you could find that you have to make many lifestyle changes and this of course could have an effect on the whole of the family. Even when making such drastic lifestyle changes you could still find that you cannot keep up with your outgoings.

If you were to rely on being able to claim an income from the State towards meeting your outgoings then you could be let down. You would have to prove that you were entitled to claim an income from the State and this would mean that you do not have to have savings over a certain amount nor would you have to have a partner living with you that was in full time work. Even if you were eligible to claim an income from the State you could be let down as it might not come anywhere near the income you were used to bringing home when you were in work. This could again see you struggling and having to spread out the income. It would also mean that you do not have to rely on your savings as a means of servicing your utility bills, your monthly rent and such as your grocery bill for the month. Should you be relying on using your savings you would have to take into account that you could have to rely on them for a great deal of time as it could take many months before you were able to find work or make a recovery? You could run through savings that took you many years to save and still be left with a struggle on your hands to continue meeting your outgoings.

Were you to be unable to continue meeting your utility bills you would of course receive letters from your supplier and if you fell that far behind then you could have your services cut off which of course would make life unbearable. You could also suffer a great deal of stress and anxiety as to how you would be able to continue feeding your family.

With income protection insurance behind you, you would know how much you would have coming into the home as this would be the amount chosen by you and pre-agreed by your provider. You would also know how long you would have to wait before being able to make a claim on the insurance and how long you could continue claiming up to in the event that a claim had to be made. this would provide enormous peace of mind as there would not be the gamble as there would be with the State or relying on savings.

Most of us use insurance to protect our interests and those of our families. We take out life and health insurance and most opt for more than the statutory minimum insurance for our cars. In this context, one of the most serious risks we face is that of losing our income through redundancy yet many people do not realise that it is possible to protect against that through insurance that provides unemployment protection in Manchester.

What can such insurance provide? If you lose your job for involuntary reasons it could offer:

• A regular monthly income of up to the lesser of 1500 pounds per month or 50% of your gross income
• Payment if required directly to your mortgage or other lenders
• Income through to you finding a new job (to a maximum of 12 months or perhaps 24 months in the case of certain policies).

This could mean that you are able to keep your house and goods around you while you’re job hunting rather than need to spend great chunks of your time fighting off repossession and recovery actions.

Of course insurance costs money and it is perfectly natural to question whether or not you really need it. Only you can answer that question but it may be worth keeping in mind the realities of life if you do in fact lose your income.

• It is unlikely that the basic state unemployment benefits will offer you sufficient income to ensure that you meet your car, credit card, HP and mortgage repayments.
• Government help towards keeping that roof over your head is in fact limited. It will only pay a percentage of the interest of the repayment each month and you will need to find the rest. Before offering it they will expect to see that you have used all your savings above a specified level and this help also presumes that your lender will agree to an interest-only payment period.
• Not all lenders will be willing or able to offer help in reducing their monthly payments.
• If you are unable to maintain payments on loans then your goods and perhaps even home will be repossessed.

Unemployment protection in Manchester could be a financial lifesaver but it will have its own conditions and terms that should be looked at carefully. Typically you will find that these types of policies won’t provide cover for a loss of employment due to:

• Normal pregnancies
• Resignation
• Voluntary redundancy
• Career breaks / return to study
• Some types of dismissals.

If you decide to purchase a policy giving you unemployment protection in Manchester, you may find that you may need to demonstrate that:

• You are in permanent employment and that this can be verified – this need not be full time but there will be a minimum number of working hours per week specified by the policy.
• You do not work outside of the UK.
• You have a clear work history.
• You are not involved in certain types of self-employment.

The various lending companies at one time aggressively pushed their clients to purchase these insurance policies at the time they were making their loan applications. This practice proved unpopular as it was implied that the loan approval could be aided by taking this insurance.

Following the intervention of regulatory and monitoring bodies this practice has been stopped. In future the lenders will need to wait until 7 days after a ‘yes’ decision before offering this insurance.

In practice, these forms of insurance are several times more expensive when purchased from lenders than comparable policies purchased from the specialist providers of unemployment protection in Manchester. These specialists operate on the Internet and have a range of products in this area that will suit most needs.

You are not restricted to purchasing this cover with a loan. You can take them out at anytime providing you meet the criteria outlined above. Although the basic product may only cover unemployment, for a small additional cost it can be extended to include cover for a loss of income arising through circumstances such as sickness or accident.

Having unemployment protection in Manchester can’t reduce your chances of being made redundant. What it can do though is allow you to continue a relatively normal life free from daily crises involving you fighting rear-guard actions against your creditors. You are not likely to be able to give job-hunting your full attention if your possessions and even home are vanishing in front of your eyes. Unemployment protection insurance could help you avoid that.

When choosing unemployment protection in Glasgow you have the option of taking your policy with one of the high street lenders or you can take your cover with a standalone payment protection provider. The latter is usually one of the best ways to make savings on your cover and it is possible to save as much as 40% on the cost of mortgage protection and 80% on protection by way of loan cover. You could also get attractive low cost quotes for your income payment protection.

So what would the protection do?

As its name would suggest you could take out unemployment protection in Glasgow to provide security in the event that you became redundant through no fault of your own. You would choose the most suitable policy for your needs and then claim benefits that would go towards you being able to maintain your chosen outgoings or repayments.
There would be a certain amount of time that you would have to wait before making your claim which is dependent on the provider so you do have to check this at the time of applying for the policy. Also check how long you might be able to continue claiming on your protection as this too could differ.

So how long could the deferment period last?

With some providers you could have to stand to the first 30 days of involuntary redundancy before being able to make a claim on your insurance. Some could ask you defer from making a claim until the 30th day and others could ask you wait for up to as long as the 90th day and then make your claim.

Should you have to wait for the longer period then you would have to be able to keep your repayments and outgoings updated yourself during what could be a 3 months wait. If you do not and you fall behind then of course you would need to catch up on them when your benefit began.

When could I claim up to on the policy?

Some providers might offer you 12 months of protection when taking out unemployment insurance in Glasgow with them. Others could provide a policy that would continue providing you with an income for as long as the 24th month was you to have to claim and claim for that length of time.

If your provider offered a policy that you could claim on if needed for up to 24 months you would need to pay out more in the monthly premiums to reflect the extra cover. This would have to be weighed up against the fact that any policy would only pay for the maximum term offered and would cease even if you were to remain unemployed when it reached that term.

How much would my monthly benefit work out?

You would be allowed to choose how much you wanted to cover, up to a limit, at the time of applying for unemployment protection in Glasgow. The provider would need to pre-agree to this amount at this time and this would be the benefit they would provide you with if you were to have to make a claim on the insurance. The income would be paid tax free each month over the term of the policy as mentioned above.

You would be able to use the benefit paid each month towards the repayments or outgoings that you chose to protect when taking out the policy. An example of this would be if you are taking out income protection you would generally be able to protect up to half of the gross monthly income you bring home or up to £1,500 whichever was the least amount.

Add in protection against incapacity too

If you wanted to pay a little more in monthly premiums then you could have the security of being able to make a claim due to incapacity or redundancy. This would have to be decided at the time of applying for the cover as the events you choose to protect would go towards the cost of the quote for the policy.

You might want to check to find out if you could make a claim on your insurance for carer cover. If the provider is generous enough they would supply you with this additional form of security so that if you were to have to give up your full time to stop at home and take care of a loved one you would still have the income from your policy.

Why consider a policy?

When considering unemployment protection in Glasgow you could be tempted not to take out the cover due to the monthly cost. However if you do not have something to rely on you could end up losing your home and being taken to court by your lenders. Applying for a State income can often be a letdown as any money that you might get would only pay the interest part of the mortgage and it might not match your own income or come anywhere near it.

There’s no doubt that you can purchase unemployment protection in Liverpool – the question is really what benefits can it offer and is it worth it?

In a sense the question cannot be answered in a brief article like this. Every person’s individual circumstances will be different. It may be that you are at virtually no risk of redundancy or that you have very significant financial reserves. In such cases you may be able to afford to ignore the issue altogether.

It is also possible that perhaps you think unemployment protection insurance in Liverpool is an expensive luxury you can do without because the government will provide should redundancy strike.

If the question can’t be answered for your specific circumstances, it is possible to highlight some common factors that may help you form your own decision.

Suffering unemployment and a loss of income – the effects

If one day you do receive the dreaded redundancy notice and assuming you’re not very lucky and find a new job immediately, then very quickly you are likely to find:

• You are unable to meet your normal monthly repayments for things such as the car, HP agreements, credit cards and possibly even mortgage
• The regular household bills such as food, clothes, electricity and gas, also become major issues
• You start to receive threatening letters relating to your arrears and debts
• If you are unable to deal with these, you will receive the recovery and repossession notices.

If this position is not quickly resolved, your possessions and your home could be at risk.

The help available – options

If you are without income and struggling to meet your bills, probably one of the worst courses of action is to ‘do nothing’. You could:

• Contact your mortgage and other lenders to notify them of your predicament and ask them for any help they can offer to defer your payments. They may or may not be able to help. If they can’t and you can’t pay – they will move to repossession.
• Contact the social services and claim your state entitlements to benefits. You may find that these provide a minimum subsistence level of aid but are incapable of helping with the bulk of your monthly outgoings.
• In the case of your mortgage, you may benefit from asking the lender to offer a period of interest-only payments. You could then contact the government to ask for their special mortgage help. Providing you do not hold significant savings, this may be available. On the down side, it only pays a proportion of the interest and you will have to find the rest yourself.

Assessment

For many people, coping with unemployment based exclusively on state aid may not be a viable solution – at least not if you wish to keep your possessions and house. Relying on state aid exclusively assumes that you will get sympathy and preferential arrangements from the various lenders you owe money to.

You may, but it could prove something of a gamble.

The role of insurance and unemployment protection in Liverpool

Having a policy covering unemployment protection in Liverpool won’t in itself guarantee that your old life style is fully maintained but it can generate sufficient income to keep the roof over your head and hopefully a relatively normal ongoing life while you search for new employment.

These policies could generate up to 1500 pounds per month in the event you lose your income. The risks covered are of course redundancy and for a small additional premium cover can be extended to include sickness and accidents.

The payments can continue until you find new employment up to a maximum period of 12 months or perhaps 24 months in the case of some policies.

These policies can provide you with a monthly income. There are variations that can be linked directly to your mortgage and will pay it directly, or to a wider range of your debts including credit cards etc.

Their conditions of your unemployment protection in Liverpool policy are usually simple and relate mainly to the fact that this cover is for an involuntary loss of income. They would not cover you if you lost income because you had you resigned, took voluntary redundancy, became pregnant, went back to full time education or were dismissed (in some situations).

Eligibility

Most people who are in full time employment (and working more than a specified minimum number of hours per week) can obtain this cover. You may need to show that your employment is verifiable and that you have a clear work history. Some people in certain categories of self-employment may have difficulty in finding cover. You may also have to have held the policy for a minimum period before you would be allowed to claim.

If you have included sickness and accident cover, you may have to show that you do not have an existing serious medical condition and that you do not work in a particularly hazardous occupation.

Purchasing unemployment insurance

The loan companies and banks often sell this cover. Their insurance though is usually several times more expensive that the same insurance purchased from other sources.

There are specialist providers of this form of policy on the Internet. If you are looking for unemployment protection in Liverpool, their policies may prove to be not only significantly cheaper but also superior in terms of cover.

Are you worried about what would happen to you financially if you lost your job due to involuntary redundancy? If not, you should be. Of course, you should not stress over such matters if you are happily employed. But, you should be proactive at protecting your financial situation. The best way to do this is to not rely on the State for assistance. It is to take matters into your own hands through the purchase of a payment protection product.

Payment cover comes in the form of loan protection, mortgage cover, or income payment cover. These three products make up the payment protection insurance (PPI) sector. This umbrella of products essentially serves as your best option for redundancy protection. Loan cover can be valuable for managing monthly debt during a period of unemployment. Mortgage payment protection serves to help you manage monthly mortgage repayments so that you can hold on to your home. Income payment insurance helps with maintenance of various financial obligations. All three products provide benefits through monthly payments that replace your job income when you are out of work because of a covered event.

Get to know the factors that affect your payment protection

There are several important elements to consider as you get to know the payment protection sector. The first issue is to determine whether you are eligible for cover. Other issues include: The length of payouts, the starting point for benefits payments, and the amount of cover you want.

Eligibility for cover under the typical loan protection policy requires that you are employed full time for a period of at least six months. People that are employed full time or retired are not able to collect benefits. Another excluded group are people that are dealing with pre-existing medical conditions.

Once you have established that you are eligible to collect benefits from a payment protection, you can begin to look over the details of various plans. Do not be afraid to ask for disclosure of terms if details are not openly shared by a provider. The first issue to think about is how long the benefits will be paid. Typically, policies pay out over a period of either 12 months, or 24 months.

Benefits payments usually begin at 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days after the insured event occurs. This is an extremely critical issue as it affects the amount of time you will go with no income after you are displaced. Most people would want a policy that starts to pay 30 days after the insured event to avoid a gap in income. If you have savings or other sources of funds, or perhaps severance pay, a 60 day starting point, or 90 day starting point, might be okay.

The maximum allowable monthly benefit payment is either half the normal monthly gross income, or £1500, whichever is lower. Though most would want the highest amount of cover to protect lost job income, some people that do have other funds, elect to save on premiums and take out less.

Typical events covered with loan protection

Involuntary redundancy, accidents and illness are the common events you can protection with a payment cover policy. Involuntary redundancy is obviously useful if you want to secure yourself after displacement. Accident and sickness cover is vital to protect yourself when health issues cause you to miss an extended amount of work time.

Not everyone wants to cover both events with they payment cover. Some people already have good protection for accident and sickness through their employer. Others need the accident and sickness benefit but may decide that they have enough funds saved to protect for involuntary redundancy. This can be risky though, unless you are well education and well-skilled, and believe you can quickly get new work.

Carer cover is an add-on benefit that you might want to insist upon in a payment insurance policy that you would buy. This extra benefit pays your monthly payments when you must leave work to care for a loved one who is seriously sick or injured. It is a good cover to have to balance your need for income and family.

Comparing financial institutions and independent insurance providers

Financial institutions are large banks that sell a variety of financial instruments. Their broad focus sometimes makes it difficult for them to offer expertise on any one particular area. In contrast, independent insurance specials are usually experts on the insurance products they sell. This enables them to help you get the right plan at the right price.

Speaking of the right price. A major difference between large banks and insurance specialists is their price points. Financial institutions notoriously sell expensive policies, which is why they have historically engaged in some mis-selling of policies to ineligible consumers, as well as pressurized selling tactics related to bundling of loan and insurance products. Independent specialists have much more affordable insurance policies. Loan protection is usually about 10 times less expensive from a specialist. Mortgage cover is around four times cheaper. Income payment protection is about five times less expensive.

Another thing to consider is the ethical side of insurance. As mentioned, many large banks have come under fire for some unethical selling of policies. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) issued fines against many high street companies that it found guilty of mis-selling in 2007. The agency continues to monitor the sector to ensure these practices are discontinued.

In 2005, Citizen’s Advice filed a super complaint with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). In it, the group addressed the mis-selling, but also the bundling of loans and insurances that created unfair situations for consumers. The OFT responded by turning the payment protection sector over to the Competition Commission for further review. This led to several recommendations for sector improvements. One notable change was the implementation of a seven day waiting period during which lenders cannot sell loan protection or mortgage cover to a new borrower. This has freed consumers from pressure tactics and enables them to look in the open market for a better deal.

If you want peace of mind that if you lost your regular income due to redundancy or falling ill or being involved in an accident that left you unable to work, you will have an income, you should consider payment protection. If you have loan repayments to service each month then loan protection can be ideal.

What will loan protection do?

Loan payment protection insurance will supply you with an income if you were to suffer from either of these events. You will need to stand to so many days before being eligible to claim on your policy and this amount of time is dependent on your provider. You will therefore need to check in the terms that they offered before rushing into taking out the cover.

How long will I need to wait before making my claim?

You might have to wait for a mere 30 days with some providers before you can claim on your policy. However with others you can need to have suffered incapacity or unemployment for 60 or even 90 days at least before you can make a claim. With these two latter dates, this leaves you vulnerable to missed repayments for up to 3 months.
As the differences are vast you will be wise to have checked the terms offered by any provider you are considering taking out cover with before buying.

How much income will be paid?

You will get back the amount of income that you chose to insure when taking out your loan protection policy. This will be so much of the sum of your loan payment that you have to make each month and which your provider pre-agreed with when you applied for the cover.

All providers will limit this amount but you can expect to receive up to £1,500 or half your gross earned income. This will then be paid each month, tax free, for up to the term of the policy if needed.

So how long will my benefit continue?

Once you have made a claim and begin to receive your benefit you will then get your payment each month for the term of the loan cover. This can be as long as 12 months or with some providers it can be for 24 months. If your policy paid out over 24 months then you can expect to pay more in premiums of course and you will need to take into account that the cover will cease should you need to claim until the term.

Tailor the protection to suit your needs

The good thing about payment protection insurance (PPI) policies is that they can be tweaked to meet your circumstances. You might want to take full protection for unemployment or incapacity in one policy and then claim should you suffer either of these events.

If it suited your lifestyle better then you can look into taking out just redundancy protection for the repayments of your loan. Alternatively you might just want to take out cover to safeguard against the chance of becoming incapacitated alone. The choice is yours.

Other types of protection you might consider

While loan protection will cover your loan repayments this type of policy is no good if you have mortgage repayments to protect. In this case you might want to consider taking out mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI). Mortgage cover will allow you to protect your monthly mortgage repayments in the same way.
Income payment protection insurance provides a tax free sum that you can use as you want. You will have money to be able to spread about as you wish.

Why you should consider a policy

In the event of being unable to work or unemployed, State benefits can often be a bit of a letdown when looking for money to continue meeting the demands of your loan. Very often the little income you might be eligible to receive falls short of the income you are used to bringing home from your normal wage.

You can also have to wait for some considerable time before you see any money from your claim and by this time you can already be in debt and have your lender on your back.

How to get a good deal on your protection

In order to get the best deal on your loan protection you need to shop around and check the quotes on offer for the cheapest premiums. If you look for your loan insurance online this is easy and you can also compare the terms and conditions of the cover.
While you can take insurance with the lender on the high street this is usually one of the dearest ways to take your policy and you do not have the options you will have with the independent provider.

Always check for suitability

Finally, price isn’t just the only important thing when buying a PPI policy. You need to ensure that you are eligible for the cover too. You should always check for suitability before taking out your policy as there will be at least some of the common exclusions in the small print. Some providers might add in more than others so you do have to compare then when you are comparing the cost of the cover.
For instance you will have to have been working for at least 6 months before applying for loan protection and must be in a full time position.

Other exclusions you can find in the cover

You will have to reside in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or the Channel Isles in order to be eligible to make a claim on the policy you were considering.
You should also check the cover with a fine tooth comb if you are self-employed as usually a claim can only be made should you have to cease trading permanently through no fault of your own.
Also check the wording if you have a pre-existing medical condition as generally you can be ineligible to claim if the illness were to surface and you became unable to work.

Loan protection provides peace of mind that your ability to service your monthly repayments will not be affected even if you become too ill to work for an extended period of time due to involuntary redundancy.

In tough economic times, it is always good to have as much financial security as possible. One way to give you more security is to prepare for the potential of involuntary redundancy. Are you comfortable that your job is secure? Even if you are, realize that a lot of people that are now unemployed felt the same way before being displaced from work. As companies look to costs, labor is one of the first areas hit. If you lose your job, you lose your income and your livelihood. With the protection of unemployment cover, you are paid a monthly benefit pay cheque after the insured event occurs. For a modest premium investment, you can give your family the peace of mind and security that comes from knowing a plan is in place.

Mortgage payment cover, loan payment cover and income payment cover are the products that commonly are used as unemployment cover. These three insurance solutions make up an umbrella of products known as payment protection insurance. This sector within the insurance industry is specifically designed to protect you with replacement income when you face involuntary redundancy. The product itself is not as important as the protection it offers. There are some differences in purpose among these three products, but they all pay replacement income benefits.

Understand the terms and conditions of unemployment insurance

Your education in unemployment cover begins with an understanding of the common terms and conditions that may these insurances what they are. To get the best deal in the marketplace, you must know the differences in common terms that may affect the value of a given product for you. First, consider the length of the plan. Is it a 12 month plan or a 24 month plan? A 12 month plan might be possible if you are confident that you can quickly find a new job. A 24 month plan gives you a bit more flexibility given the longer period of protection.

The maximum monthly benefit with most redundancy covers is 1500 Pounds or half of your standard monthly gross income. This means that you are not able to cover your full normal payment, but given that the benefits payouts are non-taxed, the protection does replace a significant portion of it. You do have the option to take on a lower amount of cover. Though most would prefer to secure as much of their normal income as possible, some who have other income or savings might want to save money by taking out a smaller amount of cover.

When do benefits begin? This is an important question since you will be waiting for the benefits pay cheques to take the place of your lost job income. The answer is that the point at which benefits kick in does vary by provider. Some providers offer policies that begin payouts 30 days after the insured event. This means there is not a gap between your last regular pay and your first insurance payment. Other plans start benefits 60 days or 90 days after the event. Can you wait that long to begin collecting payments? You might, but most people cannot go that long with an income payment as they have bills and debt obligations to pay.

Know the eligibility guidelines for unemployment cover

Unemployment protection is not open to all people. Since the insurance is intended to protect regular income, it is only available to full time employees who have been employed for at least six months. This means that retired people, part time employees, and people with pre-existing medical conditions cannot collect benefits payouts from the insurance policies. Know whether you meet this set of criteria before buying cover. Though insurance providers should help you figure this out, some financial institutions have used mis-selling tactics in the past, including selling to non-eligible people.

Know your options in payment protection

So you now know the basics of getting protection against involuntary redundancy. What if you become sick for a prolonged time or are injured in an accident? Does your employer have a solid health scheme in place that covers you in these situations? If not, you will be glad to know that many providers allow you to buy cover for accidents and illness that keep you out of work. You can usually take on one, two, or all three cover types (accident, sickness, or unemployment). For maximum protection, you would obviously want protection against all three events.

Some people may decide they only need insurance for cases of accident or sickness. This is true for people who do not have this protection from their employer. What about unemployment? Some opt to not take unemployment because they either receive nice severance packages from work, or are confident they can quickly find a new job. There are other people who want just unemployment cover but do not need the accident and illness since they do have this cover at work.

Another add-on protection that many people elect to include in their unemployment cover is a carer cover benefit. Carer cover offers replacement income for situations where you must leave your job to care for a sick or injured family member. Unfortunately, people sometimes have loves ones (parents, spouses, siblings, children) who become seriously ill. When this happens, your family member might need you to take care of them daily. Having carer cover allows you to leave work and help out, while collecting the benefit payments for the length of the policy. This is a nice added value for a policy.

Be familiar with where to buy unemployment cover and how much to pay

You basically have two options when looking to buy payment protection. The first option is financial institutions. In reality, this provider has long targeted people like you without you even being aware. These large banks are general providers of financial products and are not as technically sound on the cover products. Insurance specialists, though, are experts in the unemployment insurance products as they are a part of their emphasis on insurance solutions.

Financial institutions long controlled the PPI marketplace because of consumers that were unaware of the sector. Consumers would go to a bank for a loan and end up buying both the loan and the insurance bundled with it. How did this happen? Sometimes the consumer felt pressured to take on the bank’s product in lieu of getting the loan. Other times, the lender would simply add the insurance and only make note of it in the fine print of a disclosure document. By spreading out the costs of the insurance with the loan repayment, the bank could hide the tremendously expensive nature of their products.

Price is a big differentiator between large banks and insurance specialists. Generally, loan payment cover is about 10 times less expensive to buy from an insurance specialist than from an institution. Similarly, mortgage payment cover is about four times less expensive and income payment protection is five times less expensive. These cost savings are well received by consumers today, though consumers in the past were unaware that they could by protection in the open market.

The 2005 Citizen’s Advice super complaint

In 2005, leading consumer advocate group Citizen’s Advice filed a super complaint with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). In the complaint the group brought up the bundling of loans and insurance and the pressure selling tactics it felt were unfair to consumers. It also alleged mis-selling against several companies that were selling products to those ineligible to collect benefits.

After launching their own investigation, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) charged fines against many well known high street companies that it found guilty of mis-selling. This penalty communicated that the agency was no longer tolerating any mis-selling and would watch for similar practices in the future. The fines also put consumers on alert to watch out for pushy selling tactics and to learn more about open market buying of unemployment cover.

The OFT completed its investigation by referring the PPI sector to the Competition Commission for further review. Following its review, the Commission placed a 7 day waiting period on lenders, banning them from selling payment cover to a new borrower. This gives the consumer more freedom to shop around for the best deal.

The Commission also recommended that all payment cover sellers report the costs of their premiums per £100 of benefits. This ensures more consistency in premium price reporting that also helps eliminate some types of deceptive selling. Several other resolutions from the Commission are to be in place by the end of 2009.

Act soon to cover your family from involuntary redundancy

Now that you are familiar with the benefits that make unemployment cover unique and valuable, do not wait long to go shopping. Keep these factors in mind when looking for the best value you can find:

• You can buy protection for unemployment, accident and illness
• You can add an extra benefit with carer cover
• You can find the best value unemployment cover with independent specialists who are more knowledgeable and offer better rates on payment protection insurance products.