Unemployment protection is the need of the hour. It shall take care of your timely repayments and day-to-day expenses for a period of time in which one shall be likely to arrange an alternative employment for oneself. There are various companies that are offering different plans that may suit one’s requirements. But before buying one should understand how it works –

Who Shall Qualify?
There are criteria that one should be able to fulfill to qualify for the unemployment protection. One should be a UK resident, aged between 18 and 64 and working for a considerably long period. One should also have been working for certain number of hours in a week that may vary from plan to plan.

Do Not Take the Pressure
One will find a number of companies offering one various kinds of plans. In order to sell their policies they may even keep one misinformed about certain important facts. Like they can also tack an accident sickness insurance policy along with your unemployment protection cover on the grounds that the former is free of cost. But actually the costs are incorporated in the unemployment protection. One should be very alert and understand all key things of the cover.

Filing an Unemployment Claim
Once one has bought the right plan for oneself, one also needs to know how the claims need to be filed. There are various considerations that the insurance provider has to take care of. The basic Eligibility conditions have to be met.

Basic Eligibility Conditions
One must meet the following basic eligibility conditions to claim the insurance. These are

• Monetarily Eligible – To calculate monetary eligibility wages are drawn fro a one year period known as base period.

• Totally or Partially Unemployed – One cannot file for a claim if one is self employed on a full-time basis.

• Must Have An Approvable Job Separation – Whether one quits, retires or is discharged from the job, one has to attend a hearing to determine one’s eligibility to benefits.

• Legal Requirements –One must meet legal requirements such as whether one is physically and mentally able to work, whether one is available for work and whether one is seeking work, etc.

Thus, a careful selection of such a plan is a must or else one would find oneself in a deep trouble in difficult time of one’s life.

By Nancy Dodds of Financemate.co.uk

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.

PPI – Some unworthy Aspects

• Expensive than other insurance policies.
• Provides benefits only for 12 months.
• Restricted to credit payments and other similar expenses.
• The lenders selling PPI often hide cheaper alternatives available in the market.

In fact, the hard sell approach of lenders has enforced the Competition Commission to take a strict action and ban the sale of PPI policies. The commission had been looking at the complaints made by consumer groups and finally followed this course of action recently.

New Rules of Competition Commission

The commission has instructed the lenders selling PPI policies to inform the customers visiting them about the expensive nature of these policies. Also, the lenders have been asked to share information about cheaper insurance alternatives with the customers, so that can take an effective decision.

While some of the insurance industry leaders have agreed to the modifications, majority of them term them as wrong decisions. According to them, the benefits of PPI policies must be kept in mind, which facilitate the people facing the problem of repaying their mortgage in case of emergency situations like, lose of job, accidents and health constraints.

Evaluation of Alternative Policies

There are many alternatives to PPI policies, which are capable of offering many more advantages than these expensive plans. First one is the ASU covers, which provide assistance in case of accidents, sickness and unemployment. And the good news is that premiums demanded by these plans are much lower than those associated with PPI. Similarly, there are income protection plans, which not only provide cover for a good proportion of your salary, but also aid your financial needs up to the age of 65.

The conclusion is that the concept of PPI has taken the advantage of unfamiliarity of people with alternative insurance plans available for emergency situations. But now, the path for these tailor-made plans is going to be clear with a number of question marks encountering the essence of PPI. 

By Nancy Dodds of Financemate.co.uk

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.

The PPI buyers are required to pay a monthly premium and get rid of mental trauma caused by inability to pay mortgage repayments due to circumstances like sickness, accident and even death. But, keep in mind the fact that these insurance policies are expensive and thus must be avoided in situations like:

• Alternative health insurance cover available.
• Availability of huge savings.
• Financial assistance offered by people in social contacts.

Some Points of Consideration

Make sure you purchase right PPI to meet your requirements. For instance, people facing problems in running their own businesses may find unemployment aspect of these policies to be useless.

The choice of lender for purchasing this policy can influence its utility for weeding out your problem.

Always check the hidden costs associated with these insurances. Some lenders may try to befool you by offering cheap loans, but expensive insurance rates.

While signing the deal for standalone PPI, make sure you have gone through all the clauses and unchecked the boxes asking for borrowing of loan.

Evaluate the terms and conditions of the policy for tangibility of the reasons for losing your job.

The lenders offering loans at high interest rate and insurances at lower interest rate are certainly better than those offering low interest rates on loans and expensive insurance rates. Thus, make sure you don’t go by the initial baits offered by tricky lenders in the form of low interest rate loans.

Basis of Choosing PPI

Type of cover you want to avail to bring down the cost price of PPI policies. For instance, choose wisely for accident and/or sickness and/or unemployment and so on.

Period for which benefits are offered – Most of the insurance providers offer benefits after 30-60 days of start of problem. However, you can find out one offering benefits from day one.

Finally, if you choose to switch from an expensive PPI to that offered at lower interest rate; don’t forget to assess all associated costs and benefits. The only way to become a successful policy holder is to extract maximum information about the policy.

By Nancy Dodds of Financemate.co.uk

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.

Just yesterday the BBC announced that Waterford-Wedgewood were going into administration, after a 250 year trading history. Today, it’s been announced that M&S are shedding 1000 jobs, and they are in reasonable shape; aren’t they?

Truth is that there this is going to be a hard year in the job market, too many people, chasing too few jobs.

Question is, if you lost your job, through Redundancy or your employer being wound up, how long would it take you to find a role that pays the right money, at a time when the balance of power is with the employers? Very difficult to negotiate when 20 people are all after one job.

To give you a buffer against job loss, the financial experts give us their wisdom, and tell us that it is a good idea to put away 3 to 4 months gross salary. Sadly, for most people this is not an affordable option. How then can you protect yourself against poverty?

The answer is simple, insure against it, with Redundancy Insurance. A monthly premium will buy you a chosen level of benefit, up to 50% of pre-redundancy earnings. Redundancy insurance is the same as any other annually renewable insurance, e.g. buildings insurance; there is no surrender value. The money goes into a “pot”, some people will claim and others won’t; the basic principle of insurance, a bit like gambling!

However, as the state of the economy declines, the odds are fast becoming staked in favour of the insured, so something’s got to give. Redundancy Insurance premiums may well have to increase substantially or the risk may well become uninsurable at an economic premium and the providers may pull out.

Two of the major providers pulled out of the Redundancy Insurance market, for new business, just before Christmas. If you are worried about the threat of redundancy and the impact of it on your family, and want protection; best look now, before Redundancy Insurance products are removed from the shelves.

The internet is the best place to shop for this type of cover. The providers that market their policies in this way have lower overheads, and pass on the savings to their customers.

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.

Well the party is now well and truly over and lean times are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. If ever there was a sign that we are in some degree of trouble, it’s the treasury cutting VAT by 2.5% before Christmas and the Bank of England, cutting the repo rate to 2%……at the busiest time of the year! That gives you an indication of how unlikely any inflation is; indeed there is talk of deflation.

Now all this of course means closures, and we are already seeing some of those with the likes of Woollies and MFI going to the wall, as well as many well known brands going into administration. This all equals branch closures and job losses, latest estimates suggest around 650,000 redundancies in 2009; a gloomy outlook.

If you do not have a year’s salary put aside as rainy day money, it makes perfect financial sense to seek out a Redundancy Insurance Policy. This type of cover will usually replace up to 65% of earnings should you be made unemployed or redundant.

In the event of a valid claim, the monthly benefit will be paid directly to you, so you can deal with your commitments, as you feel fit. Normally, Redundancy Insurance Policies pay a benefit for up to 12 months if needed, and the benefit is tax free under current HMRC rules.

A Redundancy Insurance Policy does exactly what it says in the literature; so, do make sure that you read it!

These days, the internet is the best place to shop for a stand alone Redundancy Insurance. Providers that market their policies in this way have lower overheads, and are therefore at a competitive advantage in terms of price/benefits they can offer, over say, the major Banks.

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.

The economy is in tatters, businesses are folding and more and more jobs are set to go.  The number of company insolvencies is rising at an alarming rate and now includes such names as Woolworths and MFI.

If your employer goes bust, all the points that you may have built up over the years in terms of redundancy payments are worthless; you are on the statutory scheme.

Details for the new government scheme are sketchy, however it would seem that 6 of the main lenders have simply agreed that in some( probably very few) cases, repossession can be delayed for up to two years, if there is enough equity in the property at outset allow the interest to be “ rolled” into the loan. Of course, at the end of the two years, the borrower has a bucket of extra debt that he now has to service, over possibly, a much shorter period.

In addition, the borrower now has almost certainly built up more expensive short term unsecured debt, just trying to make ends meet.
Unfortunately, this cannot be consolidated by re-mortgaging, even if their financial position has improved. This is because the borrower has entered into an arrangement with the mortgage lender i.e., to roll the interest into the loan, and not to make payments. This is a failure to meet the original contractual obligation on the loan, and as such the borrowers would be regards as sub-prime (credit impaired).

So as usual, one can see that the governments rescue plan is simply a bit more “spin”, that simply delays the inevitable for most people, in most cases.

Clear message here; make your own arrangements, whilst you still can.
And you can; Mortgage Payment Protection is still available, despite what you may have read in the tabloids. Two of the larger providers have recently pulled out of the Mortgage Payment protection market; however there is still a reasonable choice of providers available.

If you lose your job, involuntarily, a Mortgage Payment Protection policy will make up to 12 months mortgage payments, whist you are registered for Jobseekers allowance. At the time of writing, cover is still available up to 125% of your monthly mortgage payment, to avoid building up too much unsecured debt which is mortgage associated.

Mortgage Payment Protection is available through various sources, however, best advice as always; use the internet.

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.

Unemployment insurance is a broad term for a wide range of payment protection insurance that begins to pay between day 30 and 90 of being unemployed by such as redundancy, and it would provide you with the sum of money you insured against. You would be able to continue claiming on the policy for a certain period of time set out by the provider. Some providers offer protection that would give you an income each month over a period of 12 months. With others it might be 24 months. The terms and conditions will tell you and they will also state any exclusions that could apply to the cover.

If you have a mortgage to maintain each month then mortgage payment protection insurance can be taken out to protect just against unemployment. This could be an excellent way of ensuring that you would be able to keep up with your mortgage outgoings each month. If you got behind on your repayments by just one month you would almost certainly receive a letter from the lender. If you carry on having difficulties then you are looking at the lender seeking repossession of your home. Mortgage cover can be taken out as unemployment protection based on how much of your mortgage repayment you wish to cover, up to a certain amount defined by the provider.

Loan and credit cards might be a cause for concern; again you can protect them and ensure you have the needed money each month with loan payment protection. The policy would allow you to service your monthly loan repayments or credit card bill as though you were still working and you would be able to maintain them for the time stated in the cover.

Your income in general can also be covered with unemployment insurance. If you were to struggle for many months to find a job it would be able to maintain all of your essential outgoings while you found work. Jobs are not easy to come by in this day and age so it could be many months before you found suitable work. During this time you would not want to be worrying about how you were going to manage to pay your mortgage or loans. You would also not have to worry about feeding your family or paying any of the smaller bills that mount up each month.

Unemployment insurance can be an excellent form of back-up plan on which to fall and can be bought with peace of mind from an independent provider. Always shop around and get several quotes from which to make a comparison when considering taking out protection this way as the quotes do differ with each provider.

Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance, a specialist provider of unemployment insurance.

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.

What you chose to insure would depend on what you have to payout each month. If you have mortgage repayments to make then consider mortgage payment protection. If you are worried about maintaining loans then choose to cover the repayments against unemployment with loan payment protection. If you want to make sure that you would have the money to service all your general outgoings including mortgage and loans, then look at taking out income payment protection.

All policies work on the same principal. You go with a standalone specialist provider and get a quote which is based on your age at the time and how much of your repayments you wish to cover. This amount is how much your repayments are each month up to a certain amount. The sum you insure against is the amount you would be given if you were to claim on the policy. This income would come to you as a tax-free sum and you could use it to pay the repayments you had covered.

Redundancy insurance would begin to payout once you had been unemployed for a certain time on a continual basis. Some providers ask that you remain unemployed for at least 30 days and with others it can be 90 days and then you are able to put in your claim. When starting to payout you would then get the income every month for a certain time. Providers usually offer policies that will run for 12 months while others can offer protection to payout for 24 months. You are able to find out the terms of any cover you are considering taking out by checking out the small print. All providers should also offer plenty of information and advice regarding the policies they sell so you can be sure which policy is suitable for your needs.

Keeping up with your mortgage repayments even while unemployed is essential. If you just fall behind on your mortgage by a single payment your lender will get in touch with you. If you cannot show that your financial problems are only in the short term and mortgage problems persist then the lender will have no choice but to start proceedings against you. Mortgage redundancy insurance can put an end to all your mortgage worries which allows you to go out and search for work. The same would apply to loans as you would not fall behind into debt and of course if you had your income covered you would not be worrying about everyday bills.

Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance, a specialist provider of redundancy insurance.

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.

Unemployment can happen for many reasons, redundancy is a common occurrence and if you have payments to make each month such as mortgage, loan or credit card then how would you manage if you were out of work for many weeks or months. Jobs can be hard to come by and they can be even harder when looking for one that meets your salary and expertise. You would not want to be worried about your bills while you were out looking for work as this could impede your search. Unemployment insurance would allow you peace of mind during your search for work so you could concentrate. There are different forms of insurance to choose from to guard against unemployment depending on your circumstances; you can get cover for a loan, mortgage or your income.

If you are worried about where to find the money to continue paying your mortgage then you need to think about mortgage payment protection. A policy can be taken out just for unemployment or you can choose to pay more to cover accident, sickness and unemployment together. The premium for a policy would be based on the amount of your income that you want to protect each month and how much of your monthly mortgage repayment you wish to protect. Once you had cover behind you if you become unemployed you would have to wait for so many days before being able to claim. Some providers ask you wait for around 30 days while with others it can be as much as the 90th day. Upon commencement of the policy you would then have an income each month that was tax-fee for a certain length of time before the policy would end. Some providers offer a policy that would run for 12 months. Others could offer protection for 24 months.

For those who worry about loan payments each month or credit card repayments then loan payment protection could provide them with the money needed to be able to continue meeting their outgoings. A policy could be taken out to cover the amount that you pay for your repayments each month and this would be the sum you would get. If you wanted to protect up to so much of your own income each month then income payment protection taken as unemployment insurance would allow you a replacement income. You are able to use this to pay your mortgage, loan, credit card and other essential outgoings each month. You would also be able to pay bills that come into the home on a regular basis such as the grocery bill, heating, lighting, water and council tax bills.

Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance, a specialist provider of unemployment insurance.

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.

Unemployment cover is a broad term used for a family of payment protection policies. These are loan, mortgage and income payment protection. Each can be taken out in the same way and claimed on in the same way. However they do protect different financial situations as their name would suggest. They would all give you peace of mind which would allow you to concentrate on looking for work and getting back to earning a living.

Mortgage payment protection would allow you to cover up to so much of the repayment for mortgage each month. If you were to become redundant you would then be able to claim this figure back tax-free. This would mean you were not left struggling to pay the mortgage each month and would not be in constant fear of falling behind into arrears. If you did get into arrears you would earn a bad mark against your credit file and you are at risk of the lender choosing to take repossession of your home. While lenders will not repossess unless they have to, if you cannot prove that you have a steady income and are able to repay the arrears while maintaining the repayments of your mortgage repossession is a big threat.

If loan or credit card repayments are a big worry then you could consider loan payment protection insurance. Again you can insure your loan payment, up to a certain limit and then receive this to continue paying the lender. You would not fall behind into debt and have the worry of the lender taking you to court. You would also keep a good credit rating and as this what all lenders take into account when deciding whether you to give you a loan this is essential. You would also not have to worry about the lender taking you to court and gaining a County Court Judgement.

Unemployment cover can also be taken out to protect your income in general. This would allow you to cover your income again up to an amount set by the provider. You would then get this income back and be able to maintain all of your outgoings. These would include your biggest monthly outgoing which of course is your mortgage. Your loans could also be covered and so would all other bills that come into the home on a regular basis such as gas, heating, lighting and food. With a policy you would not have to juggle these bills around or risk putting them off until later.

Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance, a specialist provider of unemployment cover.

©2009 Unemployment Protection Insurance. All Rights Reserved.