Has anyone heard of a company called Synergy

byrneand

Hi,

I've been looking at redundancy cover and have been quoted by an IFA cover for £1,250 for approx £35 which does not seem unreasonable. The cover is provided by a company called Synergy (backed by the Pru and is FSA regulated) and has a qualification period of just 30 days, which seems pretty good compared to a number of policies.

I'm thinking of taking up the policy and have two questions I was wondering if people could help me with:

1.) Has anyone heard of Synergy, or had any experience with them?
2.) The policy requires me to sign on for job seekers allowance. I'd obviously be more than happy to do that on becoming unemployed but I was just wondering if there are any reasons why I would be refused job seekers allowance (e.g savings in excess of £xyz,)?

Thanks in advance!

Debt_Free_Chick

byrneand wrote: »

Hi,

I've been looking at redundancy cover and have been quoted by an IFA

You are absolutely certain that the IFA is an INDEPENDANT Financial Adviser ... yes?

I'm thinking of taking up the policy and have two questions I was wondering if people could help me with:

1.) Has anyone heard of Synergy, or had any experience with them?

Nope - but that doesn't mean anything as many insurance products carry a "name" for marketing purposes, these days.

2.) The policy requires me to sign on for job seekers allowance. I'd obviously be more than happy to do that on becoming unemployed but I was just wondering if there are any reasons why I would be refused job seekers allowance (e.g savings in excess of £xyz,)?

I think you need to read the small print very, very carefully. Does the amount that Synergy simply top-up any JSA to the claim amount? Is the payment of ANY amount by Synergy dependent on you receiving JSA? i.e. No JSA = No payment from Synergy?

You might want to cross post to the Insurance board or PM MSEer dunstonh

payless

A bit of a complex product , as the redundancy cover can not be brought alone - also whilst Pru covers some of the elements , they don't do the redundancy bit

byrneand

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

You are absolutely certain that the IFA is an INDEPENDANT Financial Adviser ... yes?

As far as I can tell. They quoted as saying that they had access to whole of market. Is there an easy way to find out if they are independent? The product doesn't seem unreasonably priced £30 for £1k cover.

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

I think you need to read the small print very, very carefully. Does the amount that Synergy simply top-up any JSA to the claim amount? Is the payment of ANY amount by Synergy dependent on you receiving JSA? i.e. No JSA = No payment from Synergy?

- Non of these questions are actually included in the terms and conditions. When I asked the IFA he said that everyone was eligible for JSA so I'm just in the process of checking up on this. Does anyone know any reasons why a single, childless 27 yr old male would not be eligible? I suppose if the payment is less JSA it's going to be £30 for £600 or £35 for £850 (other quote was £35k for £1250). Given that there are limited unemployment insurances available I suppose it'd have to do.

Can anyone recommend any other products? Thi sproduct has a 30 day qualification period.

Thanks

Debt_Free_Chick

byrneand wrote: »

As far as I can tell. They quoted as saying that they had access to whole of market. Is there an easy way to find out if they are independent? The product doesn't seem unreasonably priced £30 for £1k cover.

You can check on the FSA Register - and their terms of business should make it clear whether they're independent or not.

- Non of these questions are actually included in the terms and conditions. When I asked the IFA he said that everyone was eligible for JSA so I'm just in the process of checking up on this. Does anyone know any reasons why a single, childless 27 yr old male would not be eligible? I suppose if the payment is less JSA it's going to be £30 for £600 or £35 for £850 (other quote was £35k for £1250). Given that there are limited unemployment insurances available I suppose it'd have to do.

Can anyone recommend any other products? Thi sproduct has a 30 day qualification period.

Thanks

You will get contribution based JSA but only if you've paid sufficient NIC. Otherwise it's mean-tested JSA - so, will insurance count as income?

Info on JSA here

Sorry, but I'm no expert on this subject