Mortgage / Life / Income Protection / Crit Illness???

lowis

I am in the process of applying for a mortgage and now face the task of looking into insurance. It seems there are all sorts out there and I am now confused as to what I need.

Basically I would like an insurance policy that covers for Accident, Sickness and Unemployment and also covers for critical illness i.e. cover lasts longer than 12 months. It would also need to cover me for mortgage payments adn a bit to cover bills/living expenses. Is there such a thing available? I can only seem to find one or the other i.e. Mortgage protection or Critical Illness or 12 month Income protection.

And here's another question - if you claim these insurances are you still entitled to things like Income Support, Council Tax relief etc?

Thank you.

ArchieB_2

I would go the Income Protection route. The product usually pays a proportion of income if you are unable to work. Unlike MPPI or ASU cover it doesn't run out after 12 months. If you have any dependents then Life cover is also important.

Many Income Protection products enable you to tack on unemployment cover if you think you really need it.

lowis

thanks archie
every income protection policy i have looked at only mentions sickness or illness though - i want one to include unemployment if possible. any ideas anyone?

dunstonh

You are probably looking at PHI rather than ASU plans.

ArchieB_2

Some products allow you to add on Unemployment cover. This however pays for one or two years. Otherwise you can go direct to somebody like British Insurance and buy an unemployment only policy (rather than the full ASU product).

lowis

Hi Dunstonh, thanks for the info, i have looked in to PHI and none of the policies mention unemployment - example phraseolgy below:

Income replacement insurance provides an income should you be prevented from working due to sickness or injury. It is commonly known as permanent health insurance or sometimes PHI schemes.

Is it as ArchieB suggests that I would need to take out PHI with an unemployment policy added to it?

dunstonh

PHI cannot have unemployment cover added to it. You would need a standalone unemployment policy for that.

ArchieB_2

I was under the impression some products ie Bright Grey's Protection product allows you to add in Unemployment benefit. Admitedly it is a menu product and not a stand alone IPI plan, but you can still get the U cover from the same provider under the same plan.