Unemployment insurance for a public/civil servant

EmilyBP

I'm asking this on behalf of a huge number of people I know!

I have been looking into whether I should get unemployment insurance- or at least an insurance that will cover my mortgage payments if I were to be made redundant.

However, I'm confused whether the policy would be void...When they ask "Do I know of any change in circumstances that may increase my chance of being made redundant?" Well, obviously I have to say yes-as I work for a Quango and a tory coalition are in power. We haven't been told anything formally and we don't know how the budget cuts are going to affect us-if it will mean redundancies.

I'm just really confused about what to do for the best, I want to protect myself (and my house) but I don't want to commit fraud!

Anyone out there who have experience/advice to share??

Legacy

Hi Emily, I too am a civil servant and currently feeling particularly "at risk" despite being front line.

A couple of years ago my partner had a very strong inclination that the company he worked for was going down hill (debt collectors coming to the office/company cars being returned/suppliers refusing to deal with the business), however he didn't have any formal notification, infact his Boss kept telling all the employees that "everything was going to be fine.." Hmm! Anyway, we decided to take out ANT insurance and when he got made redundant 4 months later they paid £1000 p/m for 12 months without any quibbles. A huge relief! The only thing was that he had to send proof that he'd applied for at least 3 jobs every month (letters saying he'd been unsuccessful as proof) and at the 9 month stage they sent a claims assessor round to the house to have a chat. This was again fine and they just asked him about what jobs he'd been applying for and how it was all going. So, based on our experience, I can recommend them.

http://www.antinsurance.co.uk/incomeprotection.html

ppolly

Thanks for that -my husband is in exactly the same position too.

jimbms

In reality you have to declare that your job is at risk as it is public knowledge, not to do so is not only wrong but as you could guess a bit silly as everyone knows the situation and the company would take your money and the not pay out because of this omission, unfortunately you should have taken out this cover long before you knew the job was at risk. You may find a company that will for an inflated policy fee take you on, but you can bet there will be som severe conditions and reduced payouts. BTW you are a bit wrong blaming your present government for this afterall it is the last one that caused the lack of funds.

tcr_3

I dunno about this one. It's not like your Dept has come along and said ... right, we're paying xxx number people off on xx/xx/xxxx ... all we've heard so far are proposals to cut departmental admin budgets by a quarter, the finer points of that won't be known until October by all accounts. That's got to get scrutinised and approved by Parliament, the liberals are already baulking at some of the stuff in the budget and in 4 months time who knows how the numbers will stack up in a Commons vote.

I just go ahead and apply for it, sharpish, before they up the premiums. But be 100% honest so as not to give them an excuse not to pay out.

EmilyBP

Thanks for all the replies!! :T

I also spoke to a financial advisor (family friend) who thought the best move would be to talk to a independent insurance broker face-to-face, which I did. They informed me that because my department hasn't been told it has to make redundancies and I have not been told personally I am being made redundant then I can still take the policy.

I know that its unlike that I will be made redundant but it is nice to know that I have the policy there just in case, and if I get a more secure job I might cancel the policy.

Thanks for all the advice!

wheels1

I read this thread with interest as I was in a similar situation. 14 months ago my employer had declared financial losses to the stock market and rumours of 'job cuts are inevitable' were in the media and the unions were ranting.

I spoke to the insurers before I took out the policy and was very clear about the situation. I was made redundant twelve weeks ago and am so grateful for their advice and support.

I took out a lifestyle protection policy which pays 65% of my former gross monthly income. I did this after much research and all the helpful tips on this forum. THANK YOU :-).

Best wishes

.

luprice

This is really interesting. I got my first mortgage last month so only considering PPI for the first time. I read up about it on this site and got a quote from iProtect (the premium suggested by my IFA was silly and as the mortgage application went through in May he dismissed the unemployment part as I am public sector!!).
However, I contacted them about the situation, as in nothing has been said about my job or situation directly (work in higher education sector) but the media is screaming about the terrible industry-wide situation for public sector workers every day - the response from iProtect was that they wouldn't provide cover at this time.

Does this mean other companies aren't providing unemployment cover to public sector workers either, or at incredibly high premiums? I came to the conclusion that I'd just have to save as much as I possibly can in the meantime and save the premium (a challenge with a first mortgage!)

Any thoughts gratefully received!

emilywhite1975

Hi all,

I too am in a similar situation - am working for the Civil Service - cuts are obviously imminent but we haven't had an indication of how many/when/which jobs will be affected etc in my specific department.

I am going to speak to an insurance broker as soon as possible, but in the meantime can anyone nadvise of specific companies who are still providing mppi or ippi to Civil Servants so I can have a look at them directly?

Thanks :-)

IHateDida

There was a feature in last weeks Sunday Times about protection cover for civil servants (I think it was in the money section) - if you can get hold of a copy. It did say that most companies are no longer offering policies for civil servants as the threat is now present, but I think it did list a couple of companies, sorry can't remember who they were.

gyinnit

IHateDida wrote: »

There was a feature in last weeks Sunday Times about protection cover for civil servants (I think it was in the money section) - if you can get hold of a copy. It did say that most companies are no longer offering policies for civil servants as the threat is now present, but I think it did list a couple of companies, sorry can't remember who they were.

I've found this article on the website but dated 2008.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/consumer_affairs/article4321779.ece