Unemployment/ Redundancy Insurance

bilbo85

Hello, i was just wondering if anyone has been through this recently....and has had a successful claim on their insurance after being made redundant. I work for Public Sector at the moment and although there is no threat of unemployment that i know of, i would like to have something in place for myself, as i have just bought a new car on finance and also have my monthly rent of about £400 to pay.......and would like to know that id be able to cover these things if i became unemployed for whatever reason- in the current climate it cant be a bad idea!

Anyone have any experience with this? I understand that there are excess periods etc and this is fine, because like i said, there is no impending redundancy threat where i work at the moment, also i know most places only pay out about £1000 a month maximum and most for just 12 months.....but im worried about all the small print etc....i know that you have to be actively seeking work if you make a claim, but are there a lot of other sneaky T&C's?!

Any advice would be well appreciated!! xx

Loughton_Monkey

There are generally two problems with this type of insurance. Firstly, the terms have been 'developed to death' to the point where you really have to work hard to understand them, and then to make a successful claim. [e.g. wouldn't all the recent government promises of public sector cuts constitute a known threat?].

The second problem is that this type of insurance is generally sold via large intermediaries like banks, credit card companies, loan companies etc. In 'my day' in this sphere, the commission/expense allowances to the intermediary were in the region of 65% or more. So the amount you pay in premium is scandalous for the actual cover - with only 35% going to the Insurer, who then has to pay expenses. I can't guarantee that the margins are still the same today, but I strongly suspect they are.

It's like extended warranty insurance! If someone says there is a 5% chance you might have to pay £100 to repair your TV next year, would you pay £20 to insure it? I certainly wouldn't.