Mortgage insurance

LB_83

My situation is as follows:

I was made redundant and am officially unemployed as of today.
I am 35 weeks pregnant, and my baby is due in December
I am married and my husband works full time
I had my SMP paid in a lump sum (so very heavily taxed, therefore I am not reaping the full benefits had it been paid as £135 a week)

My issue is that we could really do with help paying our mortgage. As cautious people, we took out mortgage cover for unemployment and have paid it every month for four years. However, I have discovered that I cannot claim unless I can provide proof of unemployment not only from my previous employer (no problem) AND from the JobCentre (here is where my problem lies).

The Job Centre said that I cannot register with them because I am ineligible for both JSA and income support, given that I am pregnant and not a single parent.

My mortgage insurer said that I cannot claim from them unless I am actively seeking employment.

Is it just me or is this blatant discrimination??!! What about all the money we have paid into it? It makes me wonder what was the point. I know it is in the Ts and Cs of the mortgage cover, which I guess is what covers their back and they kept referring to these Ts and Cs and how it was my own 'timing' that was the issue.

Does anyone know of any way I could possibly get round this, or is just a case of waiting until I can claim JSA?

I appreciate it's a bit of a complex one and is probably all dependent on these 'Ts and Cs,' but any suggestions welcomed thank you.

IainHL

I would challenge the Jobcentre on this as (presuming you have enough contributions) you should be able to get Contribution based JSA as long as you can convince them you are actively seeking work.

I am sure there are others around far more experienced in this than I who could confirm or refute that.

marybelle01

Pregnant married women aren't allowed to look for jobs under this Government? It's absolutely correct - if you aren't looking for a job then you can't claim JSA (the hint is in the title - Job Seekers Allowance). But the only reason for refusing you should be that you aren't looking for employment - your pregnancy has nothing to do with it. So are you looking for employment?

LB_83

Thanks for your responses, much appreciated. Marybelle, I can't look for work at the moment as I am only five weeks away from my due date and will then have a tiny baby to look after. Not sure how long after the birth I can start looking but I will start as soon as I can.

Also, as I mentioned, I am getting maternity pay at the moment and, although that was paid in a lump sum, it is the equivalent of six months (or would be had I not been taxed so much). Not sure whether I would be entitled to JSA whilst technically still getting SMP? And until I can get JSA my mortgage insurer will not pay out.

I just think there maybe should be some allowance for someone in a different position, like myself. This is why I feel discriminated against. We have paid in to the insurance for four years yet, because I don't meet their very specific criteria, we will have to struggle to pay our mortgage! SMP is a benefit from the government too so why does this not count?

I can't change their Ts and Cs and we did sign up for it but I do wonder whether there is any way around this. It all seems a bit messy!

skadupuk

If you had not been made redundant you would have lived on the SMP I assume, so are you not able to apportion that over the appropriate time, and when it runs out and you are able to look for work claim on the unemployment insurance at that point?