Information: Unemployment, Redundancy and Payment Protection Insurance

It is your responsibility to ensure that Best Insurance Protection is suitable to meet your needs. Accordingly, it is very important that you carefully read and understand both these frequently asked questions and the Policy Wording, to enable you to make an informed decision before you make an application

1. What is the purpose of accident, sickness and unemployment protection insurance?

Best Insurance Protection enables you to better manage your monthly expenses by providing you with an income through an unemployment protection policy. In the event that you are made involuntarily unemployed or cannot work due to an accident or illness you would receive a monthly benefit paid out under the terms of this unemployment insurance. This income can then be used to deal with your financial obligations such as your mortgage, rent, or secured loan repayments.

2. Does this form of unemployment insurance only cover me if I have a mortgage?

Best Insurance unemployment protection is designed to provide you with regular commitments protection should you find yourself involuntarily unemployed. You do not need to have a mortgage but you need to have obligations for which you have to make a regular payment in order to be eligible for unemployment cover. The unemployment protection policies will be subject to certain eligibility criteria please refer to the Policy Wording for more information.

Please Note: Should you make a successful claim with Best Insurance and choose to have the money from your unemployment insurance pay your mortgage or loan repayments, money will be paid directly to your mortgage or loan provider. As a result of this you will be seen as receiving a monthly income through your unemployment cover and this may affect your eligibility to receive “means tested” benefits from the Government such as Income Support.
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3. Is it possible to take out joint cover?

Joint cover is not offered by Best Insurance for unemployment insurance and each policy for redundancy protection is specific only to the individual policy holder
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4. What kinds of cover can I receive as part of this insurance policy?

Best Insurance Protection offers the following three cover options:

Accident, sickness and unemployment cover
Accident and sickness only cover
Unemployment only cover

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5. How long do I need to wait after being unemployed to receive my monthly unemployment insurance benefits?

You will start to receive benefits from your Best Insurance unemployment protection policy 30 consecutive days after becoming involuntarily unemployed. You can find more details about the schedule for receiving payments from Best Insurance Protection under the section Cover & Benefits of the Policy Wording.
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6. How much of my monthly income can I insure with this type of insurance policy?

Best Insurance will allow you to cover up to 50% of your gross monthly income, or £2,000 whichever is the least amount. More details about the amount of income that can be insured with redundancy protection can be found in the Policy Wording.
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7. How long am I covered for under this insurance?

You will receive monthly benefits from your Best Insurance payment protection insurance policy for up to 12 months. You can read more information about the length of cover available in the Policy Wording.
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8. How long does this insurance last?

Best Insurance will provide unemployment cover on a month by month rolling contract basis. Each month that the premium is paid you will receive cover from your unemployment insurance policy. Termination of the cover will occur should you retire, reach the age of 65 or should you decide to cancel your policy for payment protection insurance. Further details can be found about the end date of your policy under the section Termination of the Policy Wording.
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9. What are the eligibility requirements to receive benefits under this insurance?

There are certain requirements you will need to meet in order to receive benefits from your Best Insurance redundancy protection policy. You must be confident that the following criteria applies to you when applying for this type of cover:
UK residents who are:

in full-time active work (be they full-time permanent employees, self-employed or on renewable contracts) and working for more than 16 hours per week,

regularly pay and are responsible for the commitments covered,

not off work due to ill health at the point of application and inception of cover. Please note the pre-existing medical conditions exclusion in the ‘What is not covered? (Exclusions)’ section of the Keyfacts Document.

over 18 and under 63 at inception. All cover and claims payments cease on attaining age 65,

unaware of any impending unemployment or potential failure of the self-employed person’s business, (applicable if selecting Part 2. Involuntary Unemployment Cover.),

able to sign the declaration without any reservation or qualification.

Self-employed individuals and those on renewable contracts have the same benefits as employees, but have separate qualifying criteria. Please see below for details.

Please note you can only make changes that increase your amount covered if these eligibility requirements apply at the time you want to make the change
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10. When can I begin a claim to receive benefits for accident and sickness through my insurance policy?

After 30 consecutive days of being unable to work due to an accident or sickness, you are then eligible to make a claim to receive benefits for this. You can find more details about when to begin your claim for accident and sickness benefit through your unemployment cover in the Policy Wording under the Accident & Sickness section.
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11. When am I unable to claim for accident and sickness benefits?

As with all unemployment insurance policies that cover accident and sickness there are certain exclusions which would mean you would not be able to make a successful claim. More details about when you can and cannot make a claim under an accident and sickness unemployment insurance policy can be found in the Accident & Sickness section of the Policy Wording.
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12. When can I begin a claim for unemployment insurance benefits?

After 30 consecutive days of being unable to work through unemployment you are eligible to begin your claim for benefits through your unemployment cover. More details about when you can make your claim for unemployment benefits can be found in the Policy Wording.
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13. When am I unable to claim for unemployment insurance benefits?

As with all unemployment protection policies that cover the eventuality of unemployment, there are certain exclusions which would prevent you from making a successful claim as part of your unemployment cover. For more details about the circumstances which would stop you claiming unemployment benefit please refer to the Unemployment Requirements section in the Policy Wording.
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14. What if my circumstances change once I am insured?

It is your responsibility to ensure that this policy continues to meet your requirements and correctly covers your commitment. We suggest that should your circumstances change you refer to your policy to ensure continued eligibility. This would include, for
example:

Changing your employment e.g., your work becomes temporary.
You voluntarily reduce your hours of work to less than 16 hours per week.
You leave the UK to live abroad.
You retire from work and do not intend to actively seek further work.

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15. How can I cancel my commitments protection insurance?

Provided you have not claimed and you forward to us a written request within 30 days of us issuing this policy, we will cancel your cover and return any premium(s) paid to you. Thereafter, you can cancel this cover at any time by forwarding us a written request to cancel. No refund of premium will apply in these circumstances. For more details about cancellation please refer to the Cancellation section in the Policy Wording.
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16. What is the complaints process?

Should the unlikely event occur where you wish to make a complaint about Best Insurance or about the service that you have received in relation to taking our unemployment cover, MMS will endeavour to take measures to correct this for you. For more details about submitting a complaint please refer to the Complaints section of the Policy Wording.
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17. What methods can I use to pay for my insurance policy?

The only method accepted is by setting up a monthly direct debit to pay for your Best Insurance unemployment insurance policy. For further details about payment of your unemployment insurance policy or for more information about the redundancy protection contract in general, please refer to the Policy Wording.
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18. Where can I find the important definitions?

As with all similar redundancy protection insurance policies, Best insurance makes use of certain words and phrases which have important meanings as assigned to them in the Policy Wording. More details about these words and their definitions can be found under the Definitions section of the Policy Wording.
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Final Words:

It is your responsibility to ensure that Best Insurance Protection is suitable for your needs. It is therefore very important that you read all policy documentation carefully, to enable you to make an informed decision about its suitability to meet your needs.