FAQ's

Please follow the links below to get answers to common questions

This depends on the policy you purchase. All of the policies we offer provide cover if you are unable to work due to an accident, sickness or unemployment (depending on the level of cover you purchase). You can select the amount of benefit depending on your personal needs. All of the policies we offer will provide cover for benefits to be paid for up to 12 months. Depending on the information you enter, we may be able to offer you a 24 month benefit option as well.

There are two types of policy we offer:-

• Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (also known as MPPI) – under these policies, the benefit amount you have is tied to your mortgage and in the event of a claim the benefit is designed to pay your mortgage, plus some associated costs, whilst you are unable to work (subject to normal claims conditions). There are limits to the amount of cover you can buy, see point 5 below, “What is the maximum amount of cover I can apply for?”
• Income Protection Insurance (also known as Payment Protection or PPI) – under these policies, the benefit is not tied to any particular payments, the benefit is payable to you to use for whatever purpose you choose. Again there are limits to the amount of cover you can buy, see point 5 below, “What is the maximum amount of cover I can apply for?”

These are difficult times with unemployment rising at an alarming rate. If you were made redundant, or if you are self employed or a Director of your own company and ceased trading, how would you pay your regular monthly bills? Unemployment insurance helps you to meet essential monthly bills when unexpectedly you are made redundant or are forced to cease trading if self employed or a controlling Director. Disability insurance helps top up statutory sick pay or continues when your employer stops paying you. Please note you cannot claim under the disability section if your employer continues to pay your full salary – we suggest that you select the excess/waiting period (see point 4. below) that is most suitable for you depending on how long your employer will pay your full salary if you are off work. If you wish to make certain that you receive a monthly income for a period of up to up to either 12 or 24 months to help pay your regular monthly bills in the event of you being unable to work due to accident, sickness or unemployment then this cover might be for you.

The insurance is competitively priced to enable you to protect yourself against unemployment or disability. You can choose the cover that is most suitable for you (you can have either Accident & Sickness cover, Unemployment Only cover or combined Accident, Sickness & Unemployment, and you can select the benefit level, the period of time the benefit is payable and how long you have to wait before benefits become payable). The policies also include a ‘back to work’ assistance package to help you find another job if you are made unemployed.

Policies of this type carry either an excess or a waiting period. This is the time from the start of your absence from work during which you do not receive any money (similar to a policy excess under your car insurance – your claim on your car insurance has to exceed the policy excess before you can claim). Under an Accident, Sickness & Unemployment (ASU) Insurance, if you are off work for less than this period, you cannot claim.

How does this work in practice?

This depends on whether you select an excess or a waiting period:-

If you choose an excess period, if you return to work before the end of the excess period, you will receive no benefit. Once you have been off work longer than this period, you start to receive benefit for every day that you remain away from work, so for instance:-

• If you select a 30 day excess;-
• If you are away from work for 28 days, you receive no payment from the insurance
• If you are away from work for 35 days, you will receive 5 days benefit*
• If you select a 60 day excess;-
• If you are away from work for 35 days, you receive no payment from the insurance
• If you are away from work for 70 days, you will receive 10 days benefit*

If you choose a waiting period, if you return to work before the end of the waiting period, you will receive no benefit. Once you have been off work longer than this period, you start to receive benefit for every day that you remain way from work and your benefit is back dated to the start of the claim, so for instance:-

• If you select a 30 day waiting period;-
• If you are away from work for 28 days, you receive no payment from the insurance
• If you are away from work for 35 days, you will receive 35 days benefit*

* There are certain policy terms, limitations and exclusions. Further information about when you can and can’t claim is shown in the relevant policy wording issued to you when you have been accepted for cover.

This depends on the policy you purchase.

Generally speaking, under a Mortgage Payment Protection Policy, the maximum benefit you can select will be your monthly mortgage payments plus an additional sum to cover mortgage related costs, such as your life insurance, household utility bills, etc. Most policies allow for your mortgage plus up to 25% extra for associated costs, but this limit does vary between insurers.

Under an Income Protection policy, you can select your benefit level to meet your needs. Again, generally, these policies will have a maximum level of benefit and will also have a limit based on your gross monthly income. They are designed as a replacement to your net income after tax (the benefit is paid to you net of tax), so most policies will have a limit of between 50% to 60% of your gross monthly income.

For more information, check out our “compare products” facility at the quote results stage.

Yes, the minimum level of cover is £100 of monthly benefit.

Yes you can, but only under an Income Protection Insurance policy. Many Unemployment and Disability protection policies are only designed to provide mortgage protection. An Income Protection Insurance can be used to cover rent along with other regular outgoings. When you enter your information into our quote engine, our system will offer you the products available to you based on the information you provide. If you are in any doubt, phone our UK based customer service centre on 0845 355 1150.

Yes they are. Both Mortgage Payment Protection and Income Protection policies can be used to cover mortgage payments.

This depends on the policy you purchase.

Generally speaking, if you have a Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance, you can only hold one such policy. However you can also purchase an Income Protection Insurance to provide added non-mortgage protection. However we would always recommend that if you buy two or more policies, that you always tell all of the insurers of the existence of the other policies so they can explain to you exactly what impact that may have at the time of a claim. If you are in any doubt, phone our UK based customer service centre on 0845 355 1150.

A policy providing disability (accident & sickness) cover is designed to pay you 1/30 of the monthly benefit you have chosen for each day you are unable to work through sickness or accident and for which your income ceases, after the deferred period and up to the maximum benefit period of up to either 12 or 24 months (depending on the policy and cover you select). There are exclusions - for full details and limitations & exclusions, please review the relevant policy wording.

If you are in continuous employment for longer than 6 months before taking out this insurance and become involuntarily unemployed (or made redundant) during the period of cover for longer than the deferred period, a policy providing Unemployment cover is designed to pay you 1/30 of the monthly benefit you have chosen for each day you are continuously unemployed after the deferred and the initial exclusion periods, up to the maximum benefit period. There are conditions that apply and different rules for company directors, the self employed and contract workers - for full details and limitations & exclusions, please review the relevant policy wording.

You can still apply for the insurance. To qualify for the unemployment benefit under the policy, the business in which you are self employed must have permanently ceased to trade as a result of an inability to pay its debts when they become due. You will be required to produce accounts up to your last day of trading and your last tax return must have been placed with your local tax office and you must be registered as unemployed with a Jobcentre or an equivalent agency in Northern Ireland. For full details and limitations & exclusions, please review the relevant policy wording.

Whilst each insurer has slightly different rules, generally speaking, a company director is classed as an employee if they own less than 10% of the share capital of that company. However, limitations apply if you are a controlling director or you are the partner/spouse of a controlling direct and you work in the same business. A controlling director is a person who owns more than 10% of the issued share capital of the company or you are a relative of a controlling director who is working for the same company as you and who owns more than 10% of the issued share capital of that company. If you are eligible under the policy we will cover you if that business ceases to trade - please review the relevant policy wording for full details.

You are entirely out of paid work because the business in which you work has gone into bankruptcy or liquidation or the business of which you are a controlling director has gone into bankruptcy or liquidation. This does not include a temporary break in the trading of the business.

Yes, you can apply for the insurance but certain restrictions may apply. You can apply if your fixed term contract meets one or more of the following rules:-

• A contract of at least 12 months with the same employer that has been renewed at least once;

• A contract with the same employer for a continuous period of at least 24 months;

• A fixed-term contract to which you were transferred from a permanent contract of employment with the same employer with no break between contracts.

For full details and limitations & exclusions, please review the relevant policy wording.

Yes, all insurance policies have exclusions and these are carefully explained in the relevant policy wording. These exclusions include (but are not limited to):- Any claim for accident, sickness or unemployment where you have not been continuously off work for longer than the excess/waiting period you have selected (30, 60 or 90 days); Unemployment that you knew to be impending at the start date or which is notified within the initial exclusion period (see point 17. below “What is an initial exclusion period”); Voluntary unemployment; Any accident or sickness claim not supported by independent medical evidence; Pre-existing &/or chronic medical conditions; Not living permanently in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man; Not actively working for at least 16 hours each week; Self inflicted injury. Full details or all exclusions, limitations & warranties are shown in the relevant policy wording.

Policies providing Unemployment insurance usually have an ‘initial exclusion period’ at the start of the policy. This means that if during this initial period of cover you become aware of the possibility of or are notified of your unemployment, it is NOT possible to make a claim for unemployment benefit – even if your actual unemployment occurs at a later date. The length of these periods vary from insurer to insurer and can be anything up to 120 days or more. For more information, check out our “compare products” facility at the quote results stage.

The initial exclusion period does NOT normally apply to claims under the Disability section.

If you already have cover with an insurer, you can transfer cover to another policy and it can be possible to transfer without incurring a fresh initial exclusion period with the new insurer. However you should always contact the new insurer before purchasing cover to ensure that arrangements can be made to have this initial exclusion period either reduced or waived.

There are other circumstances under which a claim may not be successful. Further information about when you can and can’t claim is shown in the policy wording.

You can apply for the insurance if you are:-

• Aged 18 or over and under age 65
• A UK permanent resident
• Actively employed or self employed for 16 hours or more each week and have been so continuously with the same employer for at least 6 months

Claiming is easy and straightforward. If you need to make a claim you should contact the claims telephone helpline, details of which will be contained in the policy which is issued to you when you have been accepted for cover. Further information on how to make a claim is in the policy wording.

Yes, you can cancel anytime by writing to Berkeley Alexander Ltd at Temple House, 25 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2SD. In addition you have a statutory period of 30 days at the start of this policy, during which time you can cancel and get a full refund, unless you have made a claim. Further information on your cancellation rights is shown in the policy wording.

Full details of the complaint process are shown in the relevant policy wording which is issued to you when you have been accepted for cover.

As with all insurance policies, there are conditions and exclusions relating to when you can make a claim. For this type of insurance, these mainly relate to the fact that you cannot make a claim if a) you knew of possible unemployment during the initial exclusion period (see 17 above), b) you must demonstrate that you are actively seeking work and that you are signing on at the appropriate job centre. There are other circumstances under which a claim may not be successful. Further information about when you can and can’t claim is shown in the policy wording.

As with all insurance policies, there are conditions and exclusions relating to when you can make a claim. For this type of insurance, these mainly relate to the fact that you cannot make a claim for a medical condition that you already suffer from or for an absence from work which is not supported by medical evidence. There are other circumstances under which a claim may not be successful. Further information about when you can and can’t claim is shown in the policy wording.

These insurance policies provide a ‘back to work’ assistance package that is a telephone based unemployment assistance service. The service is free and confidential. Further information can be found in the relevant policy wording.

This depends on the policy you purchase. When you see the quotations, you can click on “more details” and you have access to certain additional information specific to that policy. Included within this are the details of the insurer of that product.

This depends on the policy you purchase. When you see the quotations, you can click on “more details” and you have access to certain additional information specific to that policy. Included within this are the details of who administers that product.

Unfortunately not – the policy contains an initial exclusion period (see section 17 above).

Yes, the initial exclusion period only applies to Unemployment. However there is a pre-existing conditions clause (see section 31 below) and the policy will not pay a claim if you know that you have a condition prior to applying for the insurance - see policy wording.

Unfortunately not. This type of policy is designed to protect you from the possibility of losing your job, not to provide you with cover if you know that you may be out of work unless you can get your employer to formally confirm that your job is not currently at risk.

Unfortunately not. This type of policy is designed to protect you from the possibility of losing your job, not to provide you with cover if you know that you will be out of work.

Yes, but any pre-existing medical condition must be disclosed and if you want disability cover, any known conditions may be excluded. If you disclose any conditions, you will be made aware of any restrictions prior to the policy being issued. In addition a pre-existing condition clause applies to the policy - see policy wording.