Post: #1

NB: this datasheet talks about the UK insurance market, but I’m sure other countries have something similar.

What is it: it’s basically a policy designed to pay you a monthly fixed sum of cash every month for up to 1 year while out of work because of redundancy, sickness , disability etc.

How much can you get: you can insure up to 90% of your take home pay , so after tax if you get 2k a month you can insure £1800 of that.
Why bother : well in my industry redundancy happens all the time. In most companies you can sniff it out , i.e. company looking to sell , sales figures looking bad.

When to take it: take it when you have a bad feeling something might happen, you need the policy to vest for 90 days before you can claim, you need to have been working full time for 6 months. I’ve taken out policies twice now, once 3 yrs ago when my boss gave me a heads up on cuts, the time passed, we started to hire again so I cancelled. The second time the company was looking to sell, and I got laid off after the sale.

How much : it’s cheap IMHO – for a 2k policy its around £50-60 per month. You can take multiple policies as 2k is normally the max as long you only go to 90% of pay..
I’ve taken a year off to travel, trade and do cool stuff essentially being paid and not having to dip into savings too much. Luckily my rent was fairly low , my car paid for and I don’t have any debt so outgoings are low.

Downsides: they make you sign on at job centre every 2 weeks, so I would time my trips for 3 week stints. Called in sick one time , said I was camping in the UK another time just to move my sign on date by a week. You can have 14 day job centre holiday in UK only. You should make friends with your Job centre advisor, will make your life a lot easier.

You need to send insurance company evidence you are going for interviews etc. I am looking for a job so have been to many, just not taken any yet, obviously they don’t need to know that.

My policy is 2k a month, so 24k in total pay out , I paid in about £1200 over the two years I had it . I only wished I had insured myself for a lot more, but alas I never really thought they would get rid of me ..

So if you think you maybe made redundant , sock up on insurance , then travel the world for a year while being paid :- )

Post: #2

Great thread bro!

Are there any Insurance companies you would recommend over others?

Can you Insure for more than your income - and do they check what you are/were earning?

Can this work for self-employed people whose income fluctuates significantly?

Post: #3

I always take insurance out against my own job, it's a no brainer. I didn't know you had to go the job centre every two weeks though, that makes it a bit shit. Will need to read my contract again, I can't remember that being in there..

Post: #4

(07-29-2017 12:52 PM)Perfectionist Wrote:  Great thread bro!

Are there any Insurance companies you would recommend over others?

Can you Insure for more than your income - and do they check what you are/were earning?

Can this work for self-employed people whose income fluctuates significantly?

Its a competitive product , so i just went with the cheapest

Yes they check , they ask for 6 months of pay slips. Can only insure your current net take home pay of 90%

Yes , for self employed , but there's more caveats , think you need to get an accountant to verify income or something . Best to look at the policy docs.

They ask for a copy of your bank statement every month to prove you are getting job seekers .. its a pain .

Job center attendance i think is mandatory on most policies.

Post: #5

This sounds like another layer of unemployment insurance. Never knew this existed. As someone who will eventually get laid off this is a great thing. Sadly this doesn't exist in the US, it does but it works as a "disability/veggie-state insurance" kind of deal.

Any idea of how to get something similar in the US?

Post: #6

I've never had health, income, or contents insurance.

So far, in 30 years I am about $90K ahead.

Post: #7

(07-30-2017 12:31 AM)RatInTheWoods Wrote:  I've never had health, income, or contents insurance.

So far, in 30 years I am about $90K ahead.

Yup in some circumstances its a complete waste of money. But I've paid £1200 worth of premiums over 2 years , I'm now getting paid out up to 24k while i look for 1. my dream job .2. travel the world 3. work on my business ideas.

As insurance goes its not a bad risk / reward ratio , especially if you work in a ruthless industry like investment banking.

Post: #8

Do you have to be made redundant in order to cash in? Or could you quit your job, cash in and work somewhere else?

Post: #9

@ ethan hunt : you need to be made redundant .. and not voluntary either
In a 13 yr London career I've been canned 3 times now .