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Keep life moving if illness, injury or redundancy stops your income

Accident, Sickness & Unemployment (ASU) cover pays you a monthly, tax-free benefit if you cannot work because of an accident, illness or being made redundant. It is there to help you keep up with the mortgage, rent and everyday bills while you recover or look for your next job.

  • Keep paying the mortgage, rent and essential bills while you are off work
  • Honest advice from independent, whole-of-market advisers
  • No fee for insurance or protection advice, and we only recommend cover if it genuinely makes sense for you

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Short-term protection for the income you live on

Accident, Sickness & Unemployment cover is a type of short-term income protection. It pays you a monthly benefit if you are unable to work because of:

  • an accident
  • sickness
  • involuntary unemployment, meaning genuine redundancy

It is designed to cover the essential outgoings that still have to be paid when your income stops, such as:

  • rent or mortgage payments
  • utility bills
  • food and household costs
  • loan or credit commitments

Most policies pay out for 12 or 24 months per claim, depending on the insurer and the level of cover you choose. Think of it as a temporary safety net that buys you time, rather than a long-term replacement for your salary.

How ASU works

Simple to set up, designed to pay out when you need it

If you are signed off work because of illness or injury, or you are made redundant through no fault of your own, your policy pays a monthly benefit after a short waiting period (often 30 days). You choose how the cover is built:

  • the monthly benefit amount, usually up to a set percentage of your income
  • the waiting period before payments start (commonly 30, 60 or 90 days)
  • the maximum payout period for each claim, usually 12 or 24 months
  • whether you want Accident & Sickness only, or Accident, Sickness & Unemployment combined

We will talk you through each of these choices so the cover fits your budget and your circumstances, and we will explain exactly what is and is not covered before you apply.

Two ways to protect your income, side by side

Many people weigh up ASU against Income Protection. They sound similar, but they work differently, and the right choice depends on what you want the cover to do.

Not sure which is right for you? We will compare both options honestly and help you decide. If neither is right, we will tell you that too.

We do not charge a fee for insurance or protection advice, but we may receive a commission if you take out cover arranged through us

Get in touch to discuss your options 

Income Protection

  • Covers accident and sickness only
  • Can pay out long term, sometimes until retirement
  • Fully underwritten when you apply, so terms are clear upfront
  • Usually more comprehensive and reliable
  • Premiums are typically guaranteed for the life of the policy

ASU (short-term)

  • Covers accident, sickness and redundancy
  • Pays out short term, usually 12 to 24 months per claim
  • Often quicker and simpler to arrange – checks if you are eligible are usually done at claim time, not upfront
  • Unemployment cover can cost more and comes with more conditions
  • Annually reviewable, so the price can change at renewal

Do you need ASU cover?

It could be a sensible safety net if you:

  • want short-term protection for your essential bills
  • are concerned about redundancy in your industry
  • do not have enough savings to fall back on for long
  • are not eligible for full Income Protection
  • prefer a quick and simple application process

It is most commonly used by people in:

  • employed roles
  • industries with a higher risk of redundancy
  • fixed-term or contract positions

If you are self-employed, unemployment cover usually is not available, but Accident & Sickness cover may still be a valuable option. With no Statutory Sick Pay to fall back on, the sickness element can matter even more for the self-employed.

What ASU covers

Cover you can shape around your needs

Accident & Sickness

Pays a monthly benefit if you are unable to work because of illness or injury.

Unemployment

Pays out if you are made redundant through no fault of your own.

Combined cover

Most people choose combined cover for broader protection, but Accident & Sickness only is also available if redundancy is not a concern for you.

FAQs

We answer some of the most common questions people ask about Accident, Sickness & Unemployment cover. If yours is not here, just ask and we will help.

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No. ASU is short-term cover that can include unemployment, and it usually pays out for 12 to 24 months per claim. Income Protection is long-term, covers accident and sickness only, and can pay out for much longer, sometimes until retirement. We will help you compare the two.

Most policies pay out for 12 or 24 months per claim, depending on the insurer and the level of cover you choose. Payments stop sooner if you recover and return to work, or find new employment after redundancy.

After a short waiting period, often 30 days, your benefit begins. Some policies are ‘back to day one’, which means once you have been off work long enough to qualify, the payment is backdated to the very first day you could not work. A shorter waiting period costs a little more but pays you sooner.

They are two different clocks. The waiting period is how long you wait after a claim before benefit starts. The initial exclusion period applies at the very start of the policy, often 90 to 180 days for the unemployment element, during which a redundancy claim cannot be made. The exclusion period exists so the cover only protects against genuinely unexpected events.

It depends on your age, job, the benefit amount, your waiting period, the payout period and whether unemployment cover is included. Cover is usually priced per £100 of monthly benefit, and unemployment cover is the most expensive part. We will help you find a level of cover that does the job without paying for more than you need.

Yes. You select a monthly benefit amount, usually up to a set percentage of your income (often around two-thirds). The cap exists so there is always a financial reason to return to work. If your circumstances change, most policies let you adjust the benefit.

No. Because you pay the premiums from income that has already been taxed, the monthly benefit is paid to you tax-free. The position can differ if an employer pays your premiums, which is worth checking if your cover is arranged through work.

You can usually get Accident & Sickness cover, but unemployment cover is rarely available for the self-employed. With no Statutory Sick Pay to rely on, the sickness element is often especially valuable if you work for yourself.

No. Redundancy must be involuntary and not something you were aware of when you took out the policy. Voluntary redundancy, resignation and dismissal for misconduct are all excluded, as is the expected end of a fixed-term contract.

This is the most common reason a claim is declined. If you already knew your job was at risk when you took out the policy, or notice is served during the initial exclusion period, an unemployment claim will almost certainly be refused. ASU is there to protect against the unexpected, so it only works if you arrange it before there is any sign of trouble.

Accident and sickness claims linked to a condition you have had symptoms, treatment or advice for in the months before the policy started are usually excluded. Some policies operate a moratorium, so if you go a continuous period symptom-free, that condition may become coverable again. Full and honest disclosure when you apply is essential, and it protects you.

Often yes, with conditions. Most insurers ask that you work a minimum number of hours a week and have been with the same employer for a qualifying period. Contract workers can usually get accident and sickness cover, though the unemployment element typically only pays if a contract ends unexpectedly. We will check the detail for your situation.

Generally yes, but the total you can claim is still capped against your income, so stacking cover will not let you receive more off work than you earned in work. A common, sensible approach is to use ASU to bridge the first year before a longer-term income protection policy begins.

Yes. As long as you keep paying premiums and the policy stays in force, you can make separate claims for separate events, for example a sickness claim now and a redundancy claim later. Each claim is subject to its own waiting period and maximum payout length.

ASU is usually an annually reviewable contract. The premium is normally held for 12 months and can be reviewed at renewal, and in principle the insurer can choose not to renew. This is a genuine difference from guaranteed long-term income protection, and we will always be upfront about it.

It depends on your safety net. If you have several months of savings and few fixed commitments, you may not need it. If a few weeks without income would mean missing the mortgage or rent, it can be very valuable. It works best for people with high essential outgoings and limited savings, and as a bridge before longer-term cover.

Book a free consultation online or call us on 0117 403 9430. We will have a proper conversation about your situation and what would genuinely help. If ASU is the right move, we will arrange it. If it is not, we will say so.

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We had an excellent experience with WR Ethical (Matt Scarisbrick specifically) and would highly recommend them.

They helped us with our remortgage, which involved repaying our Help to Buy loan, and took the time to properly understand our circumstances rather than simply finding us a mortgage. In particular, they helped us understand the property valuation we would need to achieve an acceptable loan-to-value ratio and guided us clearly through the different options.

They gave us a number of lenders to choose from and, importantly, helped us understand the differences between them beyond just the interest rate. They highlighted how ethical each lender was, how easy they were to deal with and how accommodating they were likely to be. This gave us a much better basis for deciding which lender was right for us and meant we could make an informed choice based on the things that mattered to us.

We also really appreciated their wider approach to protecting us financially. They quite rightly raised the question of whether we had adequate insurance in place should either of us become unable to work or pass away. It was reassuring that their focus wasn't just on completing the mortgage, but also on making sure we could continue to afford and keep our home if the worst were to happen.

They also made some excellent solicitor recommendations at different price points, giving us the information and choice to decide what worked best for us rather than pushing us towards one particular option.

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We can’t thank Darryl enough for all of the help and guidance he’s given us over the last couple of months. From the very beginning he has been incredibly helpful and always available whenever we’ve had a question or weren’t sure about something.

Having someone we could contact so easily made our first time buying so much easier and really helped put our minds at rest.

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Mark @ WR Ethical was an immense help with my family life insurance. He helped navigate some challenging family history considerations, to secure a policy that was an ideal fit. Couldn’t recommend more highly!
  
 
 
 
 
 
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Connor at WR Ethical was pleasant to deal with and efficient. He found us a substantially larger interest only mortgage than I could get from any of the usual online mortgage shopping sites and at a competitive interest rate. I tried 2 other brokers as well and their offers were not as good as what Connor found.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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I chose WR Ethical for their ethical and environmental stance, and have benefited from their mortgage advice twice now. On both occassions my interactions with mortgage advisor Paul have been friendly and he has taken time to understand my values and needs, and given detailed and clear information. Recommended service.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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I found Paul to be super helpful in my mortgage process (1st time buyer). He was knowledgeable, straightforward, patient and realistic in what I needed and what I could get. It was a tricky nerve-racking 12 months beset with issues and the mortgage was approved with one day to go before the offer expired. Paul got an extension on the offer which saved the day and was professional and kind throughout the process. I wholly recommend Paul and WR Ethical. Many thanks.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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We had our first meeting with Mark to discuss life insurance, and he was fantastic, friendly, helpful, and highly professional throughout. He also flagged some important considerations we hadn’t thought about, which really added value to the conversation. Highly recommend!
  
 
 
 
 
 
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Mark was super helpful in identifying the right protection for my circumstances. He was quick to respond to questions, kept me informed throughout and made the whole process incredibly easy. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to others.
We do not charge a fee for insurance or protection advice, but we may receive a commission if you take out cover arranged through us

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If you would like to explore Accident, Sickness & Unemployment cover, or compare it with Income Protection, we are here to help. One conversation is all it takes to work out what makes sense for you. It is free, with no pressure and no obligation.

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