Accident, sickness and unemployment protection

ASU stands for accident, sickness and unemployment. It is a short-term insurance product which people take out in case unforeseen circumstances prevent them from working for a period, either due to injury, illness or redundancy.

ASU covers a range of payments, including repayments on a mortgage or loan, and general income protection. So if you lose your job, you know you can keep up on your mortgage and keep your household going.

Yes, ASU covers you if you lose your job – provided it’s through no fault of your own. If you’re fired for something bad you’ve done, or if you leave the job without another one lined up, your policy most likely won’t pay out.

If you opt for income protection insurance, it probably won’t cover your full salary – most policies pay out a decent percentage of your total monthly take-home.

ASU is designed to cover involuntary redundancy – when you lose your job without warning. It won’t pay out if you take voluntary redundancy, and it doesn’t work if you are fired for misconduct.

ASU policies are available for people who are self-employed. You need to specify your employment status with your insurer, and the terms may be a little different to regular ASU, but self-employed ASU policies do cover you in the event you can’t work due to illness or injury.

Most ASU policies are short-term; they tend to pay out for 12 months, or 24 months in some circumstances. After this period, if you’re still too ill to work, the government should hopefully pick up the slack.

There are specific ASU policies which are designed to cover your mortgage if you lose your job through no fault of your own. When you apply, you’ll specify to your insurer what you want your ASU insurance to cover, be it your income, your mortgage or loan repayments.