This policy starts once you lose your job, and gives you a tax-free monthly income, which starts after you’ve been off work for a pre-agreed waiting period known as a deferral period.

You won’t be able to claim on your policy as soon as you take it out. There will be an exclusion period of between one and six months. This is likely to be longer with unemployment insurance than with sickness or accident cover, as insurance providers don’t want people to take out policies when they know they’re going to be made redundant.