FAQs

We are insurance brokers for British Insurance, we offer income protection cover to pay a monthly amount to cover your childcare costs, subject to the maximum benefits allowable.

No, we have selected the Insurance provider which suits most individuals. The Insurers are British Insurance. You must be sure this insurance is suitable to meet your needs. It is therefore, important to read the frequently asked questions below that appear on the Insurers website.

The Insurers are British Insurance. British Insurance Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Important Note:
It is your responsibility to ensure that British Insurance Protection is suitable to meet your needs. Accordingly, it is very important that you carefully read and understand both these frequently asked questions and the Policy Terms and Conditions, to enable you to make an informed decision before you make an application.

British Insurance Protection is designed to provide you with an income to help meet your general living expenses or your monthly bills such as your mortgage, loan or credit card repayments, when you cannot work due to an accident or sickness and/or unemployment.

British Insurance Protection is an income protection insurance policy which means that you do not need to have debts such as a mortgage, loan or credit card to be insured. All you need, subject to the policies eligibility conditions, is a regular, taxable, monthly income.

Important Note: If you make a successful claim under British Insurance Protection, benefits will be paid directly to you and not to a mortgage or loan provider. Accordingly, please be aware that this will mean that as you are in receipt of an income you may not be eligible to receive State ‘means tested’ Benefits such as Income Support.

British Insurance Protection does not offer joint cover. Each person wishing to be insured needs to take out a separate policy.

British Insurance Protection offers the following three cover options:

• Accident, sickness and unemployment cover
• Accident and sickness only cover
• Unemployment only cover.

British Insurance Protection will start to pay benefits once you are unable to work due to an accident or sickness, if you become unemployed, or if you leave your work to become a carer for at least 30 days in a row. Further information about when British Insurance Protection starts to pay benefits, may be seen at Section 5, Section 6 and Section 7 of the Policy Wording.

The maximum monthly benefit that you can insure under British Insurance Protection is £1500 or 50% of your gross monthly income, whichever the lesser. Further information, about how much you can insure, may be seen at Section 1 of the Policy Wording.

British Insurance Protection will provide claims benefits for up to 12 months. Further information about how long cover lasts may be seen at Section 5 and Section 6 of the Policy Wording.

British Insurance Protection is a rolling contract that operates on a monthly basis and continues for each month that you pay your premium. Cover can continue until you retire, reach the age of 65 or until you or the insurer cancel. Further information, about the end date of cover, may be found at Section 9 of the Policy Wording.

You are only eligible to receive benefits under British Insurance Protection provided that you meet certain conditions. It is therefore essential that you satisfy yourself that the following conditions apply to you:

• I am permanently living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man and actively working a for a least 16 hours per week
• My work is not: temporary, casual, seasonal, irregular, a period of training/apprenticeship or for a specific task
• I have worked continuously for the past six months and if not, I am aware that I will need to have done so before I can claim for unemployment benefits
• I am aware that I will not be covered for any accident or sickness that occurred before the start date of my policy, or for any chronic or continuing medical condition that I already have
• If I am a contract worker (as defined by this insurance), I am aware of the additional requirements I will need to meet to support a claim beyond the natural expiry of my fixed term contract
• If I am self-employed (as defined by this insurance) I am aware of the additional requirements I will need to meet to support a claim
• I am aware of the 120 day initial exclusion period for Unemployment or Carer Benefit
• I am aware that I will not be covered for unemployment which arises from any programme of job losses, any departmental or company restructure or merger with another company, announced by my employer before the start date of my policy, or within 120 days after the start date of my policy
• The sum insured under British Insurance Protection does not exceed 50% of my monthly earned income before Tax and I am aware that if I over-insure under this and similar Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policies my benefit will be reduced.

Under British Insurance Protection you are eligible to claim for accident or sickness benefit if you are unable to work for 30 days in a row because of an accident or sickness. Further information, about when you can claim for accident and sickness benefit, may be seen at Section 5 of the Policy Wording.

Like all accident and sickness policies, British Insurance Protection contains exclusions which mean that in certain circumstances you will be unable to make a valid claim. Further information, about when you cannot claim for accident and sickness benefit, may be seen at Section 5 of the Policy Wording.

Under British Insurance Protection you are eligible to claim for unemployment benefit if you are unable to work for 30 days in a row because of unemployment. Further information, about when you can claim for unemployment benefit, may be seen at Section 6 of the Policy Wording.

Like all unemployment policies, British Insurance Protection contains exclusions which mean that in certain circumstances you will be unable to make a valid claim. Further information, about when you cannot claim for unemployment benefit, may be seen at Section 6 of the Policy Wording.

Under British Insurance Protection you are eligible to claim for carer benefit if you are unable to work for 30 days in a row because you have to leave work to be come a carer. Further information, about when you can claim for carer benefit, may be seen at Section 7 of the Policy Wording.

Like all carer policies, British Insurance Protection contains exclusions which mean that in certain circumstances you will be unable to make a valid claim. Further information, about when you cannot claim for carer benefit, may be seen at Section 7 of the Policy Wording.

British Insurance Protection like all similar accident, sickness and unemployment insurance policies has an ‘initial exclusion period’ at the start of the policy. This means that during the first 120 days of cover, it is not possible to make a claim for unemployment or carer benefit. Further information, about when you can and can’t claim for unemployment or carer benefit, may be seen at Section 6 and Section 7 of the Policy Wording.

To make a claim under British Insurance Protection is a very straightforward process. All you need to do is call FirstAssist on: 0845 072 0729. Further information, about how to make a claim, may be seen at Section 11 of the Policy Wording.

To change your cover, or monthly benefit under British Insurance Protection is a very simple process. All you need to do is call FirstAssist on: 0845 072 0729. Further information, about how to change your cover or benefit, may be seen at Section 10 of the Policy Wording.

Under British Insurance Protection, like all similar insurances, it is very important that you inform FirstAssist of any changes to your personal circumstances, such as a change to your employment status. Failure to do so could invalidate a future claim. Further information about what to do if your circumstances change, may be seen at Section 10 the Policy Wording.

You can cancel your cover under British Insurance Protection at anytime by writing to FirstAssist Insurance Services Limited, 1 Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL1 1QH. In addition, you have a statutory period of 30- days at the start of your policy, during which you can cancel and get a full refund. Further information, about your cancellation rights, may be found at Section 2 and Section 9 of the Policy Wording.

In the highly unlikely event that you wish to make a complaint about British Insurance Protection, or the service you have received, FirstAssist will do all that is possible to put things right. Further information, about how to make a complaint, may be seen at Section 12 on the Policy Wording.

The only way to pay for British Insurance Protection is by monthly direct debit. Further information, about how to pay or the insurance contract in general, may be seen at Section 3 of the Policy Wording.

Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance - This is an insurance Policy that provides a tax-free monthly income if you are unable to work as a result of sickness, incapacity or Unemployment/redundancy, and pays out for a maximum of 12 months (as shown on your certificate of insurance), in the event of a claim.

With Unemployment cover, there is an 'Initial Exclusion Period' at the start of a Policy where you cannot claim, this can vary in length dependant upon the company you choose, and is shown on your certificate of insurance.

Contract Worker/Full-time semi-permanent worker - Employed on a contract for a specific term or undertaking. The minimum length of contract & number of time the contract has been renewed will vary between underwriters. Further information regarding Contract Workers and Full-Time Semi-Permanent Workers can be seen in the Policy Wordings.

Employed - This means your employer deducts PAYE tax and national insurance (N.I.) contributions from your gross income and your work is of a permanent nature - or you work under a fixed term contract or sub contracting basis and your sole source of income comes from that contract.

You must have been in continuous work for 6 months before your first claim for Unemployment (this is waived if you were in continuous work for 6 months before the Policy start date) Terms for contract workers vary between underwriters and you should always check the Policy Wordings for further details.

Employed/Employment/Work - Permanent paid employment, including self-employment, of at least 16 hours per week.

Exclusions - These are conditions that are put on an insurance Policy and shows when the Policy will not pay out. Exclusions could be placed on insurance for medical conditions, hazardous activities and pursuits or for scenarios such as being outside of the country or at war.

There are some specific conditions are not covered for any applicant, details can be found in the Policy Wordings. Any Chronic Condition that you suffer from before the start date of your Policy will be excluded from your Policy. Any pre-existing condition that you suffer from in the 12 months before the start date of your Policy will by excluded from your Policy until you have been clear of symptoms, treatment and check-ups for a minimum of 24 months.

Non Disclosure - This refers to a person not declaring required information on an Application form for an insurance Policy. With many insurance policies, you will complete an Application form in which it is your duty to answer all questions truthfully and disclose any relevant information that is requested. If information is omitted, i.e. not disclosed, it could mean that a Policy would not pay out in the event of a claim.

You should also notify underwriters of any changes to your details that occur during the term of your policy. For example if you change your name, occupation/employer details, or, if you have a Mortgage Protection policy and you no longer have a Mortgage. If you are unsure as to whether something is relevant, always include it.

Occupation - This is the job, career or profession that you do for a living. It is a term used to briefly describe the work, tasks and activities that you do for your job. Many people's Occupations change during the course of their lives and are often guided by their education, personality, past work experience and training.

Any changes in Occupation or other material facts should be notified to the underwriter as soon as possible.

Reviewable Premium - This is a term which specifies that insurance Premiums can be reviewed.

With Reviewable Premiums, your payments may increase, stay the same or decrease after the company makes the review. Review of Premiums can be based on the number of future claims and their costs for reinsuring policies. Underwriters must inform you in writing to your last known address before implementing any new premiums. Further information regarding review of Premiums can be seen in the Policy Wordings.

Waiting period/excess period - This is the time period that you have to wait before a claim is paid. Sometimes the policies will pay back to day one of the claim, so long as you have been off for the full Deferment period. Other times it will only pay back to the end of the Deferment or Waiting period.

The different options for the Waiting Periods/Excess Periods are:

• 30 days waiting, paying back to day one
• 30 days waiting, first payment on day 61 pays back to day 31
• 60 days waiting, first payment on day 91 pays back to day 61
• 90 days waiting, first payment on day 121 pays back to day 91
• 180 days waiting, first payment on day 211 pays back to day 181

If you choose a longer deferment period your premiums are usually cheaper as a result.

Under British Insurance Protection, information about the insurance contract may be seen at Section 3 of the Policy Wording.

One of the many benefits of British Insurance Protection is that it provides an unemployment telephone assistance service, run by an independent team of expert advisers. The service is free and completely confidential. Further information, about Back to Work Assistance, may be seen at Section 8 of the Policy Wording.

The insurer for British Insurance Protection is Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) Plc, which is registered in England under number: 2189462 and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

The administrator for British Insurance Protection is FirstAssist Insurance Services Limited, which is regulated in England under number: 4617110 and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority

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