An alternative option to income protection insurance (IPI) is Accident, sickness and unemployment insurance (ASU) plans. They are a type of general insurance that is usually used to keep up payments for mortgages should illness, accident or loss of employment prevent the holder from earning a living. A level of income equal to the usual monthly mortgage repayments is paid for a limited period, typically a maximum of two years. Additional cover can sometimes be added to cover other essential costs.

Lump sums may be paid in certain situations (death, disablement, and loss of a limb) and, as with IPI, there will be a deferred period (normally a month) which must elapse before the payments can commence.

These plans should be viewed as short term to protect mortgage payments rather than as providing total protection of an earned income.

These policies would be more accurately described as accident, sickness and redundancy insurance, as they do not offer protection from unemployment when the insured is released from their employment, or resigns voluntarily. The policy will often include the following restrictions:

• Any redundancy that the applicant had reason to believe was pending when they took out the policy will be excluded;
• The applicant must have been actively and continuously employed for a specified minimum period prior to starting the plan;
• No benefit will be payable if redundancy occurs within a specified period from the start of cover;
• A person may have to have been employed for a minimum period either before they can take out this type of plan or before the unemployment cover becomes valid.