No doubt the self employed are one of the most needy when it comes to ASU cover. Because they are self employed they do not get any employee benefits such as sick pay or redundancy. That been said many self employed people have these policies but many will never pay out for unemployment. Some insurance companies exclude unemployment cover for the self employed. You will need to check the small print but on many cases clients that I have seen have had cover that will never pay out because the policy will not pay out for unemployment for the self employed.

Another thing for the self employed to watch out for when choosing an ASU cover provider is their definition of unemployment. The requirements to claim for self employed policy holders is different to that of employees.

For a self employed person to claim for unemployment certain conditions normally need to be met. Benefit is payable where the self-employed person’s business has ceased trading as a result of the financial insolvency of the business arising or occurring after the inception of the policy. However normally insurers also require the list below to be satisfied.

- Business must have ceased trading.
- Proof that the Inland Revenue has been notified, via a Qualified Accountant.
- ES40 booklet confirming registration at the Jobcentre.
- Evidence of receipt of National Insurance Contribution Credits.
- Full audited accounts demonstrating a previous net income sufficient to justify the cover hereunder.

As you can see from the above list claiming on a ASU policy for the self employed can be very difficult. Many self employed people that are self employed do not have an accountant. For a business to cease trading there must be no income at all into the business. In many cases small receipts will be received by the business for many months so claiming is not possible. In fact fact it may take 6 months for the business to stop receiving payments and in that 6 months the net income will be small and may not satisfy point 5 above.