I got Accident and Sickness insurance over Covid-19 fears

Some are already stopping selling it - get it while you can!

I bought an Accident and Sickness insurance just last week. The insurer I used has recently announced they will now no longer cover claims for Covid-19. I, of course, was worried about being laid low - albeit a small risk - by Covid-19. I consider myself low-risk of mortality, but who knows how impacted i'd be? With coverage disappearing - you might still find some providers - hurry, it will all go, if it hasn't already.

Accident and Sickness represents two of the perils usually covered by a so-called ASU insurance. You don't have to add on unemployment cover. It's a case of "what it says on the tin".

You typically won't get cover for something that you either have already, or haven't been symptom-free of for, say, 2 years.

Cover pays a monthly (or weekly) sum, up to 70% of your income. There's usually a waiting period, and then a maximum term - in years. Obviously if you don't need the money during the maximum term - coverage payout would cease.

Why now?

Insurance is a sector that is sensitive to "exposure" and aggregate risk. So when it comes to increasingly probable risks - it pays to be ahead of the panic buyers. Back before the financial crisis, ASU cover was surging - then, when it became evident a tipping point had been reached, insurers stopped covering certain sectors. Knowing that they likely couldn't find a price that would balance the claim volume. They switched it off.

I could see this class of insurance going the same way - as indeed many of you will have seen with Travel Insurance. So I made my decision.

I was looking for a coverage that:

  1. Started paying a claim as early as affordable
  2. Wouldn't lock me in to long-term premiums
  3. Covered the virus

Because I wanted to get a little advice (that's where you can ask "will this cover Covid" - if it doesn't it's on them). I did an online quote, and then accepted the invitation to call and talk through the product. This wasn't one buying online alone would suffice.

My goal was to keep the premium under £20 a month, not be greedy on benefit and literally get enough to cover my mortgage and council tax.

When I shopped around, I started on my own results for Accident and Sickness insurance:

Search Providers

I got a quote from ActiveQuote - who many of you may not know, are the actual providers behind a few so-called comparison site Income Insurance engines.

I reviewed them for both the buying process and support experience, here:

See my Review

I ended up buying from Shepherd Friendly, who then directly got in touch with me as well. So i'm technically a buyer from both ActiveQuote and Shepherd Friendly - this is typical with these types of cover, as in Life Insurance.

THEY HAVE NOW CEASED OFFERING THIS COVER FROM 14/03!

I reviewed them for the buying process experience, here:

See my Review

I hope this is helpful and that you, too, are take advantage of a coverage that helps in these testing times if you can track it down - now is the time. Whilst it's still unlikely you'll need or use it in full, the probability is ticking up and the appetite diminishing for the market to transfer that risk away from you.