Insurance cover arranged by the borrower to protect against inability to meet mortgage payments or other financial committments.

Unemployment cover is restricted to cover certain events only. Exclusions to this insurance include dismissal due to professional misconduct or taking voluntary redundancy. The accident and sickness cover does not cover any act of self-injury or any injury related to the use of alcohol or drugs.

Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance (ASU), can also be referred to as mortgage payment protection and will provide you with an income to meet your outgoings if you are off work sick, have an accident or are made redundant. It pays out a monthly benefit to cover your mortgage and other related costs.

You may choose the amount of benefit you would like to receive - although there are some limits on the maximum amount. The premium will be a percentage of the amount of monthly benefit you would like to receive. Benefits are usually payable for a maximum of 12 months.

Some policies will also allow you to choose whether you want to receive benefits for accident and sickness only, unemployment only or all three. Most policies will also have a 'deferment period'. This is the period of time you will have to wait after losing your source of income until you may claim the policy benefit.