What exactly is Short Term Income Protection Insurance?
(Also known as Accident Sickness and Unemployment Insurance)

Short Term Income Protection Insurance is designed to provide you with a tax-free monthly income for up to 12 months if you are unable to work due to accident, sickness, or unemployment.

It's called Short Term Income Protection Insurance because you will only receive an income for up to 12 months - and then the payments will stop. If you go back to work sooner than 12 months, the payments also stop. Short Term Income Protection Insurance is also known as ASU Insurance - short for Accident Sickness and Unemployment Insurance.

With most policies you can insure yourself for an income of up to £1,000 per month, or 50% of your gross monthly income whichever is the smaller amount. The income that you receive is tax-free.

To claim, you need to be off work for a minimum time. This is called the "qualifying period" and is usually 28 days or a month. With some Short Term Income Protection policies you start receiving the income only after the qualifying period but with the better ones, the income is backdated to the day you were first off work. Be sure to check the small print!

With most Short Term Income Protection Policies, you can insure yourself for disability (that's sickness and accident), unemployment, or both. The rates are often the same whether you are male or female.