Redundancy and Keeping Cover Affordable

Redundancy hits income and workplace benefits together. Protection premiums become harder — and more important.

Group benefits end

Death-in-service and employer sick pay typically stop when employment ends. Diary the leaving date and confirm in writing.

Keep personal policies on risk

Speak to insurers early if cashflow is tight. Some allow premium holidays or reductions; others do not. Lapses create new underwriting later.

Job-seeking period risks

The months between roles are when families are exposed. Bridge with personal cover sized to essentials before discretionary spends.

• Confirm end date of group life.
• List personal policy premiums and due dates.
• Cut non-essential costs before cutting cover.

Practical next steps

Treat this topic as a decision with paperwork attached. Write down the household facts that matter — who depends on income, which debts must clear, and which workplace benefits already exist — before you compare products. A clear brief stops glossy quotes from steering the plan.

When you speak to an insurer or adviser, ask for definitions and exclusions in writing, and keep PDFs of every illustration you rely on. Markets and underwriting change; your notes are the audit trail.

• Confirm what cover you already hold (personal and workplace).
• Size need against obligations, not round marketing numbers.
• Align wills, trusts, and nominations with the policy.
• Never cancel old cover until replacement is on risk.

Mistakes families make here

The common failure mode is optimising for the cheapest monthly figure while ignoring structure: joint versus single policies, accelerated versus additional benefits, and whether a trust exists at all. Another is letting group benefits create false confidence until a resignation removes them overnight.

Build a short annual review habit. An hour with schedules and nomination forms prevents most emergency weekends after a diagnosis or redundancy.