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Credit Crunch - Can you cope - With Unemployment soaring, how would you cope financially if you lost your job?

The credit crunch and economic recession is now beginning to have an impact on everyone. With the UK on the brink of a recession , we are already starting to see unemployment figures rising quite sharply. In fact there are now 1.87 million people out of work, with some experts predicting that this figure could well reach 3 million by 2010.

Whilst none of us want to become part of this statistic, it is important to think about how you would cope if you or your partner were to lose their job. The bills will not stop coming in just because you are not working and unless you have got some savings to fall back on, how will you manage to cover your mortgage, credit cards or other loan commitments?

It is a matter that deserves some serious thought and it is better to act whilst you can because once you are in a situation where you have been made aware of the possibility of a redundancy, it is to late to take out cover to help you make ends meet while you are looking for a new job.

Do not assume that the State will automatically help you out. In the case of mortgages, anyone who has taken out a mortgage or re-mortgaged since 1st October 1995, is not eligible for Income Support for payment of mortgage interest (ISMI) until after nine months of unemployment or disability. For loans taken out before that date, some help will kick in after eight weeks. But in either case, anyone with savings of £8,000 or more, or with a earning partner, will normally not receive any support. The rules are to be revised and from January 2009, (ISMI) will be available 13 weeks after you make your claim, which has been brought down from 39 weeks. Homeowners will be eligible for help on the first £175,000 of their mortgage, which is up from the previous limit of £100,000. However 13 weeks will still leave you having to find at least three monthgs mortgage repayments before state assistance kicks in.  

Whether you need cover for your mortgage, loan or perhaps income protection, why not check out the Simple Homepage (Personal Lines - Payment Protection), to obtain quotations from our award winning partner British Insurance to obtain some of the most competitive quotations currently available.

Alternatively contact Simple for a personal service on 023 8038 6611