Income Protection · Comparison 2026

Accident, sickness and unemployment cover vs income protection (UK 2026)

Q: What does ASU cover actually stand for?

ASU is accident, sickness and unemployment cover, a form of short-term protection. You can usually buy the three parts together, or take accident and sickness only, or unemployment only. It pays a monthly benefit while you are off work through accident or illness, and, where the unemployment part is included, if you are made involuntarily redundant.

Q: How long does each one pay out for?

ASU claims are short by design, typically capped at around twelve months per claim, with some policies stretching to eighteen or twenty-four. Full-term income protection can keep paying until you recover, retire or the term ends, which may be years. Short-term income protection sits in between, capping each claim at one or two years.

Q: Is there a waiting period before I can claim on the unemployment part?

Usually yes. The unemployment element of ASU normally has an exclusion period at the start, often around 60 to 120 days, during which a redundancy claim cannot be made, and you must not have been aware the job loss was coming when you bought the policy.

Both can pay you a monthly benefit when you cannot work, so they get muddled up a lot. But they are built for different jobs. Accident, sickness and unemployment (ASU) cover is short-term protection that can also pay out if you are made redundant; income protection is longer-term cover for illness or injury that keeps paying — sometimes for years — but never covers job loss. Here is how they compare on triggers, payout length, redundancy, cost and which gap each one fills.

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Quick answer

The short version

ASU cover pays a monthly benefit if you cannot work through accident or sickness, and — if you include the unemployment element — if you are made involuntarily redundant.
Income protection pays a monthly income for illness or injury from any cause, but it does not cover redundancy or job loss of any kind.
Length is the big split: ASU claims usually run out after about 12 months; full-term income protection can keep paying until you recover, retire or the policy ends.
They can sit together — ASU for a short income or redundancy gap, income protection for a long illness — though the budget often ends up going to one or the other.

Side by side

ASU cover vs income protection at a glance

	ASU cover	Income protection
What triggers a payout	Accident or sickness that stops you working, plus involuntary redundancy if you buy the unemployment element	Any illness or injury that stops you working — the cause is not restricted, but job loss is never covered
How long it pays	Short — typically capped at around 12 months per claim (some policies 18–24)	Until you recover, retire or the term ends on full-term cover; short-term income protection caps each claim at one or two years
Redundancy / job loss	Yes, if the unemployment element is included — usually after an initial exclusion period at the start	No — redundancy and unemployment are outside the cover
Payout shape	Monthly benefit, often capped at a set amount or a percentage of your income	Monthly income, commonly replacing around 50–65% of gross earnings, paid tax-free
Premiums	Usually age-related and reviewable — the price can move over time	Guaranteed (fixed at outset) or reviewable options are both available
Deferred period	Short — often 30, 60 or 90 days, with back-to-day-one options on some plans	Chosen at outset, commonly four weeks to twelve months — a longer wait lowers the premium

Indicative comparison for orientation only — not a quote. Cover terms, caps, exclusion periods and pricing are set by each insurer’s policy and underwriting.

The redundancy question

Only one of them pays if you lose your job

This is the difference that catches people out. Income protection is medical cover — it pays when illness or injury stops you working, whatever the cause — but redundancy simply is not one of the things it responds to. If your worry is being let go, income protection will not help with that particular risk. ASU can, but only if you buy the unemployment part, and only within its rules: there is normally an exclusion period of a couple of months at the start when a redundancy claim cannot be made, and you must not have known the job loss was coming when you took the policy out. We see this misunderstanding a lot, and it is worth reading the small print on the unemployment section closely.

If redundancy cover is what you are really after, it is also worth comparing ASU with a mortgage-focused version of the same idea — see mortgage payment protection vs income protection — and with what happens to a longer-term policy if you are laid off, covered in does income protection cover redundancy?

How long each pays

A year of cover, or cover that can last

The second real difference is staying power. ASU is designed to bridge a short gap. A claim usually pays for up to a year and then stops, even if you are still unable to work — the idea is to cover you while you recover or find your feet, not to replace an income indefinitely. That makes it a reasonable fit for a temporary shock, and it is why the unemployment element only ever comes in a short-term shape.

Income protection is the opposite. A full-term policy keeps paying for as long as you remain unable to work, right up to retirement if it comes to that, which is exactly what you want if a serious illness or a bad injury keeps you off work for years rather than months. There is a middle option too — short-term income protection caps each claim at one or two years, sitting between the two. If the length of cover is the thing you are weighing up, short-term vs long-term income protection goes into it, and the income protection hub covers the levers — deferred period, benefit amount, term — that move the price.

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Choosing

Which fits which gap?

Neither is the “better” product — they guard against different things. If the risk keeping you up at night is losing your job, ASU with the unemployment element is the only one of the two that pays a penny towards it. If it is a long illness or a serious injury — the kind that could keep you off work well beyond a year — income protection is built for that, because ASU would run dry long before you were back on your feet. And if it is a bit of both, some households pair a short ASU policy with a full-term income protection plan, accepting the extra premium to cover more of the ground.

What is right for you turns on your job security, your savings, any sick pay from an employer and who depends on your income — which is general context, not a recommendation. Read the cover terms, the caps and the exclusion periods, and compare like for like before you decide.

Common questions

ASU vs income protection FAQs

What does ASU cover actually stand for?

ASU is accident, sickness and unemployment cover — a form of short-term protection. You can usually buy the three parts together, or take accident and sickness only, or unemployment only. It pays a monthly benefit while you are off work through accident or illness, and, where the unemployment part is included, if you are made involuntarily redundant.

Does income protection cover redundancy like ASU does?

No. Standard income protection is for illness or injury that stops you working — redundancy and other job loss fall outside it. Only ASU with the unemployment element pays out for involuntary redundancy, and even then within its own rules. If redundancy is your main concern, that is the difference that matters most.

How long does each one pay out for?

ASU claims are short by design — typically capped at around twelve months per claim, with some policies stretching to eighteen or twenty-four. Full-term income protection can keep paying until you recover, retire or the term ends, which may be years. Short-term income protection sits in between, capping each claim at one or two years.

Is there a waiting period before I can claim on the unemployment part?

Usually, yes. The unemployment element of ASU normally has an exclusion period at the start — often around 60 to 120 days — during which a redundancy claim cannot be made, and you must not have been aware the job loss was coming when you bought the policy. Read the unemployment section of the terms carefully, as insurers word this differently.

Which is cheaper, ASU or income protection?

They are priced on different things, so a headline comparison can mislead. ASU premiums are commonly age-related and reviewable, meaning they can rise over time, while income protection offers guaranteed premiums that stay fixed as well as reviewable ones. Rather than assume one is cheaper, compare quotes for the cover you actually need, over the length you need it.

Is ASU the same as mortgage payment protection?

They are close cousins. Mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) is essentially ASU aimed at covering your monthly mortgage payment rather than a broader slice of income, and it works on the same short-term, accident-sickness-and-unemployment basis. Our MPPI vs income protection comparison looks at that side by side.

Can I hold both ASU and income protection?

You can. Some people use a short ASU policy to cover a redundancy or short-illness gap and a full-term income protection plan for a long-term illness or injury, since the two fill different holes. Whether the extra premium is worth it depends on your circumstances — this is general information, not advice, so weigh it against your own budget and cover terms.

Information only — not financial advice. My Insurance Expert is not an FCA-authorised intermediary and does not arrange or sell policies. Comparisons and figures are indicative for orientation, not quotes, and cover terms, caps and exclusion periods vary by insurer. Last updated: 2026-09-08

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