We’ve all heard the talk that we’ve reached the bottom of the recession so we may be forgiven in hoping that the worst is over – but is it? It’s clear that as economists are predicting that unemployment will rise by another 500,000, many more workers will yet to face unemployment.

So maybe one of the key questions is have you got Redundancy Insurance? And do you have enough cover to maintain your mortgage repayment and any other loans that are secured on your house? And would you then have enough income to keep the family solvent?

Nobody likes considering these questions, but take my advice – no-ones job is 100% safe these days.

Redundancy Insurance is sold under a number of different names – Some policies also include cover for accidents and sickness and call the policy an Accident Sickness and Unemployment policy (ASU) some just call, it Payment Protection. So if you have any policies like these dust them off and establish exactly what you’re covered for and how much you’d receive if you were made redundant. Then work out how much income (after tax) you’d need to pay all the essential bills.

You can then buy cover in case you’re made redundant. The policies do not tie you in to a long tern contract and you can cancel them by simply informing the insurer and then stop paying.

But watch out. If you have reason to believe that you are about to be made redundant, it’s too late to buy a policy – your application will be invalidated. Our advice is be safe get a redundancy policy now. They cost in the region of £4-5 per £100 of monthly income for a policy that would pay out for up to 2 years.