The guy who says most of these products are useless is wrong. They can be a great protection but only if you know what to buy. The banks have been pressure selling to people who haven't a clue what they are buying and frequently they can't claim....not a product fault but a major sales fault on the part of the banks. Independent providers can help and are a fraction of the price charged by banks.
Generally, there is a distinction between self-employed and employed people.
Self employed shoudln't generally buy unemployment cover as it wouldn't be covered (there are exceptions such as going into liquidation)but accidents/sickness would be so the policy would be useful for paying mortgages in time of illnesses.
Employed people can be covered for unemployment but there are qualifying criteria e.g. are you employed more than 16 hours per week, are you aware of impending redundancy etc etc.
In most cases there would be a qualifying period before you could claim........no good taking a policy and claiming a week later!!!
Cost? You should pay around �4.25 per �100 of monthly benefit for a full accident, sickness and unemployment cover so if you have a mortgage of �1000 per month you'd pay �42.50.
If you need any help or advice call a specialist such as Bennett Gould on 01242 518300 who are an insurance broker who may be able to assist.