Protection: what keeps you in the home
A mortgage works perfectly when life goes to plan. This page is about the moments when it doesn't.
Here's something worth knowing. The lender is already protected. If the payments stop, for any reason, they have the right to take the house back and recover their money. Protection is your version of that. It keeps the decision about your home with you, rather than with them.
This isn't about expecting the worst. It's about noticing that if life changes, your home and your money shouldn't both be exposed at the same time.
The three kinds of cover
Life cover
Life cover pays a lump sum if you die during the term. For most people it's set up to clear the mortgage, so whoever is left in the house gets to stay in it.
Critical illness cover
Critical illness cover pays a lump sum if you're diagnosed with one of a defined list of serious illnesses. The point is to take the money question off the table at the moment you need to focus on getting better.
Income protection
Income protection pays you a regular monthly income if illness or injury stops you working, after a waiting period, for as long as you're off or until the policy ends. It's the one most people don't have and the one most often needed, because the most likely thing to go wrong isn't dying, it's being off work for months.
What work already gives you
Your sick pay and any death in service benefit from your employer are the starting point, not a box to tick. Some employers pay full salary for a while when you're off sick, then it drops, then it stops. Death in service usually pays a multiple of your salary if you die while employed. Both are worth having, and both usually end the day you leave the job. So we build around what's missing, not on top of what you already have.
How the conversation works
I don't start with products. I start with your budget and your life, which we'll already have built together, and three plain questions: if you couldn't work, if you were seriously ill, if you weren't here, what happens to the mortgage? Then I explain what each kind of cover would do in your situation and what it would cost, and you decide.
I make sure my clients understand their protection options properly, so they can make an informed decision with all the facts in front of them. You choose, and a no is a no.
If you already have cover
Bring the policy documents. Sometimes the right answer is to keep what you've got. Sometimes it's to top up, because the mortgage is bigger or the term is longer than it was. Sometimes it's to start again. I'll give you my view on which, and why. No pressure to change anything that doesn't need changing.
“We had a fantastic experience with Mortgage Advice Bureau. From the very first call to completion, Ethan Mercer was incredibly professional, clear in his communication, and endlessly supportive.”
Questions people ask about protection
Do I have to take protection to get the mortgage?
No. The mortgage doesn't depend on it. I'll always have the conversation, because I think it matters, but the decision is yours. Most lenders do require buildings insurance from exchange, which is a separate thing.
What's the difference between critical illness cover and income protection?
Critical illness cover pays a one-off lump sum on diagnosis of a listed condition. Income protection pays a monthly income while you can't work, for any illness or injury the policy covers. They do different jobs, and some people need both.
I have death in service through work. Is that enough?
It might cover the mortgage, it might not, and it usually stops if you leave. It also does nothing if you're ill rather than gone. Worth checking what it actually provides before deciding.