Mortgage payment protection would be your safety net to fall back onto in the event you were to become a victim of redundancy or incapacity. If you were to suddenly lose your income to either of these events you would have to struggle each month to find the money needed to maintain the repayments of your mortgage. Should you fall into arrears that you are unable to catch up on then you are risking losing your home.
What mortgage protection does?
Mortgage cover would go a long way towards ensuring that if you were to suffer from redundancy or incapacity and lose your income you would have a substantial amount of money towards being able to meet the demands of your mortgage each month.
The policy provides an income that is tax free once you have been unable to work or have been incapacitated for a period of time which must be checked before taking out the cover as the terms can differ greatly with each provider. The income supplied from the mortgage protection insurance would be welcomed as tax free payments each month for the term offered.
Without a policy you could fall behind on your mortgage repayments and this might lead to lender repossession if there is no way that you are able to catch up on the missed repayments. So the small monthly premium for mortgage payment protection to protect against this can be well worth it.
When could I claim on the insurance?
Providers will have different rules as to when you could make a claim on your insurance. The terms offered by the provider you are considering taking out protection with would have to be checked at the time of applying for the mortgage payment protection insurance.
Your provider could offer a policy that would allow you to make a claim once you had suffered 30 days of incapacity or had been redundant. However there are some that could ask you wait as long as the 90th day before making a claim.
When you could claim is important with mortgage payment protection insurance as 90 days can be a long time to wait before seeing any money. Lenders can choose to take you to court if you have mortgage arrears of just a couple of months. By the 90th day you could already be in mortgage arrears by 3 months and could have the lender sending threats of court proceedings.
How much benefit would I get?
Again the amount of income you would get towards your mortgage repayment would depend on the provider. All will set a maximum amount that you would be able to insure up to so they would have to pre-agree with the amount you choose when you apply for cover.
The payments you do receive would be tax free each month, should you need to make a claim, and would of course provide a substantial sum of money towards you being able to continue servicing your repayments and so keep out of mortgage arrears.
How long would payments last?
Some providers will allow you to claim on your mortgage payment protection for 12 months. This can be more than enough time for you to have recovered from your accident or illness or for you to have gone out and found work.
However there are also providers who might offer 24 monthly payments on their protection. One thing you would have to take into account is that the cost of a policy that would payout for 24 months would be a lot dearer than one that gave you 12 months of insurance.
As there is such a big difference it is essential that when comparing the cost of mortgage cover you always ensure you are comparing the same terms.
Would you be eligible to make a claim?
Before taking out any mortgage payment protection it is essential that you are aware of the small print and have checked to ensure that you would be eligible to claim on the policy. If not then you could be paying out for insurance that you cannot possibly hope to make a claim against.
The terms can differ greatly between providers with some adding in more conditions than others. However any ethical specialist would provide you with the information you need so that you can make a decision regarding the suitability of protection before taking cover out.
For instance to be eligible to claim you would have to be working full time, at least 16 hours per week, and have worked from a period of 6 months prior to taking cover. You would also have to reside in the UK, the Isle of Man or the Chanel Islands to be eligible.
Checking the exclusions
The exclusions as mentioned above are what can stop you from being eligible to claim and so make the cover useless. While mortgage payment protection is a great form of insurance against a loss of income, it is not suitable for all individuals.
For example if you have an illness that is considered ongoing then you would have to double check the terms as there would be some limits which might mean you could not make a claim. Certain conditions such as back problems and illness brought about through stress could also be excluded.
If you are self-employed you would also need to check the terms. Generally the self-employed would only be eligible to claim if they had to cease trading altogether due to circumstances not of their own fault.
Of course there can be many more exclusions with some providers adding in many more than others. Therefore always go over the terms with a fine tooth comb to ensure you know what you are taking on.
Choose the events you want to protect against
While you might want total security against unemployment and incapacity together, in which case you could claim
should you suffer either event, you might want to tailor the mortgage payment protection to suit your needs.
You could just choose to take out mortgage cover for unemployment alone if you were one of the lucky ones that would get a good sick pay plan from your employer. You could alternatively choose just to protect against incapacity alone should this work out better for your circumstances.
The events you choose to take protection against would go towards setting how much you would pay in monthly premiums. This means that you would only be paying for protection that you needed.
Other policies you could consider
Mortgage cover is just one of a family of payment protection policies that you might want to consider taking against unemployment and incapacity.
If you have loan repayments to maintain then you might want to look into loan payment protection. This type of insurance can be taken out in the same way expect of course you would have peace of mind for your loan repayments. This could stop you falling behind on secured loan repayments which could lead to you losing your home. It could also stop you from being taken to court if you fall into debt with unsecured loan debts.
Income payment protection could also be considered. This policy gives you more freedom as you would be able to use the income supplied from the insurance in any way you wanted. You would have an income when bills arrived through your letterbox and would not have to scrimp and scrape to find the money.
Why you might consider mortgage cover
If you take into account that you would have to provide eligibility to claim an income from the State if you become unemployed or incapacitated, then you can see why paying a small premium each month for mortgage protection could make sense. In order to be able to claim State benefits you would for instance not have to have savings over a certain amount. If made redundant then you could be expected to use your redundancy money.
You would also have to remember that any money the State provides would only be towards the interest repayment of your mortgage and up to so much. You would also not see any benefit until the 13th week of your unemployment or incapacity and by this time you would already be in arrears with your mortgage by 3 months. Lenders can choose to repossess your home if you are just a couple of months behind on your repayments.
With mortgage payment protection you would have the income chosen by you and pre-agreed by your provider is as little as 30 days, depending on the provider.
Ensure you get a good deal on your insurance
One of the biggest benefits to taking out mortgage protection insurance with an independent provider is the savings you are able to make on the insurance. With some providers you might save up to as much as 40% on the premiums.
Should you be tempted to take cover at the time of borrowing then you can pay way over the odds for your policy. In the past lenders have calculated the cost of payment protection for your repayments over the term of the mortgage and then added this amount onto the amount you borrow. This means that interest is paid on not only the amount you borrow but also the protection which could mean adding on hundreds of pounds more than you need to pay.
With the independent provider you can also compare the terms on offer which then leads to you getting the right policy for your needs at a cost you can afford.
Benefiting from mortgage protection
The biggest benefit of course when taking mortgage protection is that you would have insurance against mortgage arrears. Mortgage arrears are the worst nightmare of all homeowners buying their home over many years.
Mortgage payment protection would provide you with peace and security of knowing just how much you would have coming into the home and how long for. This could allow you to make a quicker recovery as you would not have additional stress and worry added in or it would allow you the time to go out and search for work.