This type of protection policy is designed to cover the cost of your mortgage payments if you’re sick, have an accident or become unemployed and can’t work. Whether you have a repayment or an interest-only mortgage, it’s important to have plans in place to protect the balance of your mortgage – after all, you’d want to safeguard your loved ones by keeping a roof over their heads.
People sometimes confuse mortgage payment protection with payment protection insurance, or PPI as it is commonly referred to. PPI is completely different and designed to cover monthly payments for credit cards, personal loans and other types of unsecured borrowing, so don’t let the scandal surrounding PPI put you off taking out insurance to protect your mortgage payments.
Sick pay
With Statutory Sick Pay set at just £99.35 per week and only payable for up to 28 weeks, many families would struggle to meet their mortgage payments if disaster were to strike. If you’d struggle to afford your mortgage payments if illness, accident or unemployment were to strike, or you’re self-employed and so don’t qualify for sick pay or redundancy money, then mortgage payment protection cover could be right for you. Policies can cover your mortgage payments in full as long as they don’t exceed 65% of your gross annual salary, and the amount payable under the policy is usually around £1,500 to £2,000 per month. Most policies start paying out either 31 or 60 days after you are unable to work, and will generally pay out for up to 12 months, or until you return to work, whichever is sooner. Policies don’t usually allow claims for unemployment within the first three to six months of the policy being taken out.
There are other providers of Payment Protection Insurance Short-Term Income Protection and other products designed to protect you against loss of income. For impartial information about insurance, please visit the website at www.moneyhelper.org.uk
🚨 Data accurate as of the date of publication – 22.05.2018.
🚨 The above material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a sales offer or financial advice. Before taking out any insurance, credit agreement or other financial product, you should obtain individual advice on your requirements and the general terms of the contract.
Source: Intrinsic Quarterly Mortgages Q2 2018 ISSUE 8 “Mortgage payment protection insurance – a valuable safety net for families”.
