There are a vast range of mortgage protection products available today designed to help you meet your mortgage commitments in the event of long term illness, unemployment, critical illness or death.

You should consider mortgage protection products if:

	You have a partner
	You have children who are dependent on you
	You have any ageing relatives depending upon you for support
	Your pension or savings will not be enough to protect your dependants if you die
	You are single and do not have someone to help you pay your mortgage if necessary
	You are wanting to help safeguard your business / estate

The ways to protect your mortgage include:

Mortgage Term Assurance
This is a plan which aims to provide a guaranteed sum of money if you die, or are diagnosed with a terminal illness during the term of the policy.  The sum covered stays the same throughout the mortgage term, and so is ideally suited for Interest Only mortgages.

Critical Illness cover can also be added, so that the policy could pay out if you are diagnosed with a specified critical illness during the policy term.

It is important to note that these policies retain no value, so if you reach the end of the policy term and are fortunate not to need to make a claim, then you will not receive anything back.

Mortgage Decreasing Term Assurance
As above this plan aims to provide a guaranteed sum of money if you die, or are diagnosed with a terminal illness and are eligible to claim, during the period of cover you've chosen. The main difference is that the amount of cover decreases during the term of the policy in line with your repayment mortgage.

Mortgage Payment Insurance
A plan which is designed to provide you with a short term monthly benefit to help pay your mortgage if, due to illness, accident or unemployment (if selected), you are unable to work resulting in a loss of earnings.

Buildings & Contents Insurance
Most mortgage lenders insist that you have a minimum level of Buildings insurance in place to cover the cost of rebuilding your home in the worst event.  You can also take out Contents insurance, either as a separate policy, or combined with the Buildings cover in order to protect your personal possessions from things like theft, fire or accidental damage

Writing a Will
When entering such a large financial commitment it is vital that you have a valid will in place to protect your estate after you have gone.  Not only can a Will help reduce your liability to Inheritance Tax, its main role is to remove delays, worry and even costly legal bills for a family in mourning.

How much cover do I need?
This will depend on your mortgage amount. One of our Mortgage Advisers will help you through the process step-by-step, working out how much cover is needed and the cost. We can even take care of all the protection paperwork for you, so you don't need to worry about a thing.