Any insurance is better than no insurance.

Over the boom time I have seen many people take out mortgages and with little concern for what might happen in the future. It was very much a live for today and worry about tomorrow, well tomorrow, and we all know tomorrow never comes.

Those carefree times are well and truly over now, and we are all staring a very different and unstable future full in the face. It is now more than ever that we should all be considering what protection we have. With interest rates rising and falling, and some people looking at rises in their mortgage payments of as much as 100%, now more than ever you need protection against the possibility of something leaving you incapable of making those monthly payments.


So let us consider what insurance actually means. It is not the concept of insuring against something happening but insuring against the consequences of that occurrence. For example, people tend to think that with life insurance, because they are healthy they do not require it. But this is illogical because it is not now that they should be considering but further on down the line. No one is immortal and no matter how fit you are now no one knows what the future has in store. If something happens to you and you are not covered what will be the consequence of your decision. And bear in mind that if you are healthy now the premiums of a policy will be very reasonable.

So what sort of coverage would you require from your insurance policy then? Well if you have a mortgage you will definitely what it covered. The type of coverage depends on the type of mortgage. If your mortgage is an interest only one then you will require a level term plan, and for a repayment mortgage you will want a mortgage protection plan. Also, critical illness cover is extremely beneficial. If you should succumb to the likes of cancer or a heart attack you will be assured that your mortgage will be paid off in full, even with a full recovery. The benefits of this speak for themselves, youll agree.

You should also consider payment protection insurance. This type of insurance will insure you mortgage payment itself against the chance of you going off sick or being made redundant. In this day and age redundancy is becoming more of a possibility for more of us as companies downsize and tighten their belts. Most payment protection policies will pay out for at least 12 months in a claim and some will go to 24 months, which if you are unable to work due to sickness accident or unemployment can be the difference between keeping your home or not.

You should also make sure that you look at life cover for your family in the event of your death. It is one thing to have your mortgage covered in the event of your death, but it is worthwhile considering the bills your family will have to go on paying after you have gone.

Family income benefit would probably be the most suitable sort of policy to inquire about. The way that this policy works is that it covers the income of the policy holder and pays out on a monthly or yearly basis should the worst occur. You can then be assured that your family is financially taken care of in the months and years ahead. I know that this can sometimes sound very morose but it is something that should be considered.

So to summarize now is the time to be reviewing all your financial affairs not least anything to do with mortgage and loans. You need to put a far greater emphasis on protection in these hard times as it is these times that hurt the most should the unthinkable actually happen. It is always best to seek some sort of professional advice for this process, such as an independent financial adviser as these people are qualified to consider what might happen and protect against it.