Mortgage Protection Insurance Mortgage Protection UK Mortgage Protection Mortgage Protection Plan Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance UK Mortgage Protection Insurance UK Mortgage Payment Protection Life Insurance Other Sites Life has a nasty habit of going pear shaped at the worst possible moment. If you were off sick or lost your job, how would you pay your mortgage? The State would help wouldn’t they? Well, actually, no – if you started your mortgage (or you re-mortgaged) after October 1995 you would receive no State help for the first 9 months. Even if your mortgage started before October 1995 State help would be restricted and the Government themselves estimate that 70% of mortgage borrowers would not qualify for state aid. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), a government agency, would like there to be a take-up rate for mortgage protection cover of 55% of all borrowers by the end of 2004. One of the reasons why they are so troubled is that a recent Labour Force Survey found an increase in unemployment, and this includes people who are out of work but not claiming benefits. Yet borrowing continues to increase, partly catalysed by cheap mortgage deals and rising house prices, without enough thought for the impact of unemployment or illness. Perhaps a good reason for the lack of take up of mortgage protection could be considerable confusion amongst potential customers. Some customers get so caught up in the many complications involved with buying property that they start thinking that they have mortgage protection already arranged, when they have actually misunderstood the situation. Some of them think that as life insurance is mandatory, it will be arranged automatically. Then when lenders do provide cover, they may not offer the right type of product or the cheapest product available. Banks and building societies tend to offer more expensive cover, hence stories of "rip-off" rates for mortgage protection, which has hardly endeared it to the public. Also, many housebuyers are aware of the need for life insurance when they take out their mortgage. But they may not think about what happens if they don't die, but are left unemployed or ill enough that they stop earning an income. Some life insurance policies offer critical illness policies as an option on them. But this type of insurance tends to cover a narrower range of illnesses and also only if certain treatments are used. If you are buying a house, will you have time to check and compare the benefits?