Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Mortgage Protection Can Ensure the Roof Remains Over Your Head

If you want to ensure that the roof remains over your head if you lose your income then you should consider taking out mortgage protection. With a standalone independent provider you are able to take care of your mortgage repayments as you would if working. Mortgage cover can be taken out to suit your circumstances, which means cover is very affordable. You could take cover to guard against accident, sickness and unemployment together, for accident and sickness only or to protect against all three possibilities. The premium charged for cover is also dependent on the amount you wish to cover each month of your mortgage, and how old you are when applying for it.

Choosing to shop around independently with a specialist who offers payment protection is the cheapest way to take out mortgage protection. With an independent in payment protection you are able to compare quotes for cover and along with this compare the conditions of the small print. The small print is an important part of the policy and it is essential that you read it because different providers add in different things. For example there are always conditions which have to be met for you to be able to claim on the cover such as working full time and living on the UK, Channel Isles or Isle of Man. The conditions are also where you can find such as how long you have to be unemployed or incapacitated before you can put in a claim.

Some providers will begin to supply you with an income once you have been unable to work or have become unemployed for a minimum of 30 days. Others however will ask that you wait at least 90 days. When your policy begins to payout it will do so for so for a period of time which varies depending on the provider. Some providers will continue to provide you with an income each month for 12 months. Others will offer 24 months cover with a payment each month. Some policies are backdated to the first day of you becoming unemployed or incapacitated, while others might not.

Since the 2005 investigation into payment protection began faith in the protection has been lost. However it needn't be if you look into taking a policy with someone specialising in offering mortgage protection. The majority of problems associated with payment protection occurred through high street lenders selling cover in with the loan. Often the protection was added in and then interest was factored in on top, which often boosted up the cost of borrowing drastically. The Financial Services Authority handed out fines to several names on the high street for mis-selling payment protection; mortgage cover is just one form. The Competition Commission is also conducting an in-depth enquiry and one of the changes that could be seen in the future is price capping. This would mean that the high street lender would no longer be raking in £4 billion in profits each year by add in expensive protection as there would be a limit on it.

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