Buying a home is probably one of the biggest financial commitments you will ever make.
You may spend weeks searching for the right property, comparing mortgage rates, working out your monthly payments and making sure you can comfortably afford your new home.
But there is another question that we believe every homeowner should consider:
What would happen to your mortgage if something happened to you?
At Miles Rhodes Mortgages, we regularly hear a perfectly understandable response when discussing protection:
“It won’t happen to me.”
Nobody expects to become seriously ill. Nobody expects an accident or illness to leave them unable to work. And nobody buying a home with their partner expects one of them to die prematurely.
Unfortunately, not expecting something to happen doesn’t mean that it can’t.
“I’m young and healthy – I don’t need to worry about it”
This is probably one of the biggest reasons people put off arranging protection.
When you’re healthy, working and earning a regular income, serious illness can feel like something that happens to somebody else.
The statistics tell a different story.
Cancer Research UK estimates that nearly 1 in 2 people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. There are more than 400,000 new cancer cases in the UK each year – around 1,100 every day.
Cancer Research UK – cancer statistics
That doesn’t mean everyone needs every type of insurance available. It does mean that dismissing protection simply because “it won’t happen to me” deserves a little more thought.
Your mortgage doesn’t stop because your income does
Imagine a household with two incomes and a mortgage payment of £1,200 per month.
Both salaries might be needed to cover the mortgage, utilities, council tax, food, childcare, car payments and all the other costs of everyday life.
Now remove one of those salaries.
How long could the household comfortably continue?
If you are employed, you may receive sick pay from your employer. However, the amount and length of time you receive it can vary considerably.
For those relying on Statutory Sick Pay, the income available may be significantly less than their normal salary.
Your mortgage lender won’t automatically stop expecting payment because you’ve become ill or are unable to work.
That’s why protecting your income can sometimes be every bit as important as protecting the mortgage balance itself.
Life Insurance – protecting the people you leave behind
Life Insurance can provide a lump sum if you die during the term of the policy, subject to the policy terms and conditions.
For somebody with a mortgage, that money could potentially be used to repay some or all of the outstanding mortgage.
Consider a couple with young children and a £250,000 mortgage.
If one partner died, could the surviving partner afford the mortgage on their income alone?
Even where both partners work, the financial impact isn’t necessarily limited to losing one person’s salary. There could be childcare costs, changes to working hours and many other practical consequences.
Life Insurance can’t change what has happened.
But it could help make sure that losing someone doesn’t also mean losing the family home.
Critical Illness Cover – because surviving can have a financial cost too
There is another scenario people sometimes overlook.
What if you don’t die, but become seriously ill?
Critical Illness Cover is designed to pay a benefit if you’re diagnosed with one of the specified conditions covered by your policy and meet the relevant definition.
That money could potentially be used to reduce or repay a mortgage, cover household expenses or simply give you some financial breathing space while undergoing treatment and recovering.
And there is another important point.
Cancer Research UK reports that around half of people diagnosed with cancer in the UK are predicted to survive for ten years or more.
Cancer Research UK – cancer survival statistics
That is obviously positive news.
But surviving a serious illness doesn’t necessarily mean there is no financial impact.
You may need months away from work. Your partner might reduce their hours to care for you. There may be additional travel, childcare or household costs.
Protection isn’t only about what happens if you die.
It can also be about giving you choices while you recover.
Income Protection – protecting the thing that pays for everything else
Ask yourself a question:
What is your most valuable financial asset?
Your house? Your pension? Your savings?
For many working people, it is actually their future income.
Someone earning £40,000 per year for another 25 years could earn around £1 million during that period, even before allowing for potential future pay increases.
That income pays for almost everything else – including the mortgage.
Income Protection is designed to provide an income if illness or injury prevents you from working, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy.
The Association of British Insurers reported that a record 247,000 individual Income Protection policies were taken out in 2023.
Association of British Insurers – Income Protection figures
Protecting your income deserves to be part of the conversation when you take on a long-term financial commitment such as a mortgage.
“Insurance companies never pay out anyway”
This is another one we hear.
The actual claims figures might surprise you.
FCA analysis using ABI claims data showed high proportions of claims being paid across the protection market, including approximately 96% for term assurance and 91% for critical illness cover.
More importantly, these aren’t just percentages on a spreadsheet.
The Association of British Insurers reported that insurers paid a record £8 billion in individual and group protection claims during 2024.
That works out at approximately £21.9 million every single day being paid to people and families experiencing illness, injury or bereavement.
Association of British Insurers – £8 billion protection claims in 2024
So the idea that insurance companies simply don’t pay claims isn’t supported by the industry figures.
Of course, policies have terms, exclusions and definitions. That’s one of the reasons getting appropriate advice and understanding what you’re buying is so important.
“I’ll sort it out later”
This is another common response.
The problem with waiting is that your circumstances can change.
Protection is generally based on factors including your age, health, lifestyle, occupation and the amount and type of cover required.
Something diagnosed tomorrow could potentially affect the cover available to you in the future or how much it costs.
You don’t necessarily need to buy every type of protection available.
But it makes sense to consider your options while you’re healthy, rather than discovering you need protection after your circumstances have changed.
We insure our phones – but what about our income?
Most homeowners wouldn’t dream of leaving their property uninsured.
Many of us insure our cars, phones, pets, holidays and even household appliances.
Yet the financial consequences of losing an income for a prolonged period can dwarf the cost of replacing a mobile phone.
Your home is more than bricks and mortar.
It’s where your children sleep. It’s where you relax at the end of the day. It’s where you’ve built your life.
And for most people, keeping that home depends on somebody continuing to earn enough money to pay the mortgage.
That’s what mortgage protection is really about.
Protection isn’t about frightening people
At Miles Rhodes Mortgages, we don’t believe protection advice should be about scaring somebody into buying insurance.
It should be about asking sensible questions.
If you died, could your family afford the mortgage?
If you were diagnosed with a serious illness, would you want the option of reducing or clearing the mortgage?
If you couldn’t work for six or twelve months, how would you pay your mortgage and household bills?
How long would your savings actually last?
And perhaps most importantly:
If something happened tomorrow, would you wish you’d looked at this today?
Everyone’s circumstances are different.
Some people have excellent benefits through their employer. Others have substantial savings, investments or existing protection policies.
Some households may need significant protection. Others may need very little.
That’s why we believe protection should be discussed and considered, rather than automatically bought or automatically dismissed.
Protecting Your Mortgage with Miles Rhodes Mortgages
At Miles Rhodes Mortgages, arranging the mortgage is only part of the conversation.
Our advisers can also review your existing protection and discuss Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover and Income Protection with you.
The aim isn’t to tell you that you must have everything.
It’s to help you understand what would happen financially if life didn’t go according to plan, what protection you already have and whether there are any gaps you may want to address.
You can then make an informed decision about what is right for you and your family.
Because “it’ll never happen to me” is something we all hope will be true.
Protection is about having a plan in case it isn’t.
Stuart Mackenzie – Mortgage Manager, Miles Rhodes
Stuart has extensive experience in mortgage and protection advice. As Mortgage Manager at Miles Rhodes, he helps oversee the advice provided to clients across mortgages and financial protection.
Protection policies are subject to eligibility, underwriting, policy terms, conditions and exclusions. Critical illness policies only cover specified conditions and definitions. The appropriate level and type of protection will depend on your individual circumstances.
