The basic idea behind Mortgage Protection is to not leave a mess behind if the worst were to happen.

Death does not eliminate debt. In other words, whatever money is owed when a person is alive is still owed when they’re dead.

If there is money owed on a mortgage, the bank are not going to forgive and forget. As a result, the family home may be in jeopardy if disaster strikes.

Mortgage Protection is usually put in place on a DTA (Decreasing Term Assurance) basis. This is the cheapest form of life cover because the level of cover comes down as the years roll by, reflecting the fact that the mortgage loan itself is also getting smaller.

Sometimes people also include illness cover with their Mortgage Protection policy. I’m not the biggest fan of this approach myself but that’s another conversation.

As anyone who has taken out a Mortgage will know, putting this cover in place is required before the lender will allow you to drawdown the loan. You are free to take out a more suitable policy at any time if you find that your current policy is not the best value available.

Mortgage Protection protects the roof over the family’s head.

Other forms of protection protect the people living under that roof. I tend to split them into two categories – family protection and income protection.