Protection and insurance.
Protection pays out if you die, fall seriously ill or cannot work, so the mortgage and the household bills can still be met. Each kind of cover answers a different need, and what you already have, such as cover through work, sits underneath the rest. Buildings insurance is a separate question, set to what it would cost to rebuild your home.
Protection is optional and never a condition of your mortgage. We will tell you what we think fits and why, and you decide.
There is no fee for protection advice. We are paid by commission from the insurer.
If you stop paying your premiums, your cover will end.
If your home or property is insured for less than it would cost to rebuild, a claim may be reduced.
Written by Nathan Lawes, independent mortgage broker. Figures sourced and dated. Last reviewed .Read them in this order.
Start with life cover and your income, then what you may already have, then the building itself.
- 01 · Start hereLevel or decreasing cover for a repayment mortgage?The first choice with life cover: clear the mortgage, or keep the household going.Read
- 02 · Your incomeIncome protection: the insurance many mortgage holders skipWhat income protection pays, and how the waiting period works.Read
- 03 · What you haveWhat death in service covers, and where it stopsWhat cover through work does, and where it stops.Read
- 04 · PracticalitiesPutting life cover in trust: what it does, and what it doesn’tWho a payout goes to, and how quickly it gets there.Read
- 05 · The buildingRebuild cost and market value are different numbersWhy buildings cover follows the rebuild cost, not the price.Your lender will usually require buildings insurance, but you're free to choose any insurer. You don't have to arrange it through us. Contents and landlord cover are your choice.Read
- 06 · The buildingWho insures a leasehold flat?On a leasehold flat, what the block policy covers and what is yours to arrange.Read
What clients ask first.
MoneyHelper’s free guide to protection insurance explains the kinds of cover and what to check first. You can check our authorisation on the FCA register.
Is protection a condition of my mortgage?
No. Protection is optional and never a condition of your mortgage. We will tell you what we think fits and why, and you decide. Buildings insurance is different. Your lender will usually require buildings insurance, but you're free to choose any insurer. You don't have to arrange it through us. Contents and landlord cover are your choice.
What is the difference between level and decreasing cover?
Level cover pays the same amount for the whole term. Decreasing cover reduces over the term, roughly in step with a repayment mortgage, so it is built to clear a balance that falls; level cover is the one people choose when the policy is meant to leave something behind.
Doesn’t cover through work already protect me?
Death in service pays a lump sum if you die while employed there, usually a multiple of your salary. It ends when the job ends, it does not pay out for illness, and the amount is set by the scheme rather than by your mortgage.
Why put life cover in trust?
A trust can get a payout to the people you name without waiting for probate, and a policy in trust may fall outside your estate for inheritance tax. Whether it does depends on your circumstances: speak to a solicitor or accountant about your estate.
Where to go next
- ServiceProtection with LawesHow the different covers fit together, and why there is no fee for the advice.
- ToolProtection reviewSeven questions to map what you already have.
- Related guideRemortgaging: a guide in reading orderWhen your deal ends: timing, costs and comparing options.
- Talk it throughA 20-minute call with NathanNo obligation. We’ll start with what you already have, including any cover through work.
If you stop paying your premiums, your cover will end.
If your home or property is insured for less than it would cost to rebuild, a claim may be reduced.