Life Insurance & Protection
Life insurance, mortgage protection, critical illness cover, income protection, family income benefit, home and landlord insurance, and business protection — arranged whole of market, with no fee for the advice.
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.
- WholeOf market for protectionNo single provider bias
- No feeAdvice feePaid by commission from the insurer
- In trustCover placed in trustArranged as standard
- FRN 1046161Appointed representative
No fee for protection advice · no obligation
If you stop paying your premiums, your cover will end.
- Cover term shorter than the mortgage
- Relying only on death-in-service
- Policy never placed in trust
- Health not disclosed fully on the application
- Critical illness assumed to cover everything
- Never reviewed after a move or a new baby
- Appointed representative · FRN 1046161
- Whole of market for protection
- No fee for protection advice
- 20+ years of experience
- Independent advice
- Cover placed in trust as standard
In short
- We advise on life insurance, critical illness cover, income protection, family income benefit, home and landlord insurance, and business protection.
- Whole of market for protection, and no fee for the advice — we are paid by commission from the insurer.
- We help clients place cover in trust as standard.
- Protection is optional and never a condition of your mortgage.
General positions across the insurers we work with, checked October 2026. Not the terms of any one insurer, and not a recommendation.
What responds
What if…?
Five situations, and which cover answers each one. No prices, and nothing here is a recommendation.
Pick a situation and we’ll show you which cover responds to it, how it pays, and the one question worth asking.
- Which cover responds
- Critical illness cover responds, if the condition is one listed in the policy and the diagnosis meets its definition. Income protection may respond too, if the illness stops you working.
- How it pays
- Critical illness pays a lump sum. Income protection pays monthly, after the deferred period.
- The question to ask
- Which conditions does the policy actually list, and how are those definitions written?
- Which cover responds
- Income protection is the cover built for this. Employer sick pay usually comes first, and statutory sick pay after that.
- How it pays
- A monthly amount while you remain unable to work, starting after the deferred period you chose.
- The question to ask
- How long would my employer keep paying me, and does the deferred period start when that stops?
- Which cover responds
- Life insurance responds. Family income benefit responds if you have it, and death in service if you are employed somewhere that offers it.
- How it pays
- Life cover pays a lump sum. Family income benefit pays monthly for the rest of the term.
- The question to ask
- Would the lump sum clear the mortgage, and is there anything paying for everything else?
- Which cover responds
- Buildings insurance responds to damage to the structure; contents insurance to what is inside it.
- How it pays
- Repair, replacement, or a settlement — depending on the policy and the claim.
- The question to ask
- Is the buildings sum insured the rebuild cost rather than the market value?
- Which cover responds
- Key person insurance responds if the business holds cover on that person. Relevant life cover responds for an individual employee or director, paying their beneficiaries rather than the business.
- How it pays
- Key person pays a lump sum to the business. Relevant life pays a lump sum in trust for the individual's beneficiaries.
- The question to ask
- Who would the money actually need to reach — the business, or the person's family?
Not advice. Plain English only. This names which cover responds to a situation — it does not recommend anything, quote anything, or take account of what you already have.
Talk to us about protecting your plans →Side by side
Which cover does what
| Cover | Pays when | Pays how | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life insurance (level) | You die during the term | One lump sum | Interest-only mortgage, or leaving a set amount behind |
| Life insurance (decreasing) | You die during the term | One lump sum, reducing over the term | Repayment mortgage protection |
| Family income benefit | You die during the term | A monthly amount for the rest of the term | Replacing an income while children are dependent |
| Critical illness cover | You are diagnosed with a condition listed in the policy, to its definition | One lump sum | Time, adaptations, or clearing debt during recovery |
| Income protection | Illness or injury stops you working, after the deferred period | A monthly amount while you remain unable to work | Keeping the bills paid when the salary stops |
| Buildings and contents | The building or its contents are damaged, lost or stolen | Repair, replacement or a settlement | Buildings usually required by your lender; contents optional |
| Key person insurance | A key person dies or is critically ill | A lump sum to the business | Giving a business money and time to recover |
| Relevant life cover | The insured employee or director dies | A lump sum, in trust for their beneficiaries | Death-in-service style cover from a small company |
General positions, checked October 2026. What a policy pays and when is set by its own terms and definitions, which differ between insurers. Not a recommendation.
Your cover gap
Where are the gaps?
Four figures you already know, and one that turns a death-in-service multiple into a number. Words and bars, no prices.
If you died
Set a mortgage balance to see where this lands.
You have no death-in-service cover in this picture, so the whole £250,000 balance would still be there.
A 3× multiple on £55,000 is about £165,000, which would cover the £250,000 balance. Worth remembering it ends when the job does.
A 3× multiple on £55,000 is about £165,000. Against a £250,000 balance that leaves roughly £85,000 — and death in service ends when the job does.
If you couldn’t work
With no employer sick pay, you would be on statutory sick pay from the start — up to £123.25 a week, for up to 28 weeks. gov.uk
Your sick pay covers about 3 months. Statutory sick pay runs alongside it — up to £123.25 a week, for 28 weeks from the start of the absence, not 28 more afterwards — against monthly outgoings of £2,200. gov.uk
Not advice, a starting point for a conversation. Illustrative only. Statutory sick pay figures from gov.uk, checked October 2026. Everything else is arithmetic on the figures you enter.
Talk to us about protecting your plans →Protection isn’t about what might go wrong. It’s about writing down, once, what you’d want to happen for the people who depend on you — and then getting on with your life.Nathan Lawes, Director & Adviser, Lawes Financial
Questions
Fourteen questions, filtered by cover
Every answer is on the page whichever chip you pick — the filter hides nothing from a crawler or from find-in-page.
Showing 14 of 14 questions
Do I need life insurance with a mortgage?
Not as a condition of your mortgage — it's optional. It's a question about who depends on your income.
Read more
No lender can require you to take life cover to get a mortgage, and we will never present it that way. The useful question is a different one: if you died tomorrow, who would still have to pay for the house, and could they? For someone buying alone with no dependants, the answer may genuinely be that nothing needs arranging. For a couple with children and a mortgage that needs two incomes, it usually is worth arranging something. We will tell you which we think you are, and you decide.
What is mortgage protection?
Life cover arranged to match a mortgage, so the debt could be cleared if you died during the term.
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It is not a separate product — it is ordinary life insurance set up so the sum assured and the term line up with the mortgage. On a repayment mortgage the balance falls over time, so decreasing cover is often used; on an interest-only mortgage the balance does not fall, so level cover usually fits better. The point of matching them is that the cover runs out at roughly the same time the need does, rather than years before or long after.
Level or decreasing cover — what's the difference?
Decreasing cover falls roughly in step with a repayment mortgage; level cover stays the same throughout.
Read more
Decreasing cover is designed so the sum assured reduces at roughly the pace a repayment mortgage balance does, which is why it is often used for mortgage protection. Level cover stays flat for the whole term, which suits an interest-only mortgage, or a need that is not just the debt — replacing income, or leaving something behind. The two are not better or worse than each other; they answer different questions. Neither has a cash-in value, and if the term ends with no claim, nothing is returned.
What is critical illness cover and what does it cover?
A lump sum on diagnosis of one of the specific conditions listed in the policy — and only those, to the definitions written in it.
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This is the part that surprises people: critical illness cover does not pay out for any serious illness. It pays on the conditions named in the policy document, each of which has a definition that has to be met — a diagnosis that sounds like a listed condition may not meet the definition for it. Policies differ on how many conditions they list and on how those definitions are written, and the number of conditions matters less than whether the definitions are ones you would actually meet. We read them before you apply, rather than after a claim.
There is more on this on our critical illness page.
What is income protection?
A monthly payment if illness or injury stops you working, starting after a waiting period you choose.
Read more
Unlike life or critical illness cover, it pays monthly rather than as a lump sum, and it keeps paying while you remain unable to work — until you recover, the policy term ends, or you reach the end date you chose. Two things to understand before anything else. It pays after a deferred period, which you select: a longer wait usually costs less, and it should line up with how long your employer would keep paying you. And it replaces part of your income, not all of it — insurers cap the benefit at a proportion of your earnings, and the proportion differs between them.
There is more on this on our income protection page.
What is family income benefit?
Life cover that pays a monthly income to your family rather than a single lump sum.
Read more
If you died during the term, instead of one payment it pays a set monthly amount for the rest of the term — so a policy with twelve years left pays for twelve years, and one with two years left pays for two. That shape suits replacing an income, which is a monthly problem, where a lump sum suits clearing a debt. It is often the cheaper way to cover a given level of income, because the total paid out falls as the term runs down. Many families use it alongside mortgage protection rather than instead of it: one clears the house, the other pays for living in it.
Is my employer's death-in-service enough?
It's valuable, but it's tied to the job and may not be the whole picture.
Read more
Death in service is usually a multiple of salary paid if you die while employed there. Two things follow. It ends when the job does — a resignation, a redundancy or a move takes it with you, often at exactly the point you are least able to replace it. And a multiple of salary is a figure chosen by the scheme, not by reference to your mortgage or your family, so it may be more than you need or considerably less. It is worth knowing the multiple, and worth treating it as part of the picture rather than the whole of it.
Should I put my life insurance in trust?
Often worth considering — a policy in trust may pay out faster and may fall outside your estate.
Read more
Writing a policy in trust means the payout goes to the people you have named rather than through your estate. It may be paid more quickly, because it need not wait for probate, and it may fall outside your estate. Those are the general reasons people do it, and whether they apply to you depends on your circumstances. We are not tax or legal advisers — speak to a solicitor or accountant about your wider estate. We help clients place cover in trust as standard, at no additional cost, and it is far easier to do at the outset than later.
Do I need buildings and contents insurance?
Buildings insurance is usually required by your lender; contents is your choice.
Read more
A lender has an interest in the property securing its loan, so buildings cover is normally a condition of the mortgage itself — which makes it one of the few things on this page that is not optional. It needs to be in place from exchange rather than completion. Buildings cover is based on the rebuild cost, not the market value, and the two can be very different numbers. Contents is separate and entirely your choice; the detail that catches people out is the single-item limit, above which something has to be listed specifically to be fully covered.
There is more on this on our home and landlord insurance page.
What is key person insurance?
Cover a business takes on someone whose loss would hurt it financially.
Read more
The business owns the policy, pays for it and receives the payout — the idea being to give it money and time if someone central to it dies or becomes critically ill. That might be a founder, the person who holds the client relationships, or someone with knowledge the business would struggle to replace quickly. Working out who qualifies and what the sum should be is a business question before it is an insurance one. The tax treatment depends on how the policy is set up and who benefits, so speak to your accountant.
What is relevant life cover?
A death-in-service style policy a company can arrange for one employee or director.
Read more
It gives an individual the kind of cover a large employer's scheme would, without the company needing a group scheme — which makes it useful for small companies and for directors of their own. The company arranges and pays for it, and the policy is written in trust for the individual's beneficiaries. It is usually arranged alongside, not instead of, personal cover. How it is treated for tax depends on the setup and on your company's circumstances, so speak to your accountant before deciding.
How much does protection advice cost?
Nothing. There is no fee for protection advice — we are paid by commission from the insurer.
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You pay us nothing for protection advice, whether or not you go ahead. If you take out a policy, the insurer pays us a commission; if you do not, we are not paid for that work. We tell you this up front because it is the arrangement, and because knowing how an adviser is paid is a reasonable thing to want to know. It also means there is no cost to having the conversation and deciding against it, which is a real outcome and one we have reached with clients before.
What happens if I stop paying?
Your cover ends. Term policies have no cash-in value, so nothing is returned.
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Protection policies are not savings. If the premiums stop, the cover stops, and with a term policy there is no accumulated value to pay back — the premiums bought cover for the period they covered, and that is all. Restarting later is not simply picking up where you left off either: you would apply again at your age and health at that point, which may mean a higher premium, new exclusions, or no offer. If affording it becomes difficult, tell us before you cancel. Reducing cover is a better outcome than losing it.
What are the common mistakes?
Eight come up again and again, and none of them is about price.
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Relying only on death-in-service, which ends when the job does. A cover term that does not match the mortgage, so it runs out early or carries on long after the need has gone. Not putting cover in trust, when it could have been done at the outset for nothing. Not disclosing health or lifestyle fully, which can cause a claim to be refused or reduced. Choosing on price alone, which usually means comparing policies that are not comparable. Assuming critical illness covers everything, when it covers the conditions and definitions written in the policy. Not reviewing after a new baby, a move or a pay rise, which is when cover and need drift apart. And letting cover lapse, which undoes all of it.
Worth knowing
What these policies don’t do
Five things worth understanding before you take any of it out. None of them is small print.
Cover stops if premiums stop.
A protection policy is not a savings plan. If the premiums stop, the cover stops.
Term policies have no cash-in value.
If the term ends and no claim was made, nothing is returned. The premiums bought cover for the period they covered.
A claim can be refused or reduced.
If information was not disclosed accurately on the application, an insurer can refuse or reduce a claim. The application matters as much as the policy.
Critical illness pays on specific conditions only.
It pays on the conditions and definitions written in the policy, not on any serious illness.
Income protection pays after a wait, and pays part of your income.
It starts after a deferred period you choose, and insurers cap the benefit at a proportion of your earnings rather than replacing all of it.
How we work
Layers of cover
It stacks rather than runs in order — what you already have sits under everything else, which is why we start there.
What you already have
Death in service, an old policy from a previous mortgage, cover through a partner's employer, the buildings insurance your lender required. We start here, because arranging something you already have is the easiest money to waste.
What's missing
The gap between what would still have to be paid and what would actually arrive. Usually it is not the mortgage — that part people tend to have covered — it is the income that pays for everything else.
What we arrange
Whole of market, matched to the gap rather than to a product list, written in trust where that fits, and with the application completed carefully because that is what a claim is assessed against.
When we review it
After a move, a new baby, a pay rise, a change of job, or a remortgage. Cover and need drift apart quietly; a review is a short conversation that stops that.
Worked example
A couple with a £250,000 mortgage and two children
No premiums here, because the point of the example is the shape rather than the price. Three products, three different gaps.
Decreasing life cover
Tracks the mortgage, so the debt could be cleared. That is the house — it isn't the shopping.
Family income benefit
Pays a monthly amount until the children are independent, which is the gap a lump sum doesn't fill.
Income protection
Covers neither of those. It covers a different risk: one of them being off work for months while the bills keep coming.
Illustrative only, not advice. What fits depends on your circumstances, and some of it you may already have.
Plain English
Twelve words worth pinning down
- Term
- How long the policy runs. When it ends, the cover ends.
- Level cover
- The sum assured stays the same for the whole term.
- Decreasing cover
- The sum assured reduces over the term, roughly in step with a repayment mortgage.
- Sum assured
- The amount the policy would pay out.
- Deferred period
- On income protection, how long you wait after stopping work before the payments start. You choose it.
- Waiting period
- Another name for the deferred period. Some policies also use it for a wait at the start of the policy before cover begins.
- Own occupation
- An income protection definition that pays if you cannot do your own job, rather than any job.
- Trust
- A legal arrangement that directs the payout to named people rather than through your estate.
- Beneficiary
- The person or people who would receive the payout.
- Non-disclosure
- Not telling the insurer something they asked about. It can cause a claim to be refused or reduced.
- Guaranteed premiums
- The premium is fixed for the term.
- Reviewable premiums
- The insurer can review the premium at set points, and it may rise.
At a glance
At a glance (checked October 2026)
General positions across the insurers we work with, checked October 2026. Not the terms of any one insurer, and not a recommendation. Policy terms and definitions differ between insurers and change over time.
What we advise on
Life insurance, critical illness cover, income protection, family income benefit, home and landlord insurance, and business protection.
Market access
Whole of market for protection, with no single provider bias.
Advice fee
None. There is no fee for protection advice — we are paid by commission from the insurer.
Trusts
We help clients place cover in trust as standard, at no additional cost.
Optional
Protection is optional and never a condition of your mortgage. Buildings insurance is usually required by your lender.
Statutory sick pay
Up to £123.25 a week, for up to 28 weeks. gov.uk, checked October 2026.
Next step
Talk it through with Nathan
There is no fee for protection advice and no obligation. If what you already have is enough, you will hear that — it is a real outcome and not an unusual one.
No fee for protection advice · no obligation
If you stop paying your premiums, your cover will end.