Your Home Finance
Mortgage protection isn't one product — and the cheapest quote rarely answers the right risk.
Life cover, critical illness cover and income protection solve three different problems. Which one you need depends on your household, your employer and your mortgage — not on price.
30+ years
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Risk first
product second
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What are you most worried about happening?
How your case is assessed
The three risks to your mortgage, and what covers each
"Mortgage protection" is a category, not a policy. Deciding well means working out which of three separate events would put the house at risk, and in what order.
If you die — life cover
Level term pays a fixed sum for a fixed period; decreasing term reduces roughly in line with a repayment mortgage and costs less. Interest-only mortgages need level cover. Written in trust, the money reaches your family quickly and usually outside your estate for inheritance tax.
If you're seriously ill — critical illness cover
Pays a lump sum on diagnosis of a defined condition, subject to the policy's severity definitions. Definitions vary considerably between insurers, so this is one of the few products where the wording genuinely matters more than the premium.
If you can't work — income protection
Pays a monthly income after a deferred period until you recover, retire or the term ends. Statutory sick pay replaces a fraction of most people's income and runs for a maximum of 28 weeks — which is why this is the risk most households are least prepared for.
What you already have
Death in service, employer sick pay beyond the statutory minimum, group income protection and existing personal policies all reduce the gap. Good advice starts by subtracting what exists rather than adding what's available.
You can't tell from a comparison quote which risk you've actually covered — we work out the gap before recommending any policy.
Specialist insight
The same budget buys very different protection
Cheapest life-only quote · no illness or income cover · bought online in ten minutes
Covers the least likely event
Pays only on death · nothing if you're signed off for a year · the most probable threat to the mortgage left entirely uncovered.
Risk assessed · employer benefits subtracted · budget prioritised
Protection that matches the threat
Cover placed against the risks you're genuinely exposed to · deferred periods and definitions chosen deliberately · written in trust where it helps.
Independent reviews
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Your adviser
Jay Sabine
Expert mortgage adviser specialising in complex cases including adverse credit, self-employed borrowers, and first-time buyers. All advice is tailored to your individual circumstances.
Content reviewed: 3 August 2026
CeMAP awarded by The London Institute of Banking & Finance. Cert CII (MP) awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Specialist in mortgage protection — life, critical illness and income protection
Helping clients with complex credit histories for over 30 years · CeMAP, Cert CII (MP) · FCA regulated
“Most people buy life cover and think they've protected the mortgage. Life cover pays if you die. Being unable to work for a year is far more likely — and that's a different policy entirely.”
Reviewed by Jay Sabine · Mortgage adviser · 30+ years' experience
Lived experience
Mistakes we repeatedly see
Not theory — the patterns that show up when protection is bought on price and only tested at claim.
Buying life cover and calling the mortgage protected
Life cover pays if you die. For most working-age people, being unable to work for months is considerably more likely — and it's a different policy. Households routinely hold cover for the least probable event and nothing for the most probable one.
Choosing critical illness cover on premium alone
Policies differ substantially in which conditions are covered and how severely they must present before paying. A cheaper policy with narrower definitions can decline a claim that a better-worded one would have paid. Here the small print is the product.
Not disclosing medical history fully
Non-disclosure is the leading reason claims are questioned. The overwhelming majority of claims are paid, and the ones that aren't usually trace back to something omitted at application. Full honesty at the outset is what makes the policy worth having.
Leaving cover outside a trust
A life policy not written in trust can be delayed by probate and may form part of your estate for inheritance tax. Putting it in trust is usually straightforward, free at outset, and gets the money to the people paying the mortgage far faster.
Real client scenarios
Real protection journeys
Based on genuine cases we've helped with. Personal details have been changed to protect privacy.
Life cover swapped for income protection first
- Self-employed
- No sick pay
- Budget unchanged
- Priority reversed
Situation
A self-employed tradesman with a new mortgage, holding a life policy bought online and nothing else, on a fixed monthly protection budget.
Challenge
With no employer sick pay, a few months unable to work would have put the mortgage at immediate risk — the exact scenario his cover did nothing for.
What changed
We reduced the life cover to the level genuinely needed for his family, and used the freed budget for income protection with a deferred period matched to his savings.
Outcome
Both risks now covered for broadly the same monthly cost, with the income cover paying monthly if he can't work.
Why it worked
The budget was never the constraint. The order of priorities was — and reversing it changed what the policies would actually do.
Definitions checked before the premium
- Family history
- Two policies compared
- Better wording chosen
- Claim paid
Situation
A couple arranging critical illness cover alongside a new mortgage, with a family history of a specific condition.
Challenge
The cheapest available policy defined that condition narrowly enough that a realistic diagnosis might not have met the severity threshold required to pay.
What changed
We compared the wording across insurers rather than the premiums, and placed cover with an insurer whose definition was materially broader for that condition.
Outcome
A claim was made four years later and paid, clearing a substantial part of the mortgage.
Why it worked
The difference in monthly cost was a few pounds. The difference in wording was the whole claim.
What happens after you get in touch
From first contact to a clear answer
What happens when you get in touch — no obligation at this stage.
- 1
We establish what would actually happen to your mortgage if you died, fell seriously ill, or couldn't work
- 2
Jay identifies which of those risks you're exposed to, and which you're already covered for
- 3
We prioritise honestly within your budget — cheap cover for the wrong risk is worse than nothing
- 4
If proceeding: application → underwriting and any medical questions → policy in force, written in trust where appropriate
Reassurance
- Free initial review — no obligation
- We start with the risk you face, not the product with the best margin
- If your employer or existing policies already cover it, we'll tell you
Before you enquire
What we'll ask you on the first call
Straightforward questions — no hard credit search at this stage.
- Your mortgage balance, remaining term, and whether it's repayment or interest-only
- What your employer would pay if you were signed off sick — and for how long
- Whether you have death in service, group cover or existing personal policies
- Who depends on your income, and what monthly budget feels sustainable long term
Advisory promise
When we might tell you that you don't need it
We won't always tell you to buy a policy.
We may tell you that your employer's sick pay and death in service already cover the gap, that an existing policy is better than anything currently available to you, or that with a limited budget one type of cover should be arranged properly rather than three arranged inadequately.
Protection is only worth the premium if it pays when you need it. If you're already covered, or covered better than we could arrange, we'll say so. We give advice — not just applications.
Straight answers
Common questions about mortgage protection insurance
Our promise
What we'll never do
- Tell you to apply if it won't work
- Send applications everywhere
- Recommend borrowing beyond your budget
- Hide bad news
We don't sell the cheapest quote. We work out which risk would actually cost you the house, and cover that first.
Find out what your mortgage really needs protecting against
Tell us about your mortgage, your household and your employer's sick pay — we'll show you which cover matters most.
We don't recommend a policy until we've established what your employer already provides, what you'd actually need, and which risk would hurt you soonest.
Nobody regrets the conversation. The regret is always the policy that turned out to cover the wrong thing.
£500 adviser fee — payable on completion.
Get Clear, Honest Mortgage Advice — Before You Apply
Free consultation • No credit search • FCA regulated
Struggled to get approved elsewhere? We specialise in complex cases including CCJs, self-employed income, and declined applications. Over 90% of our clients had concerns about their situation before speaking to us.
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Related guides
Mortgage protection — related decisions
If your decision hinges on one of these questions, these chapters go deeper.
Life insurance
Level and decreasing term cover, sums assured and writing policies in trust.
Open guide →
Critical illness cover
What's covered, how definitions differ, and why the wording decides claims.
Open guide →
Income protection
Monthly cover if you can't work — deferred periods, terms and how much to insure.
Open guide →
Protection comparison hub
Comparing the three types side by side against your own circumstances.
Open guide →