When you take out a mortgage, you're committing to a long-term financial obligation — often for 25 or 30 years. Most people we speak to insure their car, their home, even their mobile phone. But far fewer have considered insuring the most important asset of all: themselves.

This guide explains the main types of personal protection available, why it matters during the mortgage process, and how to think about what's right for you and your family.

Why protection matters

It's not the most cheerful subject, but the principle is straightforward: if something happened to you — serious illness, an extended period off work, or worse — your mortgage payments still need to be made.

Without protection in place, your family could face having to sell the home you worked hard to buy, just to clear the mortgage. With the right cover, the mortgage is paid off (or your monthly payments are covered) and your family stays in the house.

A good mortgage adviser will discuss your protection needs as part of the mortgage process — not because they have to, but because the two are genuinely linked. Many clients we speak to either haven't thought about it, haven't reviewed existing policies in years, or didn't know certain types of cover existed.

The main types of protection

There are several types of personal protection available. Here's a brief overview of the main ones.

Life insurance

Pays out a lump sum on the death of the policy holder, and in most cases also on a terminal illness diagnosis. The payout is generally used to repay the outstanding mortgage balance and/or provide a lump sum for your family.

Critical illness cover

Pays out a lump sum if you're diagnosed with a serious illness covered by the policy. The payout can be used to clear all or part of the mortgage, or to provide supplementary funds to cover lifestyle changes if you're unable to work. Different providers cover different illnesses, so it's always worth checking with your adviser exactly what's covered.

Income protection

Pays out a monthly amount to you if you can't work due to illness or injury. The payment is typically 60–65% of your monthly income, designed to cover essential outgoings so you don't fall into financial difficulty. Depending on the policy you choose, payments can continue for as long as you're unable to work, right up to retirement.

Other types of cover

There are other options worth knowing about — including Family Income Benefit (which replaces income for your family on death of the main earner) and unemployment cover. Your adviser can talk through whether any of these are relevant to your situation.

Reviewing existing policies

If you already have policies in place, it's worth reviewing them periodically — particularly when your circumstances change (new mortgage, new job, new child, marriage, separation). Older policies may no longer reflect what you actually need, and the protection market itself has changed significantly in recent years.

You don't need to be going through a mortgage application to review or take out cover. Standalone policies are available, and a regular review keeps everything aligned with your current life.

How the application process works

If you decide to put cover in place (or change existing cover), your adviser will:

• Talk through the various options specific to your circumstances and budget
• Take care of the application process on your behalf
• Help you complete a short medical questionnaire — this gives the provider an accurate picture of your health, so that if you ever need to make a claim, they should be able to pay out

Being honest and thorough on the medical questionnaire matters. Insurers can decline claims if they discover material information was missed at the application stage, so it's worth taking the time to get it right.

The bottom line

Protection isn't the most exciting part of buying a home, but it's one of the most important. Done well, it means you and your family can stay in your home if life takes an unexpected turn — and most policies are far more affordable than people assume.

If you'd like to talk through what cover is right for you, get in touch with the team. You can also see more about the products we offer on our insurance page.