Critical Illness Insurance Advice in Leicester
Mortgage Protection Insurance Advice in Leicester
Critical Illness Insurance is a type of insurance policy that specialises in covering an individual who potentially could suffer with an illness listed in their policy in the future.
When taking out the policy, you must mention any underlying medical conditions due to some illnesses not being in the cover. The policy could void in the event of a claim if you fail to disclose any underlying medical conditions.
The one-off payment could go towards finances for your mortgage, medical or home modifications, if this is needed.
What does critical illness cover?
Critical Illness Insurance will cover pay out of specific medical conditions or injuries that are stated in the policy.
Not all instances of a particular illness will be covered. In the policy, it will state certain conditions that are covered and define these in the policy documentation.
Some customers confuse themselves with critical illness cover with life insurance. The difference between them is what they cover but both insurances can be purchased together.
Examples of critical illnesses that might get covered include:
???? Cancer
???? Stroke
???? Heart Attack
???? Certain types and stages of cancer
Permanent disabilities resulting from injury or illness and other illness not stated will be considered within the policy.
What isn’t covered?
The policy may not list more severe forms of cancer and conditions as they might not get covered. Potential health conditions that you weren’t aware of won’t be covered before you took out the insurance, also this type of insurance doesn’t pay-out if you pass away.
The policy details will provide you with what is covered and what’s not to make you fully aware and check all documentation to make sure they protect your needs.
Other types of insurance you might need
Many insurance products can provide you with peace of mind should something go wrong. You can find out more in the links below:
???? Do you need life insurance? This product will provide some financial support to your dependents if you die.
???? Do you need income protection insurance? This type of insurance provides regular payments if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury.
???? Do you need mortgage protection insurance? This umbrella term is used for various types of cover to help protect borrowers from any unfortunate events or circumstances that would prevent them from keeping up their mortgage payments.
Our Critical Illness Insurance Advice service in Leicester
Insurance is always a massive benefit. All our customers are offered a free, no-obligation protection review where we’ll assess the suitability of the existing policy we have for you.
Our Mortgage Advisor in Leicester can design the type of cover that will be most suitable for your family’s priorities and budget especially when affordability can be key in your situation.
Coronavirus & the Mortgage Market | Mortgage Advice in Leicester
Coronavirus impact on the mortgage market in Leicester
This article was originally published on 30th March 2020 and as of the 20th May 2020 the property market has now resumed and this information has become outdated. Everything was 100% accurate at the date that this article was published.
The mortgage market has endured thanks to the coronavirus. Everything has come on a bit fast, and we thought we should catch you up to speed.
Our intentions aren’t to scare you, but explain what has happened to the mortgage market and do our best to help you through the problems you may face during these difficult times.
Mortgage Surveyors
The central dilemma for the mortgage market is that surveyors and mortgage valuers can’t go out and visit properties because the whole property market is on hold. Lenders need to know what they are lending against, so require some sort of valuation before accepting your application.
Some lenders rely on AVM’s (Automated Valuation Model) for valuations on a property. The reason being it’s a way for lenders to receive an estimate without actually going out to the property.
However, when they don’t need to send someone out to look at the property physically, these types of mortgages get restricted and to lower loan-to-values only.
During the last couple of days, as of March 28th, some lenders have been restricting their maximum loan-to-value down to 60%. So, they are continuing to process these types of applications but not necessarily ones at higher loan-to-values.
A lender’s viewpoint
Each lender is taking a different approach. So far, no mortgage offers got withdrawn, and we think that it is just a waiting game at the moment, lenders are just putting everything on hold before rushing into accepting more mortgages.
We have whiteness that some lenders have decided to extend the periods of their mortgage offers from six months up to nine to allow the economy and the mortgage market to get back up and running again.
Mortgage Payment Holidays
Following our recent article about Mortgage Payment Holidays, we want to remind you that you should only take one if you need to. Do your research, talk to a Mortgage Advisor in Leicester, evaluate your options, and see whether it is the right thing for you.
It is more than likely that they will extend the period of your mortgage anyway, so it could be better just to hold off. You should contact your lender if you are questioning your ability to meet your monthly mortgage payments.
If you decide that this is your best option, lenders are asking for you to get in touch online due to the sheer volume of calls they are receiving.
If you are going to request a payment holiday, check that it won’t affect your credit rating or mark any arrears against your account. Also, don’t just cancel your direct debit and remember that you will need to seek permission from your lender to take a payment holiday.
Speak to a Mortgage Advisor in Leicester
The main thing is not to panic. We are here to help you with all of your mortgage problems and get you and your mortgage through these next couple of months. At some point in the coming weeks or months, someone is going to press play again.
We will all be back to normal in the given time. You can still get in touch with a Mortgage Advisor in Leicester from 8am – 10pm, 7 days a week. Business is as usual. We can’t wait for you to get in touch and help you with all your mortgage needs.
53% of Dads Have no Life Cover
Research carried out by Scottish Widows revealed that 53% of Dads are not secured by Life Insurance.
A deeper look into the results…
The research showed that only 16% of men with dependent children have made sure to protect themselves by applying for Critical Illness Cover in Leicester.
This provides financial relief when such medical conditions become prominent such as Cancer.
Additionally, 22% of Fathers admitted that the family household did not secure if the main income was to be lost. This meant that only 28% had definitely planned ahead with only 3 months’ worth of finances were saved.
When is Best to Prepare?
Life Insurance should be sorted out as early as possible. When applying for a Mortgage, Mortgage Advisors suggest taking out Life Insurance alongside when you’re a First Time buyer in Leicester, this is the most recommended option for customers.
Events which arise in a person’s lifetime in relation to their close family. These events can contribute as a factor as to why they take out Life Insurance, such as a recent death or a new addition to the family.
Death is not something most people talk about. In fact, we try not to talk about it in our day-to-day lives. It is for this reason that the process of applying for Life Insurance is often delayed.
This can also be the case with Income Protection Cover. Most people are under the impression that Employers will take care of finances when sickness develops, but this isn’t always assured. The earlier this is set up, most likely the cheaper it will be.
Life Cover may be cheaper than what most people expect. Many factors contribute to this, for example, the length of time it is planned out correlates to how much a person will pay.
Most Insurers calculate the benefits of pay-outs when looking over monthly premiums, if it seems beneficial then cover should most often come out cheaper – usually from as little as £10 per month.
*Research carried out and sourced by ScottishWidows.co.uk and published on June 12th, 2018
Income Protection Insurance Advice in Leicester
Mortgage Advice in Leicester
Income Protection Insurance is designed to pay out a monthly benefit if you are unable to work due to illness or accident.
The applicant can decide along with the help of their Advisor how much cover to take out.
Also how long they are prepared to wait before they are entitled to put a claim in.
Income Protection insurance can be expensive compared to life cover, as you are far more likely to be unable to work due to illness than die.
The monthly benefit continues to be paid out until you return to work unless you have selected the “Budget” version of the policy, getting typically only pays out for 24 months but is much cheaper.
The big advantage of Income Protection Insurance is that unlike Critical Illness Cover in Leicester, it pays out for whatever is preventing you from working, unlike Critical Illness which is just a list of specified illnesses.
This type of policy is very popular amongst the Self-Employed in Leicester and also employed applicants who do not benefit from generous Employer sick pay schemes.
Our Income Protection Insurance Advice Service
It’s very important to us that all of our customers are given an equal opportunity to take insurance our through ourselves, we wouldn’t be doing our job right if we didn’t mention it.
We offer all of our customers a free, no-obligation protection review where we’ll have a look at any existing policies you have in place and assess their suitability.
We’ll then recommend which products, including critical illness and income protection that meet your needs. If required, we’ll then tailor the plan to match your available monthly budget.
Life Insurance Advice in Leicester
Life insurance is designed to pay out, usually in a lump sum, in the event of death. With regard to your mortgage, the sum assured should be enough to pay off your outstanding balance.
Here is some information about the most popular types:
- The whole of Life Insurance
- Term Assurance
- Family Income Benefit
- Joint Life Insurance
- Death in Service
Whole of Life Insurance
Whole of life insurance does not have an end date, therefore, providing premiums are being met the policy will pay out.
Generally speaking, this type of insurance is used for family protection and also as part of inheritance tax planning.
Term Assurance
Term assurance is the most popular type of family insurance used to cover a mortgage.
Our Mortgage Advisors in Leicester will recommend the sum assured and term of the policy, usually to run in line with your new mortgage. The providing that all premiums are maintained, the sum assured will be paid out if you were to die during the term.
There are various types of Term Assurance available, such as decreasing and increasing cover. As part of our personal protection review, the most suitable policy for your needs will be recommended.
Family Income Benefit
This is another version of Term Assurance, where instead of the sum assured is paid as a lump sum on death, it’s paid as an agreed monthly payment. This is very good for families looking to insure an income. Our Mortgage Advisors in Leicester will usually recommend a mixture of insurance types tailor-made to match your personal and family requirements.
Joint Life Insurance
If you are part of a couple, you could consider taking out a single life policy that will payout in the event of one of you dying.
This can be cheaper than paying the premiums on two separate policies, but bear in mind that joint policies only payout on the first death, after that the cover ends.
If you had two separate policies, the second policy would remain in force even after a claim had been made on the first.
Death in Service
Many companies offer their employees family a lump sum payment if the staff member dies while they are employed by the firm.
Although this doesn’t mean the death has to be at the workplace or in any way related to the job done.
This cover will most likely end as soon as you leave the company.
Our Insurance Advice Service
Giving our customers an equal opportunity to take insurance out through ourselves, is very important to us.
We’ll have a look at any existing policies you have in place with our free consultation and assess their suitability.
Then it’s our job to recommend which products meet your needs, including critical illness and income protection.
If required, we’ll then personalize the plan to match your available monthly budget.
Click here to read our Mortgage Protection explained in Leicester.
What Is Mortgage Protection Insurance in Leicester?
Mortgage Advice in Leicester & Surrounding Areas
Mortgage Protection Insurance is a term used to encompass various types of cover designed to protect borrowers from events that could severely impact their ability to maintain mortgage payments.
There are different variations, but when connected to a mortgage in Leicester, they are all there to provide peace of mind and usually fall into the following categories:
• Life Cover
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Income Protection
• Accident, Sickness, Unemployment (ASU) Cover
• Family Income Benefit
Life Cover
As a rule, if the policyholder dies within the term, then the sum assured should be enough to pay off the outstanding mortgage balance and ensure the borrower’s dependents get left with a debt they might not otherwise be able to manage.
Our Mortgage Advisors in Leicester can run through all the different types of life cover and recommend the most suitable plan for you.
Critical Illness Insurance
There’s a debate that says that life cover gets taken for the benefit of other people – i.e., your dependents – because sadly, you won’t be around to see any interest yourself.
However, these days, thanks to improvements in the sort of medical treatment available, many people now survive conditions that once might have been fatal.
Nevertheless, while undergoing what may be long spells of treatment and recovery, it could have a marked effect on your ability to meet your financial commitments. The decision has led to the development of Critical Illness Insurance.
Critical Illness Insurance works similarly to Life Assurance in that it is usually taken for a specific term of years and can have different options such as level/increasing etc.
It gets designed to pay out a lump sum and, like Life cover, for borrowers, it is typically taken on a decreasing term basis in line with the reduction of your mortgage balance.
The key is that the benefit gets paid if you fall victim to one of some specified critical illnesses and pays out whatever the long term prognosis of that illness.
The type of illnesses covered vary from company to company, that’s why this type of insurance cannot be solely price-driven, and advice highly recommended.
In practice, many companies will offer Life and Critical Illness Critical cover as a combined policy.
They would usually payout on the “first event,” i.e., whatever happens first – either death or a serious illness – the payout gets made. They can also get written on a single or joint life basis.
Income Protection
Whereas Life and Critical Illness cover pay out a lump sum, “Income Protection” pays out a monthly amount designed to replace your wages in the event of you being unfit to work.
Unlike Critical Illness cover, there are no restrictions on the illnesses or injuries covered, the only factor being whether they make you unsuitable to work.
There are, however, restrictions on how much you can cover and how quickly benefits would start to get paid.
Like Life and Critical Illness cover, these policies are underwritten based on your health and lifestyle at the time you apply.
All income protection policies get written on a single life basis.
Accident, Sickness, Unemployment (ASU) Cover
Similar in many ways to Income Protection, these policies also cover you should you be made unemployed. Benefits are usually linked to your mortgage and other costs (rather than necessarily your wages) and would often be paid one month “in arrears” after a successful claim.
These policies get only underwritten at the time of an application rather than at the outset. Which can sometimes mean there can be some confusion/delay as to whether a claim would get met.
They are a useful safety net if you get made long-term unemployed, but be sure to check the details of how/when any unemployment benefits would get paid out, as it may be that you would have returned to work before any money becomes due.
Family Income Benefit
Probably the least common of the “mortgage protection” type policies but can often be valuable – particularly for those with young families.
The plans get taken to cover Life and/or Critical Illness and get underwritten on the application the same was we mentioned earlier.
However, unlike the traditional forms of policy, rather than pay out a lump sum, the cover would pay an annual or monthly income for the remainder of the term of the plan.
Thus it can replace the income of the primary breadwinner for several years, dependent upon a particular client’s circumstances and, because of this, would usually be written on a level or basis or an index-linked basis designed to keep up with inflation.
Summary
There’s an adage that says you can never have too much insurance. Indeed, many people have one or more of the different types of policy, and it would be wrong to think of Mortgage Protection Insurance as just an “either/or” choice.
However, in the real world, affordability plays a massive part, so while it would be fantastic to cover yourself for every potential opportunity.
A good Mortgage Advisor in Leicester like us will sit down with you and tailor the type of cover to be the most suitable combination to your family’s priority and budget.
If you do take more than one type of policy, however, your advisor would usually place all the cover with one provider.
To save you the additional policy administration charges which individual policies carry but which get reduced when bringing all the systems under one plan.
Please give us a call or fill out our enquiry form to speak with one of our Dedicated Protection Specialists.
