Protection Insurance Advice UK

It is not a legal requirement, and no lender can insist you buy it from them. But if anyone else depends on your income to keep the mortgage paid, life cover is what stops your family having to sell the house at the worst possible moment. If you are single with no dependants and the property would simply be sold to clear the debt, the case is much weaker — and we will tell you that rather than sell you a policy you do not need.

Critical illness cover pays a one-off tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed with a specific serious condition named in the policy. Income protection pays a monthly amount if illness or injury stops you working for any medical reason, and keeps paying until you recover, retire or the term ends. They solve different problems, and plenty of people hold both.

In practice, yes. Virtually every UK lender makes buildings cover a condition of the mortgage and will want evidence of it before completion. You are not obliged to buy it from your lender though, and shopping around usually costs less. If you are buying a flat, buildings cover is often already included in the service charge — worth checking before you pay for it twice.

Usually not. An insurer may apply an exclusion for that specific condition, charge a higher premium, or occasionally decline altogether. Different insurers take very different views on the same condition, which is exactly why a whole-of-market search matters. Never leave anything off the application — non-disclosure is the most common reason claims are refused.

Correct. We are paid a commission by the insurer once a policy goes on risk, so there is no fee to you for the research, the recommendation or the application. The premium you pay is the same as it would be going direct, and often lower, because we can compare the whole market rather than one provider.