Mortgage protection insurance

Get a free insurance review in 20 minutes. We’ll find the mortgage and life cover you need so you can get on with living.

We offer insurance products from a choice of insurers on the panel available to us.

Tailored mortgage protection

We offer personalised mortgage protection insurance that fits your unique needs and situation perfectly.

The right cover for the right cost

Secure cost-effective mortgage insurance that doesn't compromise on your protection.

Claim as soon as your cover starts

We handle all the paperwork and liaise with our insurance partners, making protection easy and convenient for you.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Get a free, no obligation protection review

We have a team of experts who are ready to help find the right protection for you and your family.

If your financial situation has recently changed, or if you're not sure if you have the right protection for your loved ones, we can help you find the right cover.

Simply fill in the form and one of our advisers will get in touch to arrange a time for a free protection review. The review usually takes under 20 minutes.

We'll then compare deals from our insurance providers and recommend the right options to put your mind at ease.

Not ready to get a review? Find out more about protection insurance

What is mortgage protection insurance?

Protection policies pay if you get very ill or die. They're often sold with a mortgage.

There are three main types of mortgage protection insurance.

With income protection, the insurer covers anywhere up to 70% of your gross annual salary if you are too ill to work. 

This works well with a home loan as it covers regular commitments like mortgage payments. It pays for a set amount of time or until you are fit to work again.

Critical illness cover also pays if you fall very ill. 

Unlike income protection, you pay out a tax-free lump sum if you were diagnosed with a critical illness that is defined by the insurer's definition. The cost is set when you take out the policy.

Remember that the definition of critical illness can differ amongst providers. So check the terms and conditions before you choose a provider.

Life insurance pays out to someone you nominate when you die, such as a friend or family member. It gives them financial security if you are no longer around to support them. 

There are two main types of life insurance policies. 'Term life insurance’, which protects you for a set amount of years. And ‘whole of life insurance’, that lasts until you die.

Term life insurance can come as level and decreasing. Decreasing term insurance is best suited to a repayment mortgage. This is because the level of cover will fall as the mortgage balance does.

Whole life insurance will cost a lot more, as there’s a guaranteed payout at the time of death.

These products have nothing to do with ‘mortgage payment protection insurance’. This was often mis-sold with mortgages before the financial crisis.

Start anywhere anytime

Do I need mortgage protection insurance?

Buildings insurance is the only insurance that lenders need you to have.

But people who work with mortgages feel that more people should protect themselves.

It's best to bring up your protection needs. Mortgage advisers may ask you if you’ve thought about insurance when you get a mortgage.

If something goes wrong and the broker is accused of not mentioning it, they may ask you to sign a disclosure. This is to say that you did not want mortgage protection insurance when the lender offered it. 

Nobody wants to think about falling ill or dying. So it’s harder to talk about protection than getting finance to buy your own home.

Where can I get mortgage protection insurance?

If you want mortgage protection insurance it’s best to speak to a specialist broker or independent financial adviser.

Advisers are best placed to compare the deals on the market. They'll also find what type of mortgage protection insurance you need and make sure it'd pay out if needed.

A mortgage lender may have partnerships with insurance brokers or providers. So you can go direct to them to check.

How much is mortgage protection insurance?

The premiums on mortgage protection insurance depend on many things.

Income protection can be as little as £10 a month, though most people pay more than £50 a month.¹

How much you pay depends on:

  • how much income you are covering

  • how long the policy runs for. It can run for a ‘term’ of a few years or be a ‘whole of life’ policy

  • the deferral period. This is how long you can wait before the insurance starts paying after you’re not working

  • indexation. This is if the money you get goes up with inflation

  • how long the policy will pay out for after claiming (with income protection)

If the cost of your policy stays the same over time, it’s known as ‘guaranteed premiums’. 

You can also take out policies where the amount you pay changes over time. 

Or have ‘reviewable premiums’, where the insurer can change its terms.

There are also policies that cost more as you get older, called ‘age banded premiums’.

Health and lifestyle

When deciding the cost of the policy, insurers will look at your health and lifestyle.

In theory, the younger and healthier you are the cheaper the policy will be. This is because it is likely you will not make a claim for a long time.

Smoking makes policies much more expensive due to its impact on your health. If you stop smoking for a year it could halve the cost of an income protection policy.²

The older you are the more premiums will cost. If you have pre-existing health conditions the policy may be more expensive. Or it might exclude those conditions.

Your job is also taken into account if it puts you at a higher risk. For example, if you work with heavy machinery it may be higher than if you work in an office.

Can I renew or switch my insurance policy?

Renewing or switching a policy

If you hold a protection policy you might want to renew or switch after a few years. 

This will be more of a benefit if you’ve made some positive lifestyle changes such as giving up smoking. It could also be useful if the market has become more competitive. You can discuss this with your adviser.

Be careful as you get older as policies often become more restrictive as your health gets worse.

It may be best to stick with the policy you took out when you were younger and seen as less of a risk.

Speak to a specialist

Speak to an adviser if you want more information about protection insurance. Or if you're one of the many households in the UK that are not protected.

A specialist will be able to see which form of protection works best for you.

What people are saying about Better.co.uk...

 
 
 
 

Important info & marketing claims

You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage. Your savings will depend on personal circumstances.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

*The savings figure of £506 is based on Better.co.uk remortgage customers in December 2023. Read more on our marketing claims page.

We can't always guarantee we will be able to help you with your mortgage application depending on your credit history and circumstances.

Average mortgage decision and approval times are based on Better.co.uk's historic data for lenders we submit applications to.

Tracker rates are identified after comparing over 12,000 mortgage products from over 100 mortgage lenders.

As of January 2023, Better.co.uk has access to over 100 lenders. This number is subject to change.

For buy-to-let landlords, there's no guarantee that it will be possible to arrange continuous letting of a property, nor that rental income will be sufficient to meet the cost of the mortgage.