Mortgages.ie - Mortgages and Mortgage Protection Insurance

Mortgage protection insurance is a life insurance policy designed to clear the balance owing on a mortgage. The insurance company will clear the mortgage if the policy holder(s) pass away. Like all insurance policies, terms and conditions apply, including the need to maintain your policy payments up to date.

In Ireland, mortgage protection insurance is required for all individuals taking out a home mortgage, if they are 50 years old or less.

Premiums for mortgage protection policies start from €10 per month.

It is possible to arrange your cover in a short phone call.

Firstly, you should complete your details on our mortgage protection insurance calculator and this calculator will output the best-value mortgage protection cover available in Ireland.

Please select your preferred time to take a call and your mortgage protection insurance can be arranged over the phone with one of our qualified advisers.

You have a choice of completing a health questionnaire on the phone which in turn will give an immediate underwriting decision, or you may decide to complete an application later via DocuSign.

Most mortgage protection policies can be issued within one day of approval.

Existing Medical conditions

It is common for applicants to have medical conditions of one form or another. These medical conditions may affect your mortgage protection insurance options.

If you have an existing medical condition that needs corresponding with your doctor, the turnaround time for approval will be longer.

The life insurance company may need a medical report from your doctor. A medical report effectively collates your medical history. Doctor's reports can often be delayed because of the heavy patient load within doctor's surgeries. In these cases, and especially where cover is needed quickly it is often helpful if you call the doctor's office yourself to speed up the process.

Each life insurance company will have different rules when it comes to underwriting applications where there is significant medical condition. In more complicated situations there can be significant differences in underwriting decisions. Outcomes can range from straight refusal to acceptance at higher rates, deferral until future test results are available or a general deferral for a limited period of around six months.

Life insurance companies may charge higher premiums to allow for the higher risk associated with certain conditions. An example would be charging €50 per month instead of €25 for a standard quote. Our experience in dealing with life companies for over thirty years helps us to identify providers who may offer greater flexibility, especially in situations where there is a significant pre-existing medical condition.

Banks only deal with one life insurance company when selling mortgage protection insurance. They do not offer you choice, or compare the market.

On the other hand, Mortgages.ie provides life insurance products from all the life insurance companies, and we compare the market to get you the best deal.

We also provide you with very generous discounts of up to 20% of the standard price.

The simple answer is no. You have no obligation to take out mortgage protection or indeed any other insurance product through your lender.

You are free to seek independent advice, and secure the best policy available on the market.

Using this approach, you will almost always get far better value than the mortgage protection quote you receive from your lender.

Here at mortgages.ie we provide the best available product from Ireland's leading life insurance companies.

We receive calls every day from customers who were sold expensive mortgage protection policies through their lenders, and want to save some money and ensure that they still have adequate protection in place.

A mortgage protection policy is a life insurance policy.

Mortgage protection insurance is a special form of life insurance, where the level of cover under the policy decreases in line with the reducing balance on your mortgage.

Mortgage Protection Insurance policies pay off the balance outstanding on your mortgage.

The principal difference between a mortgage protection insurance policy and typical term life insurance is that the amount insured does not reduce in a standard life insurance policy.

Example comparing pay-outs on a term life insurance policy and a mortgage protection policy.

(Based on a €200,000 mortgage over 30 years at 3.5% interest.)

The table above illustrates the difference in pay-outs under both policy types. Mortgage protection is cheaper than straight life insurance because the potential pay-out is less.

However, the difference in price is small when comparing both types of cover, especially for young policy holders.

For this reason, many home buyers opt to take out a term life insurance policy instead of a mortgage protection policy. In the event of death, the home loan is repaid and the difference between the amount used to clear the mortgage, and the insured amount is available to the surviving beneficiary.

Our mortgage protection insurance calculator works by searching all the major life insurance companies for their mortgage protection quotes.

Our systems then apply the highest discounts available to us to these quotations so that you receive the best value cover.

We display the quotes returned and above this we display our best price after taking account the maximum discount available.

The calculator also gives you discounted figures for life insurance and serious illness.

Our mortgage protection advisers will discuss the merits of products and insurance companies with you when assisting you in arriving at a preferred choice.

Under the Consumer Credit Act 1995 (as amended), a mortgage lender is obliged to ensure that a life insurance policy is in place to cover the balance due on a mortgage in the event of the death of a borrower, or in the case of a joint mortgage, in the event of the death of one of the borrowers.

The principal exceptions to these requirements are:

• Mortgage protection insurance is not required for residential investment property mortgages.
• It is not mandatory where the premium is excessive due to medical issues.

In relation to the exceptions, it remains at the lender's discretion whether to insist on a mortgage protection policy as a condition of a mortgage.

Most mortgage protection policies are joint policies. this means that the policy pays out once — on the first death only.

With a dual policy there can be two pay-outs, as both parties are insured separately.

Royal London currently do not charge extra for a dual policy. (Correct as of 10 June 2021).

Note: These policies are subject to change.

Your insurance policy terms and conditions are the binding features of your contract.

Yes, we provide you with quotations from all the major life insurance companies.

Our partners account for almost 100% of all mortgage protection business written in Ireland and we select the best products from their range, for you.

The steps involved in switching to a cheaper or better policy are as follows.

1. Check the level of your existing cover and how much you are paying.
2. Compare your current cost with our best offering by using our mortgage protection insurance calculator.
3. We will go through the alternative quotes with you.
4. We will advise you the best options, whether to stay with your own policy or to switch.
5. If switching, please ensure that you do not cancel you existing policy until after the new policy has issued.

For home owners with mortgages, maintaining your mortgage payments up to date and ensuring you have active home insurance and mortgage protection insurance are your most important financial obligations.

If you are having difficulties meeting these obligations, you should advise your lender as soon as possible.

The main reason for continuing to pay your mortgage protection is that If you die and the policy has lapsed, your dependants may not be able to afford the mortgage repayments, and they could lose the family home.

Use our mortgage protection calculator to view the cost of cover.

The good news is that mortgage protection insurance is surprisingly cheap, and it is also worth noting that cover prices have not risen in recent years despite the inflationary environment.

Mortgage protection costs are fixed for the duration of the policy.

Mortgages.ie and LifeInsurance.ie have special discount facilities with our life insurance companies.

Our Royal London policies come with free cover for the first month.

Our Zurich policies have free cover from the policy date to the first of the following month.

We provide life insurance, mortgage protection insurance, serious illness cover and income protection from the insurers below. We have strong relationships with these companies, built up over thirty years in business.

• Irish Life
• Aviva
• Zurich
• New Ireland
• Royal London

Once you have identified a property you wish to buy and you know how much your mortgage is going to be, you should contact us to arrange your mortgage protection insurance. Your lender may give you a quote, but we will always be better value than a lender.

Arranging cover early in the process is helpful especially in cases where there are any underlying illnesses. We can arrange mortgage protection approval and then hold the approval for three months in anticipation of you drawing down your mortgage. If the time moves over three months, we may require a simple health declaration to confirm that there have been no changes to your health status during the period.

The two essential insurances are:

• Mortgage protection insurance or a life insurance policy for the total amount of the mortgage, and a term at least equal to the mortgage term.
• Home insurance to protect your house against fire and other perils.

Popular additional Insurance cover includes:

• Income protection insurance. This form of insurance pays out up to 75% of your income in the event you are unable to work due to illness or injury. The insurance continues until you return to work or your retirement age.
• Serious illness insurance. This insurance covers serious illnesses like cancer, heart attack or stroke and the cover can be set up to pay off your mortgage in full if you are unfortunate and contract one of these illnesses or other serious illnesses covered by the policy.

All mortgage protection policies are not the same. The key and most important feature of mortgage protection policies is that the policy will clear your mortgage, on acceptance of a valid claim.

There are a range of features in these policies that differ from company to company, some of these features are free and others involve an increased premium.

We will advise on the merits of these other benefits.

A mortgage protection insurance application includes a declaration of facts related to your lifestyle and your medical history. The insurance company uses this information to assess the risk when providing insurance.

If relevant facts are not disclosed or are disclosed incorrectly the insurance may be void, in which case an insurer will not pay out in the event of a claim.

Questions should be answered fully, correctly and truthfully.

Smoking doubles your premium.

It really depends on the facts of case. Excessive alcohol consumption will probably lead to damage to some organs, especially your liver. It is likely that liver damage will be a red flag to underwriters, and could result in premium loading, or outright refusal of an application.