Recent research from MetLife shows that 48% of homeowners are worried about their ability to meet their mortgage payments, and 42% have no savings to fall back on. Of course, any savings people do have will only last for a limited time!

Your mortgage is likely to be your largest monthly outgoing, so it makes sense for this to be protected. Although it’s not nice to think about and often difficult to talk about, just ask yourself the following questions:

• If I or anyone in the household were made redundant, would I be able to pay my mortgage and other bills/outgoings?
• If I or anyone in the household were unable to work due to an accident or sickness, or was diagnosed with a critical illness, would I be able to pay my mortgage and other bills/outgoings?
• If I or my partner were to die prematurely, would the survivor be able to pay our mortgage and bills/outgoings?
• If something happened to my home, or anything in it, could I afford the repairs, replacements or even potential temporary accommodation?
• If I think I could manage to pay in any of these events, how long could I realistically manage for? How much do I have in savings, and could my family really help me out, even if they wanted to?

If you have existing cover but think it may no longer be suitable, or are struggling to afford the premiums, please don’t cancel if at all possible and leave yourself unprotected. We will review for you, and see if something more suitable or cheaper is available- some cover is always better than none! Bear in mind that protection will be cheaper the younger you are (don’t hold off thinking you’re too young for anything to happen to you as unfortunately this isn’t always the case), and don’t forget that having sufficient Buildings Insurance may be a condition of your mortgage.

If you would like to discuss Life Cover, Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection, Buildings/Contents or Landlords Insurance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Ingard and our expect advisers will be happy to help.