As part of our service, we don’t just give advice on how to obtain a new home – we give advice on how to keep it! We often underestimate our own value. We insure our homes, our cars and our pets but we forget about life protection and insuring our incomes.
Protection is often not something you want but something you need. It should come hand in hand with a mortgage. The majority of people often have little understanding as to what it actually is and why it is there. Let us explain this to you in an easy to understand way.
Although it is not an uplifting conversation to have, we want our customers to be prepared and protected from any unforeseen circumstance which could result in you or your family not maintaining your mortgage payments and being able to stay in your family home. Not addressing these risks could make a terrible situation even worse by having no financial protection in place.
Ashurst Mortgages can help with all of the following and more:
- Life Insurance
- Critical Illness Cover
- Income Protection
- Unemployment Cover
- Building Insurance
- Contents Insurance
We make sure everything is taken care of by our advice given to you. We discuss all of the above options and tailor our recommendation to what is relevant for you and your family. This part of the house buying process is just as important as the mortgage itself and we aim to make this part as enjoyable as we can and provide you with the peace of mind that you and your family need.
Life Insurance
In the event of your death, you want to make sure that your loved ones are protected financially. Life Insurance will provide a lump sum payment to your family, that can be used to pay off a debt of a mortgage and help your family to maintain a lifestyle. It is essential that the right cover is in place to meet your requirements for your loved ones and at Ashurst Mortgages, you can feel that you are in safe hands and that you will receive the correct advice.
Whole-of-life insurance
This policy has no fixed term and the cover will remain in place until death provided that you continue to pay the premiums.
Whole of life policies, which pay out a lump sum at the time of death are often considered as a means of insuring against post death liabilities including funeral costs and Inheritance Tax.
Term assurance
Term assurance may be suitable if you only need cover for a certain period of time, perhaps until your children have moved out, or a mortgage has been paid off.
You decide on how long you want the policy to last for. If you die during this time, it pays a tax-free cash lump sum to your loved ones. However, if you live beyond the end of the term, your plan will have no cash value. There are different types of term insurance available including:
- Level term assurance
- Decreasing term assurance
- Family income benefit
While the proceeds of a life insurance policy won’t usually attract income or capital gains tax, it will form part of your estate and may therefore be subject to Inheritance Tax. Putting an insurance policy into trust at the outset means the proceeds will be paid directly to your chosen beneficiaries in the event of your death, rather than to your legal estate, and will not be taken into account when Inheritance Tax is calculated.
Critical illness cover
Critical illness or serious illness cover can give you peace of mind if you unexpectedly fall ill, you will receive a tax-free lump sum to help you and your family cope financially. Illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, stroke and an MS diagnosis fall within the definitions covered and these do vary depending on the policy. It is important to understand exactly what a policy covers before you agree to the terms. For example, some policies will not include certain types of cancer as they are considered by some insurers to be easily treatable. We can explore all of your options for you, to find the policy that’s right for your specific needs and requirements.
Income Protection
Income Protection provides a tax-free monthly lump sum based on a proportion of your salary. If you are off work with any illness or injury, then Income Protection is designed to replace any income lost during a prolonged period off of work, and therefore keeping you and your family in your home and maintaining a lifestyle.
Unemployment Cover
Currently there are no insurances available within the market for this, however much like an income protection, a tax free monthly lump sum would be paid out as an income replacement, whilst you seek alternative employment for a maximum period of up to twelve months.
Home insurance
While buildings and contents insurance may sound straightforward it is important to remember that the cost of replacing everything that you own at the same time could be financially crippling for you and your family.
It is also important to make sure you aren’t under-insured, especially if you own a high value home as more often than not, this can mean higher value repairs in the event of damage.
Similarly, if you own a farm or country house you will need more than a simple home insurance policy as you will need to take machinery, land and livestock into consideration.
As with all insurance policies, conditions and exclusions will apply.